Help! Stalking... or Friendship?

[8CityChicks]

Goshawk taking a breather away from kids. Maybe it tried to get at chickens in pen for a bit and gave up? I have had much smaller Coopers Hawks perch within a few feet of free-range chickens that were dust bathing. Same chickens could have run that hawk off. I have also had Red-shouldered Hawks sunbath as a pair near chickens doing the same. I have yet to see discord between chickens and the Red-tailed Hawks.

Goshawks I would show the door.

Believe me Red Tails will attack chickens - I've lost two and had another badly injured before I smartened up & spider-webbed my pen (about 900 sq ft) with fish line. I actually saw all 3 events - they sneak in to the trees and the birds never see what hit them. A gory mess to clean up and sad way to lose laying birds since I can only have 8 in town.

 

[GrammaMickyMouse]

Hi all,
New to chicken tending... The girls have been in their new coop a little less than a week and I am observing this out the window! Predator stalking, or friendship?? What do you think?!

I'm thinking I'd be cautious.....definitely checking out potential Dinner.....

 

[cmom]

A Red Tail hawk killed some pullets that was about ready to start laying. I do have my pens covered with heavy duty netting. I was short so I bought some netting online but it wasn't what I thought it was and a Red Tail hawk and an Owl managed to go through it and killed some birds. I moved the birds in that coop to another coop replaced the netting with another piece of crappy netting and put a camera in that pen and the Owl came back and went through the netting. I replaced the crappy netting with some good netting and the Owl gave it another try but got caught in the netting. DH and I managed to get the Owl out and into a cage and called some wildlife people who came and got it.

 

[schmedlap]

selecting which one will be dinner, like picking your lobster out of the tank.
I put a dog run around the coop. and a pitched top over the run. a tarp, or canvas cover will keep them out and provide shade as well as shelter from rain and snow. I used plastic netting cut to fit to fill in the sides. no problems for 7 years now

 

[freedom chick]

Really? A seriously STUPID bit of advice as raptors are FEDERALLY protected. All of them!Everywhere! Shoot with a BB gun to fly off and die a slow death. Bird is found and autopsy done to find out why it died (Yes, they do this). They then start knocking on the doors of the local chicken owners as part of the investigation.

As the Gos .. and they are a pretty neat raptor .. is already attracted to the birds movement, it will be watching. If you make a run, just make sure it is covered. Easy enough to do with chicken wire that has the large openings in it. Doesn't have to be the smaller diameter holes. I have found that a good smattering of the reflective "scare tape" for birds around the yard also works for raptors. They can't focus on a target with the moving, flashing strips breaking their concentration.

I didn’t suggest killing anything. And I surely didn’t mean to offend anyone. I wasn’t suggesting anything high powered. I have heard of firework type things being shot near them that scare them off, and noise making guns. USDA recommends a shotgun in the air to scare them. I do make suggestions with the expectation people do their own research, otherwise they wouldn’t be here. There are harassment techniques that can be used to change their mind about hanging around. And I made PLENTY of other suggestions to help deter and discourage them from hanging around.

See page 4 of USDA recommendation of attached link for Hawks and Owls.

Please don’t call me stupid, it’s mean. This is the first time I have felt completely discouraged by this forum.


USDA:
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/reports/Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series/Hawks-and-Owls.pdf

other articles:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...s-bald-eagles-washington-landfill/4799340002/

http://birdmaster.com/blog/?p=1073

 

[pekincochin12]

Dinner.
Very patient predators. Try to come up with a way to keep your girls safe. You could put in posts and string wire across the top, hang reflective objects, get a fake owl from tractor supply (?).
I have never had one just hang out but heard Cooper’s hawks will. I have to say, in Ohio we had so many hawks, there never seemed to be a shortage of these beloved birds. You have a BB gun to train him? Maybe something a little stronger? At one point we considered a livestock guard dog. Any possibilities of moving the coop to an area with more aerial protection? Maybe a fenced/covered run?

That's a federal crime....birds such as hawks and eagles are federally protected species. I wouldn't suggest that at all. - Edit: just saw your more recent post, thanks for clarifying!

 

[freedom chick]

Believe me Red Tails will attack chickens - I've lost two and had another badly injured before I smartened up & spider-webbed my pen (about 900 sq ft) with fish line. I actually saw all 3 events - they sneak in to the trees and the birds never see what hit them. A gory mess to clean up and sad way to lose laying birds since I can only have 8 in town.

...and it’s even worse when they survive and you nurse them back to health for 2 weeks, changing bandages and syringe feeding in the middle of the night to keep them alive and hydrated. I love my chickens. They are not just my flock but my friends. And I agree, when you can only have a small flock it’s hard to replace them. Time, work, effort. I agree on stringing the fishing line and covering a run. I don’t like my girls being bothered by vermin.

 

[cmom]

Dinner.
Very patient predators. Try to come up with a way to keep your girls safe. You could put in posts and string wire across the top, hang reflective objects, get a fake owl from tractor supply (?).
I have never had one just hang out but heard Cooper’s hawks will. I have to say, in Ohio we had so many hawks, there never seemed to be a shortage of these beloved birds. You have a BB gun to train him? Maybe something a little stronger? At one point we considered a livestock guard dog. Any possibilities of moving the coop to an area with more aerial protection? Maybe a fenced/covered run?

@aart has a picture in her BYC album of a hawk sitting on top of an owl statue.

 

[Sea Wolf]

Please don’t call me stupid, it’s mean. This is the first time I have felt completely discouraged by this forum.

Did not say you were stupid. Said the advice was stupid and too many people get ideas and follow them without researching.

PDF link: " Shooting: Federal and state laws protect all hawks and owls. Shooting can be authorized under depredation permits in specific situations involving public health and safety hazards or seriously affecting a person’s livelihood. For example, authorized individuals may shoot a hawk posing a consistent, immediate, and imminent danger to aircraft at an airport. To obtain a federal depredation permit, first contact your local USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services (WS) office. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and state wildlife agencies may issue depredation permits allowing for lethal control of problem hawks and owls, but will do so only if nonlethal methods of controlling damage have failed or are impractical and if it is determined that killing the offending birds will alleviate the problem. Permittees may kill hawks or owls listed on the permit using a shotgun not larger than 10-gauge, fired from the shoulder and only within the area described by the permit. Proper firearm safety is of the utmost importance, especially in confined areas or extra-sensitive situations, such as active airfields or in populated areas. Permittees may not use blinds or other means of concealment, or decoys or calls to lure birds within gun range.

No you can not shoot hawks/owls because they are after your chickens. Your free range chickens are considered decoys or bait and the hawks are there for that reason. You attracted them there by the birds being loose and not protected. Killing the current hawks will not alleviate the problem and there is no threat to public safety.

USA link: Bald eagle is still protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act as well as the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, meaning killing them is a federal crime. The County needs to apply for a permit to frighten them away and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service needs to approve the permit application.

No you can not shoot towards the hawks or use explosives to frighten them without a permit from USF&W first. And again, you are effectively baiting the hawks in with live bait to attract them.

Birdmaster link: State of Oregon has a pending change to a bill. The current bill exists to use fireworks to protect crops and forest products. With an expansion of the bill, fireworks would be used to protect golf courses, landfills, airports and seafood facilities, as well as other properties and buildings as necessary.

Still can not shoot anything at hawks or owls because of them going after loose chickens. They are not included in the above. The above has nothing to do with hawks or owls except possibly at the airport. The targeted birds are destroying crops and around food processing buildings it is starlings and pigeons contaminating the facilities with droppings.

 

[freedom chick]

Did not say you were stupid. Said the advice was stupid and too many people get ideas and follow them without researching.

PDF link: " Shooting: Federal and state laws protect all hawks and owls. Shooting can be authorized under depredation permits in specific situations involving public health and safety hazards or seriously affecting a person’s livelihood. For example, authorized individuals may shoot a hawk posing a consistent, immediate, and imminent danger to aircraft at an airport. To obtain a federal depredation permit, first contact your local USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services (WS) office. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and state wildlife agencies may issue depredation permits allowing for lethal control of problem hawks and owls, but will do so only if nonlethal methods of controlling damage have failed or are impractical and if it is determined that killing the offending birds will alleviate the problem. Permittees may kill hawks or owls listed on the permit using a shotgun not larger than 10-gauge, fired from the shoulder and only within the area described by the permit. Proper firearm safety is of the utmost importance, especially in confined areas or extra-sensitive situations, such as active airfields or in populated areas. Permittees may not use blinds or other means of concealment, or decoys or calls to lure birds within gun range.

No you can not shoot hawks/owls because they are after your chickens. Your free range chickens are considered decoys or bait and the hawks are there for that reason. You attracted them there by the birds being loose and not protected. Killing the current hawks will not alleviate the problem and there is no threat to public safety.

USA link: Bald eagle is still protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act as well as the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, meaning killing them is a federal crime. The County needs to apply for a permit to frighten them away and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service needs to approve the permit application.

No you can not shoot towards the hawks or use explosives to frighten them without a permit from USF&W first. And again, you are effectively baiting the hawks in with live bait to attract them.

Birdmaster link: State of Oregon has a pending change to a bill. The current bill exists to use fireworks to protect crops and forest products. With an expansion of the bill, fireworks would be used to protect golf courses, landfills, airports and seafood facilities, as well as other properties and buildings as necessary.

Still can not shoot anything at hawks or owls because of them going after loose chickens. They are not included in the above. The above has nothing to do with hawks or owls except possibly at the airport. The targeted birds are destroying crops and around food processing buildings it is starlings and pigeons contaminating the facilities with droppings.
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