Anyone Know How to Get Rid of Chicken Hawks Legally?

[Gresh]

Hey, all. I live on 28 acres in NC and I have a few minor predator problems when it comes to my chickens. One new one was a small greyish hawk that was harassing my terror-stricken chooks a couple days ago. It dive-bombed the run a couple times and swooped around before perching in a tree once he saw me step out into the yard. I took my trusty .22 rifle and fired a shot at the ground in hopes that the noise would scare him. It did, but due to the random screams I've heard from the run here and there since then, I have a feeling he's not gone for good.
He's not a large bird by any means and is about as big as my 3-month old Russian Orloff cockerel. However, size matters not in the world of the Birds of Prey, and I don't think this hawk will let a big chicken get him down if he's hungry.
Is there any way I can dispose of this pest legally? I know it's against the law to poach birds of prey, but what about when they're trying to kill your pets? It takes too long for these crazy environmentalist people to come out to my place to remove animals, and how on earth they'd be able to remove a hawk is beyond my mind to understand. If you've got any suggestions, please let me know. I fear that if I don't do something soon, I might be a few chickens short in a week or two.

It saddens me because, if there is any predator that I have any affection for, it is birds of prey, merely 'cause they're birds and not mammal varmint like dogs and raccoons.

Thanks!

 

[centrarchid]

Couple options I use as deterrent. A full adult rooster or two and / or dog. I have Coopers and redtail hawks, former you probably refer to, and they do not pose threat to my birds. My birds for most part are free range and have access to ample vegetative cover.

 

[GatorChickenRanch]

Someone once told me to throw corn out in the woods to attract crows, they said crows are a hawks worst nightmare.

 

[anderson8505]

http://icwdm.org/handbook/birds/HawksOwls.asp

"The ultimate solution to raptor depredation is prevention. Free-roaming farmyard chickens, ducks, and pigeons attract hawks and owls and are highly susceptible to predation. Many problems can be eliminated by simply housing poultry at night. They can be conditioned to move into coops or houses by feeding or watering them indoors at dusk. If depredation persists, durable fenced enclosures can be constructed by securing poultry wire to a wooden framework and covering the enclosure with poultry wire, nylon netting, or overhead wires. A double layer of overhead netting separated by a 5-to 6-inch (12- to 15-cm) space may be necessary to keep owls away from penned birds. Large poultry operations rarely have depredation problems because most practice confinement. "

They're Federally protected, as you probably know. Vegetation cover is a good option, too. Around here the hawks have carried off small dogs, but I've not had a problem yet. I have a terrier mix that is awesome for yard duty. The two labs are okay too, and BIG. Maybe that's why I haven't had a problem.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Is there any way I can dispose of this pest legally?

The only legal way is to get a Federal depredation permit, but you will have to prove you've tried EVERY possible means to deter them without killing BEFORE they will even consider it at all.

I bet if you keep your birds penned up a few days, the hawk will soon leave​

 

[aprophet]

http://www.fws.gov/forms/3-200-13.pdf

just reading the instructions will give you some legal ideas of how to get rid of the BOP

 

[CariLynn]

We feed the crows and yes, they do harass the large red tail who comes through our property and he doesn't often sit on the trees now by our coop and chicken yard. I have also taken a bb gun and shot near him to scare him away the few times this summer he did come around dreaming of a chicken lunch and there were a few times, seeing my hens scared under their cook in a more contained pen, that I thought...SSS. However, they are doing what comes natural to them and all of our small flock have a 100ft yard to come out in to roam, scratch and dust bathe. My roo also does a fantastic job protecting them and giving the call to run like Hades to the smaller enclosure with a roof and under the coop.

 

[Oregon Blues]

What you do is you keep your birds in a run with a covered top.

If the hawk is frightening birds inside a covered run, put a tarp over the top so they can't see the hawk.

The fines are tens of thousands of dollars. Don't even think about shooting the hawk.

 

[Saddley]

http://icwdm.org/handbook/birds/HawksOwls.asp

"The ultimate solution to raptor depredation is prevention. Free-roaming farmyard chickens, ducks, and pigeons attract hawks and owls and are highly susceptible to predation. Many problems can be eliminated by simply housing poultry at night. They can be conditioned to move into coops or houses by feeding or watering them indoors at dusk. If depredation persists, durable fenced enclosures can be constructed by securing poultry wire to a wooden framework and covering the enclosure with poultry wire, nylon netting, or overhead wires. A double layer of overhead netting separated by a 5-to 6-inch (12- to 15-cm) space may be necessary to keep owls away from penned birds. Large poultry operations rarely have depredation problems because most practice confinement. "

They're Federally protected, as you probably know. Vegetation cover is a good option, too. Around here the hawks have carried off small dogs, but I've not had a problem yet. I have a terrier mix that is awesome for yard duty. The two labs are okay too, and BIG. Maybe that's why I haven't had a problem.

Had a hawk get a chicken through a chicken wire enclosure yesterday afternoon. the wire was lifted and it pulled it though

 

[Molpet]

http://www.fws.gov/forms/3-200-13.pdf

just reading the instructions will give you some legal ideas of how to get rid of the BOP

well they moved the form and I found it https://www.fws.gov/forms/3-200-13.pdf
here https://www.fws.gov/forms/display.cfm?number1=200