Before modern regulations, chicken-owners killed hawks indiscriminately, and by the evidence of dead birds hanging from power lines and fences, some still do. The red-tailed hawk is a common permanent resident in Missouri. Also called chicken hawks, red-tailed hawks range throughout the United States and Canada. I'm presuming you mean "adult, standard sized chicken" in your poll question. This factoid did not specifically apply to my red-tailed hawk. Birders trained to ID birds by their plumage are typically mystified by their first hawk-watching experience—from a distance, raptors may be near impossible to tell apart. This time of year even the larger female Coopers hawk are not likely to go after anything bigger than a half-grown chicken although in fall and winter the female Coopers hawk will take in an adult hen or juvenile. The Red-tailed Hawk’s round-tipped wings and bulging secondary feathers make the species appear “muscular” in flight. Flew down and snapped their necks, then started to eat them. So, the fact that you could train them to stop coming to an easy hunting ground in a week gave me hope for my chickens. Red Tailed Hawk Facts – Facts about Red Tailed Hawks Summary. Here, you see a hawk come in and take out my favorite chicken… In the United States, chickenhawk or chicken hawk is an unofficial designation for three species of North American hawks in the family Accipitridae: Cooper's hawk, also called a quail hawk, the sharp-shinned hawk, and the red-tailed hawk. Three species of hawk have earned the name “Chicken hawk” due to their attacks on chickens. So, the fact that you could train them to stop coming to an easy hunting ground in a week gave me hope for my chickens. The term "chicken hawk", however, is inaccurate. I have adult chickens that weight 9 - 12 ounces, and I'm sure one of our red tail hawks could haul one of them off, but would be skeptical about them carrying one of my 6-8 lbs hens away. Crow Attacking Red-tailed Hawk photos by Cleve Nash Back on October 15th this year I wrote a post titled “Why are birds of prey harassed or mobbed”. Red-tails living further south don't migrate. They can easily mould into any surroundings, but prefer habitats such as deserts and fields, but can also be found in mountainous plains and tropical, moist areas. I was talking to another chicken owner who had a big problem with Eagles. We've had two Cooper's Hawks, an adult and an immature, visiting our West Toledo backyard this winter, harassing the songbirds and occasionally snagging a Mourning Dove. He had a clever and cheap solution, he put shelters in his chicken roaming area, … This is sad. Peggy Hoelting's chicken was trapped in the corner behind this pipe when a red-tailed hawk tried to pry it free. In the United States, chickenhawk or chicken hawk is an unofficial designation for three species of North American hawks in the family Accipitridae: Cooper's hawk, also called a quail hawk, the sharp-shinned hawk, and the red-tailed hawk. Photo courtesy of Peggy Hoelting. Maybe a large female Sharp-Shinned (which can rival the size of a male Cooper's) would attempt to take a small chicken, but I've never heard or seen it before. It has a chunky body, broad wings, and a tail that is often spread or fanned in flight. The redtail hawk is the largest of the genus buteo in Northern America and has 14 subspecies. Red tailed hawks are the most widely distributed hawk in the Americas, with numbers ranging around 1 million.