How long will a hawk stick around??

[LaFleche]

I do not want people to be at loggerheads about it, which leads to nowhere. And I do not want to give people the wrong idea and get themselves or the birds of prey in any trouble.

As I can see it is no problem to publicly state shooting and trapping foxes, raccoons, neighbour dogs etc. in or outside of private yards, which in turn would be persecuted by the authorities in Germany.

When in Rome...

 

[elisabeth_]

hello everyone, just wanted to pop in and say that yes, I do understand that hawks and other birds of prey are federally protected, and thank you all for pointing it out to me. I am a younger person and pretty inexperienced, but I have never handled one of the birds or killed one, and I don’t plan to. I just want to protect my little flock. Silkies are the easiest little things to get attached to lol.
Thank you all for the advice, I really do appreciate it.

 

[bag12day]

I do not want people to be at loggerheads about it, which leads to nowhere. And I do not want to give people the wrong idea and get themselves or the birds of prey in any trouble.

As I can see it is no problem to publicly state shooting and trapping foxes, raccoons, neighbour dogs etc. in or outside of private yards, which in turn would be persecuted by the authorities in Germany.

When in Rome...

Absolutely agree and it is not illegal in any case to defend life (yours children pets etc...) or livestock that is a threat on your own property to the items you listed above. You can shoot them anytime you can articulate a threat ie (not just for being in your yard) but can not trap them unless it is open season or you have obtained a permit to do so by State authorities.
What we are talking about is a Federal statute against handling, trapping, and moving birds of the raptor species which trumps any state statute without 1) contacting a govt authority or licensed raptor rehabilitator for immed. needs like hawk trapped in the netting of your coop 2) Get advice from local DNR or USFWS about your issues It is their job to help mitigate wildlife/livestock issues while ensuring laws are followed. They are at least in NC and VA a valuable helpful resource 3)longer term having a permit to trap or capture a problem bird(s).

I tried the subtle respectful approach to the young person in Georgia who has an issue by saying follow the law and don't do what is illegal and @centrarchid either misconstrued or didn't understand what I stated to US or Canadian residents after seeing your pics for what may be legal and commonplace in Europe. What he or she does in Missouri is fine with me short of destroying those raptors ( which I believe we both agreed we do not want to see or do). So I will try to summarize again for those that aren't aware:
In defense of your livestock take care of your raptors by any means you deem appropriate and (in my case the legal route) or else don't take pictures or video of it or in the presence of your nosy neighbor who hates your chickens. If its hanging upside down tangled in netting go carefully capture and release it but understand what you are doing to avoid hurting yourself or the bird. Failure to do so may result in a $15000 fine and/or jail time.

I am a volunteer first responder, own a restaurant with ABC permits and teach firearm/ personal defense classes to LEOs and the general public. All of which require periodic background checks and finger printing so having a misdemeanor or felony charge is not in my future over something that can be fixed with a phone call and I wanted others to have the same information. Your risk management is up to you and he/she feels like they don't want inconvenience someone to get permission to remove a raptor fine just know there may be repercussions.

 

[centrarchid]

Hello everyone

I have some silkies in the front yard that free range all day. One of my silkies was raising a little Cochin chick that was about a month old, and it was carried away by a hawk on Monday.
Right in front of me.
I was sitting on my front porch just watching them when it swooped down. I could have touched it with a yardstick for how close it came, but there was nothing I could do. It all happened so fast.
Devastated is an understatement. I have never lost one of my chickens to a hawk before (we live right on the highway and it is busy all day, and there are lots of places for my birds to hide and their coop is always open).

Anyway, here’s the thing. Four of my silkies are about 3 months old, nearly 4 months, but not quite there yet. There are far bigger than the chick that was carried away, but still not as big and definitely not as heavy as my adult silkies. I kept them locked up ALL day yesterday (the young ones) for fear that the hawk would come back and they were locked up all day this morning too.
I just let them out about 20 minutes ago but I am extremely paranoid.

Do y’all think the hawk is still hanging around and will it come back for more?
I ask only because the one it took on Monday was the smallest bird I had in my flock, a lot smaller than my young silkies. Did the hawk have its eye on that one specifically or will it try to take off with my bigger ones??

Thank you all for reading, any and all advice is welcome. I am willing to keep my little ones locked up for longer if I have to.
Elisabeth

Pen your birds and incrementally work to get so raptors and other predators cannot get at them. Raptors are generally the easiest predators to counter so as to enable free-range keeping. Coveris good, but additional options such as fully adult standard sized roosters and dogs with good guarding drive can also help. I loose very few chickens to daytime raptors even when raptors come in frequently. The cost and time required to setup a system may be better invested in upgrading your confinement system. Chicken tractors are a good compromise.

 

[Killyhawker]

Hi. I’m a falconer and have chickens too. I actually turned my mew into my coop and put my hawk outside on a perch... birds of prey in the wild hunt when they are hungry and will decide if they are hungry enough to take on large prey. That bird might hunt your flock every few days if it’s feed up. Just keep observant. Some move on, some stick around.

 

[elisabeth_]

Hi. I’m a falconer and have chickens too. I actually turned my mew into my coop and put my hawk outside on a perch... birds of prey in the wild hunt when they are hungry and will decide if they are hungry enough to take on large prey. That bird might hunt your flock every few days if it’s feed up. Just keep observant. Some move on, some stick around.

Since the one that was taken was the tiniest and youngest in my flock, I’m hoping it was just a one-time thing. Still, I’m keeping my eyes open and making sure I step out there frequently to discourage and hawks that may be watching.
Thank you for your advice!

 

[elisabeth_]

Pen your birds and incrementally work to get so raptors and other predators cannot get at them. Raptors are generally the easiest predators to counter so as to enable free-range keeping. Coveris good, but additional options such as fully adult standard sized roosters and dogs with good guarding drive can also help. I loose very few chickens to daytime raptors even when raptors come in frequently. The cost and time required to setup a system may be better invested in upgrading your confinement system. Chicken tractors are a good compromise.

I recently was able to confirm that 2 of my 4 young silkies are also roosters, so I’m hoping that 3 roos watching my flock will make a difference. Thank you for your feedback!

 

[LaFleche]

Hi. I’m a falconer and have chickens too. I actually turned my mew into my coop and put my hawk outside on a perch... birds of prey in the wild hunt when they are hungry and will decide if they are hungry enough to take on large prey. That bird might hunt your flock every few days if it’s feed up. Just keep observant. Some move on, some stick around.

Poor hawk, always in front of a most delicious buffet and not able to take a bite...

 

[Folly's place]

Silkie roosters aren't going to be much of a deterrent! A large rooster, who happens to be in just the right place, and who's willing to try, might do it. Otherwise the rooster's job is to watch out and sound alarms, which will make a difference.
Mary

 

[elisabeth_]

Silkie roosters aren't going to be much of a deterrent! A large rooster, who happens to be in just the right place, and who's willing to try, might do it. Otherwise the rooster's job is to watch out and sound alarms, which will make a difference.
Mary

Yeah I was thinking they wouldn’t be much good at protecting... but the thing is they are our front yard pets, and I don’t think a large rooster would be a good idea unless he is extremely people-friendly. But maybe three roos will be better at warning us and the hens