Legal Elimination of Hawks and Owls

[deerman]

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well, there are 3 seasons in michigan where I can get a permit to legally take canadian geese by the numbers

They are tastey and the bag limits are great. If I only could get by without using steel shot grrrrrrrrr

Yes most states have hunting season on canadian geese, NONE have seasons on Bird of Prey.

 

[Monteen]

Whether it is chickens or songbirds, the keeping/feeding flocks of birds isn't 'natural' and it is the role of the predator to come in an neutralize the numbers. Bottom line, we love bait and so does everyone else and it's up to us to make our coops like Ft. Knox.

If you insist on free-ranging your chickens, or refuse to cover the top of the run, then you plays your cards and takes your chances. You can stand out there with a charge ready in your gun for the rest of your life and you will not kill all the raptors because by and large, nature abhors a vacuum and when you remove one, another will arrive to fill the empty territory. Prevent it on the front end and you won't have issues on the back end.

Web site and phone number for depredation forms - www.fws.gov/forms/3-200-13.pdf 1-866-487-3297 There are nine regions, so this 866 number might be different in your region, but they will be able to provide assistance.

That aid, it will be almost impossible for you to acquire a depredation permit because if you took the proper measures to protect your flock (reinforcing and keeping them confined) you wouldn't have problems from above.

Monteen McCord
http://monteenmccord.blogspot.com
www.hawktalk.org

 

[sourland]

Monteen is right on the money. Anything else you hear regardless of the source is incorrect.

 

[judas]

i read of kestrels that eat grasshoppers and mice pestering and driving away hawks .. win win solution less mice and hawks pestered put up kestrel boxes or other tenacious lil birds that dont harm out crops or live stock

ps before there is a loss from hawks so its not drastic rage filled time

 

[sourland]

I too thought that kestrels were an effective deterrent for hawks, but recently a "birder" told me that one of the main reasons for the decline in kestrel numbers is predation from Coopers hawks.

 

[OzawkieBantams]

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Great points.
Being a Native American I find it difficult to hear of these stories " I just shoot the hawk on my property "
Quote:
like Monteen said protect you flock from the gods above.

Daren

 

[theFox]

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Not true in all states, what seems to be unkown to a lot of folks is that there are multiple levels of law, while the feds may not be concerned about you scaring some birds they "protect" there are states that don't allow you to harass wildlife at all unless it is:

1: In season.

and

2: You have a state issued license to take.

So beware.

 

[cgmccary]

I would like to point out that not every Red Tailed Hawk or other raptors prey on chickens. Many of them do NOT EVER dine on birds. I have observed a local Red Tailed taking squirrels literally right in full view of my chickens. The hawk ate it on the ground and carried the remnants in a tree above the chickens. Red Tailed hawks mostly prey on small mammals as do the Red Shouldered Hawk which I have observed carrying rats (and I have not had one of these bother my birds ever). Cooper's Hawks (aka "Chicken Hawk" or "Blue Darter") prey on birds, but it is the Bantams and smaller breeds that would be in danger. A Cooper's would not be able to lift off with a large fowl and would be in trouble if you had a rooster.

I have been told of "young," juvenile (inexperienced) & therefore "hungry" Red Tailed being killed by a large or formidable rooster when it tried to take a hen.

Of the owls, only the Great Horned would be a threat to chickens and ducks in the continental U.S. The Barred Owl & Screech Owl do not prey on chickens.

 

[desertdarlene]

One thing I notice is the word "scare" or "herd". It does not say "harass". Harassing means things like shooting pellets or throwing rocks at hawks or repeatedly scaring them and following them around. It sounds like it's OK to chase a bird off of your coup or chicken and pressure it to leave your yard, but not chase it around with rocks like I know some people will do.

Just my observation.

I also agree that individual hawks seem to have their own preferences for food. The adult Cooper's at the lake I go to tend towards rabbits and squirrels, but their teenage kids are almost strictly bird eaters. But, it's better to not take a chance at your birds. I had a red-tail prefer squirrels, but attacked a coot recently.

 

[theFox]

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The legal definition of harass includes shouting, waving, running towards, destroying their den or nest, and any other actions that disturb the animal.

Be very careful what you do as a lot of folks actually break the laws by doing what they consider as not being illegal.