Red tail hawks are toying with me and terrorizing my flock!

[Hootie$]

Ask me anything - I am currently going through the process of applying for a permit from the US FWS for depredation. I have a swarm of red tail hawks that have moved from the farm down the street to the woods in my backyard. Its only a matter of time. I have a steel wire covered run and it is secured from all sides, with one side being a 6 foot tall wooden fence. The hawks perch on the fence and torment my poor ladies. I have it on video. I run out there screaming at them and flailing my arms but they just fly away and perch on a branch in my backyard that's JUST close enough to infuriate me and to make my hens scared. I throw rocks at the trees to make noise (obviously not AT the stupid giant hawks because those birds are protected). It doesn't matter what I do. These giant predators seem to laugh in my FACE! I feel like they're just biding their time and making evil plans for my flock.

They keep getting closer too. I free range my chickens three times a day and then keep them in their large run the rest of the time (we also have coyotes). It used to be that after 20 minutes, one hawk may circle my area from high above. After some time, 2-3 hawks would circle. Next, about 5-6 hawks did a fly over,; and I didnt even know they flew in hunting parties together! Then, I discover them harassing the ladies from about whilst perched on their coop and run. Thank gosh for my run. It is a FORTRESS.

Today, however, while having the ladies do their afternoon grazing, WHILE I WAS OUTSIDE STANDING THERE, a red tail swooped down super close, swooped back up and perched in the trees above my hens. My heart jumped out of my chest. I got my hens safely in their run and carried my 8 month old baby bantam silkie to safety. The hawk was a giant. It watched me the whole time. After the ladies were safely in their run, I threw rocks at the tree trunk to make noise and yelled profanities at the offending giant hawk. Profanities I am SURE my neighbors could hear.

That hawk just stared at me. Like, didn't move at all. STARED ME DOWN. Rocks and all. Profanities and all.

Needless to say I printed out all the paperwork for a US depredation permit immediately after going back inside AND doing about 2 hours of research on what I can and cannot do.

I am a GOLDMINE of depredation legal information, especially for NEO. To heck with these hawks!

Have you thought of using firecrackers/black cats/bottle rockets/Roman candles to ward off the hawks. It could work? Inexpensive and perhaps effective in making them feel unwelcome. Best defense is a good offense”

 

[Hootie$]

We have at least one and sometimes two red tail hawks. They have taken a couple of our bantam hens. We have a very large chicken yard with chain link and overhead chicken wire that is connected to our chicken house. The hawks have landed on the top of the yard a couple of times to get our pullets. We have chased and screamed at them and that works for a while. We now use a blow horn with it's music and siren. They leave when they hear the horn. It works better than our screaming and hand clapping and they stay away longer. Their nest is in the big tree by the meadow. Our border collie, Molly, would bark them away. She lived to be almost 19. Our new border collie, Rex, only wants to herd our donkeys and pony. We have five dogs and we try to get them to look up in the sky but they just don't get it. I miss Molly---she protected everything.

I like the air horn idea too, but firecrackers as we used to call them are just a whole lot of fun!

 

[rachelsflock]

Not that it has anything to do with anything, but I really love my slingshot, a Daisy B52 slingshot w/wrist support. I target practice at trees all the time-so therapeutic! And if there happens to be a hawk in between me and my target, oh well! What's a little bruise between two natural friends, eh? They learn fast. They start really not liking the sound of little round rocks thudding into branches all around them. I think if you shot perfectly at a bird you could kill it, but using pea gravel usually fixes that, and that ammo is cheap and sold by the 50 lbs at home depot.

Now I'm not saying you should go pelt hawks, raccoons, possums, skunks, neighbor dogs, et c. with rocks, but accidents happen you know? Not bullets so nothing dies.

Back on topic, did you get your permit? This year a hawk that lives here started taking off with 5+birds per day and just hanging them in trees around the property as I was building my chicken prision as fast as I could. He worked on anything I covered the run with too until he got in and worked more death. I might want to try getting a permit, because he's still here and occasionally hits my aviary style chicken cage-and he's cost me a lot of money. Nobody will buy eggs from me here unless they are "free range" and not in their box-we're talking hundreds of dollars already only a few months in. All egg inquiries end the same way thanks to that hawk and "free range" eggs sell for $6/dozen+ here. I'd even be willing to go organic if I could make a profit and the feed was high enough quality (not sure it would meet my standards of balanced nutrition though). BUT I can't because I'm not feeding lazy, domesticated, needs to be euthanized wild life because other farmers here "free range", feed the wildlife, and run out of chickens by fall.

 

[Thomas70]

Good on you for seeking a legal course of action.
What breeds do you have? Things like silkies and polish will always be vulnerable to aerial predators no matter how you deal with them.
We have lots of hawks but I haven't lost any of my several flocks of free range birds to hawks in about 10 years. It takes the right breeds and preferably with a good rooster running with the flock. Calm, docile, friendly breeds don't work.
While it isn't legal, I've heard that bottle rockets aimed at the roosting hawks help.

I use bottle rockets and it is very effective.

 

[centrarchid]

Poster does not appear to have been back since making original post. On op's established posting pattern, the initial post was it.

 

[Folly's place]

And folks recommending illegal attacks aimed at federally protected raptors are not being helpful, at least.
Mary

 

[centrarchid]

Back on topic, did you get your permit? This year a hawk that lives here started taking off with 5+birds per day and just hanging them in trees around the property as I was building my chicken prision as fast as I could. He worked on anything I covered the run with too until he got in and worked more death.

Report this to a biologist in your area. It is highly unsual and I am certain the biologist will come at the drop of a hat to see what is going on and may be particularly interested in seeing the hawk.

 

[hayley3]

When I had to deal with raccoons, at first I would catch and release. Then I realized I was giving someone else my problem, so I started shooting them in the cage. I was catching raccoons by the dozen, and shooting them before I realized that it was never going to end, because when I killed them, their territory was now vacant and another family of raccoons moved in. It was never-ending and that was not the only predator I had to deal with, the foxes and coyotes too. You get tired of killing, especially since it's not really a long term solution. I live in nature and I should learn to live with nature. If my hen is killed it's my fault not the fox's nor the hawk's fault.

 

[RLynch]

No paperwork required, trespassers will be shot. Once the hawk lands on that tree, harasses your flock, and stares you down a #7 bird shot shell in a 12 ga takes care of THAT problem. Then take some twine and string that bird upside down from that same tree branch. Other hawks WILL NOT return...

 

[DuckyDonna]

While you’re waiting for your papers to go through, you may want to consider not letting your birds out.

Absolutely! She's got her run like a fortress, as do I so why let them out?

I used to like to let mine out to forage just outside their run while I was cleaning their pool and water buckets before dark because they just loved it. Then hawks came swooping down and coyotes came out of the woods in broad daylight with me standing right there with them. I didn't want to start packing a gun to clean the duck run plus I'd probably be not fast enough anyway! That's when we went into the full-blown building of our fortress. Our new run has hardware cloth on all sides and welded wire all over the top and it's big, about 35' x 35'! Took us over 2 months but I don't think a bear could get in it now. Glad we don't have bears. Hopefully, if the hawks are migrating they will move on if they have no success.