Red Tail Hawks

[Urbanfarmerkc]

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Wow that is great sweet revenge! I'd like to see someone try that in America and watch how fast animal rights will be on you.

As long as the birds are not being harmed in any way, I can't see how they have any room to say anything. I think it is poetic justice and a very responsible way to manage predation. Wish I could do the same thing with possums and coons.

 

[wilded]

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Wow that is great sweet revenge! I'd like to see someone try that in America and watch how fast animal rights will be on you.

As long as the birds are not being harmed in any way, I can't see how they have any room to say anything. I think it is poetic justice and a very responsible way to manage predation. Wish I could do the same thing with possums and coons.

Except that you would do jail time for trapping or capturing a raptor without a permit.

 

[MMPoultryFarms]

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and your advice is good stated that way imo. However some of us if we cooped our birds at every sighting of a hawk they would never be out.

Urbanfarmerkc said it best. You have to remember the percentage of hawks that actually Kill birds is so low refering to the RTH. I look at it like this Its our jobs to teach our birds to hide from air predators. In doing this we must build sanctuarys if you will. an old board sitting on Concrete bricks. Or Shade cloth stretched across some steel posts. Plant some shrubs. I will get you some pics of some of the things we do here to detore hawks. Now I must warn you. my biggest enemys are coopers and sharp shinned and I am gonna explain why. these birds were created with a special Kind of wing. if you ever see one up close they have a bend in there wings, this design is so that they can pursuit prey in some of the most compact places for example a SSh or Coop can fly at high speeds threw the forest 3 feet off the ground and never hit anything. there designed to kill by stealth. Where as a red tail soars above and swoops on there prey a SSH/Coop get a good eye on there prey fly far away from there prey, then drop 1-3 feet off the ground and fly full speed into there kill manuvering around any objects in there path like a cat sneaks in the brush to kill a mouse. and the bad thing is there is no way to protect against them. they dont often attack birds larger then them since they weigh only 1 pound or less. But numbers of people here will tell you that didnt stop them from trying. there arrogent. there Like a chiwawa dog who thinks its the biggest dog on the planet but in reality its just a pimple.
Pie pans, reflective tape, old CD's can all be used to detore hawks the trick is you have to keep moving them every few days as I said in an previous post the juviniles will test the water what ever the breed be it RTH SSH CH juvi = bad news.

 

[doxies1]

We have both red shoulder and red tailed hawks and, (knock on wood) I've haad no problems. I do have two Pyrs but they don't cover all the free range area yet. I think ther is enough natural food for the hawks so they don't mess with the birds around the buildings and the bbirds have learned to take cover when the hawk shows up.

 

[centrarchid]

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This photograph looks staged. Appears juvenile black bird (fish crow?) put out so juvenile female Coopers could catch it while camera at ready. Interesting action shot none the less and informative about hawk tackles prey in air.

 

[2overeasy000]

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Well said. I think the positives out weigh the risks for me.

 

[chateau poulet]

Very interesting about the color! I agree with teach1rusl that, though I know the danger, they LOVE free-ranging and I wouldn't take that away from them. They are very vigilant, and stay near the bushes in their free-range area. However... I DID have one killed by a red-tail, and it was white/grey/lavender pullet! After that, I have only gotten black/brown/red chickens, but I was thinking that they were just better camouflaged. The light one stuck out like a sore thumb (target on her back, etc.). Interesting that they are probably seeing my others (I know they have awesome eyesight), but they just stay away from them! Hmm!

And, wilded, thanks for sharing that amazing pic!

 

[chateau poulet]

I do have hawk problems and they have taken a few of my birds. I have Coopers and RT Hawks. I live on one acre and I have chickens as much for yard art as I do for eggs or meat. I love my chickens and i spoil them rotten but I also know that chickens are on the bottom of the food chain. So here is my suggestion for what it is worth:

If you want your chickens to be free range then you have to decide if their freedom is worth the risk that some may not make it. With this, you have to try to minimize the likelihood that they will be attacked from above with ground cover but you also have to keep in mind that they need help avoiding attack from the ground. It is a precarious walk between freedom and destruction. My opinion here is I prefer freedom for my birds. I couldn't stand the thought of being cooped up all my life and they LOVE to eat grass, worms bugs and run around and do normal chicken stuff so much. I also get so much pleasure out of watching them while they are free that it is worth it to me.

If you can't stand the thought, then you have to leave them cooped. If you do that though, be a pal and give them green food. Grass clippings from when you mow or grow stuff to feed them. They love green food so much it bothers me when they are deprived of it. I'm an old world farmer but I still think cruel is cruel and depriving these creatures is wrong I think.

Good luck what ever decision you make.

GREAT advice!!! Even though mine free range in grass all day, they still love a bag of grass clippings when I mow. I also built my pen over an old pear tree stump (the tree came down in a storm) that regularly sends out shoots with fresh tender leaves. And a fun trick - set cinder blocks in the pen so you have 2 compartments. Add a little loose dirt in the bottom, and then plant peas, sunflowers, hostas, etc. The block protects the shoots and the base of the plants so the chickens don't dig them up. It always makes me sad to see chickens without greenery...

 

[Jeffross1968]

Whether or not a red tail hawk will generally leave your birds alone, I can't say. But I will say that once they get one, they won't stop coming back. We've lost 4 in the last few weeks. While keeping them locked up, we tried some things to scare it away, but it won't scare. I can't keep them locked up all day every day. So...we do what we have to do...

 

[cockothewalk]

That article on the Chinese is brilliant. Thanks for posting.