Hawks are birds of prey known for their sharp eyesight, strong talons, and hooked beaks. They belong to a group that includes many species adapted to different environments, from forests and grasslands to urban areas. Their vision is incredibly powerful, allowing them to spot small animals from high in the sky while soaring or perched quietly.
These birds are skilled hunters and mainly feed on small mammals, reptiles, and other birds. They use a combination of stealth, speed, and precision when attacking prey, often swooping down अचानक to catch it off guard. Hawks also play an important ecological role by helping control populations of rodents and other small animals.
Hawks vary widely in size and behavior, but most are solitary and territorial. They build nests in tall trees or cliffs and are attentive parents, carefully raising their young. Their presence in an area often indicates a healthy ecosystem, since they rely on abundant prey and suitable habitat.
Some hawks are known to prey on domestic chickens, especially when natural food sources are scarce or when chickens are left unprotected. These hawks typically target smaller or younger birds, swooping into open yards or farms where chickens are easy to access. This behavior can create challenges for farmers and backyard poultry keepers.
To reduce losses, people often use protective measures such as covered enclosures, secure coops, and deterrents. While hawks may be seen as a threat in such situations, they are still a natural part of the environment and are often protected by wildlife laws, making humane prevention methods the best approach.
Hawks that Eat Chickens
Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
The red-tailed hawk is the most widespread and most frequently encountered hawk predator of backyard chickens across North America, a large, powerful buteo with a wingspan of up to 1.4 metres and the distinctive brick-red tail that gives it its name. It hunts primarily from elevated perches such as fence posts, telephone poles, and tall trees, scanning the ground below with extraordinarily acute vision before dropping in a fast, controlled dive onto its prey.
Full-grown chickens are occasionally taken, but bantams, young pullets, and chicks are the most vulnerable, and a resident pair of red-tailed hawks establishing a territory near a poultry operation can cause persistent and serious losses.
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Cooper’s hawk is a medium-sized, agile accipiter — a group of hawks characterised by short, rounded wings and long tails adapted for fast, manoeuvrable flight through dense woodland — and is one of the most skilled and persistent avian predators of small to medium-sized poultry.
Unlike the soaring buteos that hunt from open perches, Cooper’s hawks pursue their prey at high speed through vegetation and around obstacles, and they are bold enough to enter chicken runs, coops, and enclosed yards in pursuit of a meal. Their stealth, speed, and determined nature make them one of the most challenging hawk threats for poultry keepers to manage effectively.
Sharp-Shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)
The sharp-shinned hawk is the smallest accipiter in North America, but what it lacks in size it more than compensates for in speed, agility, and sheer audacity. Though primarily a predator of small songbirds, sharp-shinned hawks will readily target bantam chickens, chicks, and very young pullets, striking with remarkable speed and often repeating attacks on the same flock over several days once a reliable food source has been identified.
They are migratory birds that move through in large numbers during spring and autumn, and flocks of free-ranging young birds are particularly vulnerable during these migration periods.
Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)
The red-shouldered hawk is a medium-sized buteo of wooded, riparian, and suburban environments across eastern North America and California, readily identifiable by its strongly barred, orange-red breast and the distinctive translucent crescents visible near the wingtips in flight.
It is a vocal, conspicuous bird whose loud, repeated calls are a familiar sound of woodland edges and suburban parks, and while small mammals and amphibians form the bulk of its diet, it will readily prey upon chicks, bantams, and small breeds of chicken when the opportunity presents itself, particularly in areas where natural prey is scarce.
Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis)
The ferruginous hawk is the largest buteo in North America, a powerful, broad-winged raptor of open prairies, grasslands, and desert shrublands across the western United States and Canada whose impressive size — with a wingspan approaching 1.5 metres — makes it entirely capable of taking full-grown standard-sized chickens as well as smaller birds.
Its rusty-red back and leg feathers and pale, lightly marked underparts give it a distinctive, almost regal appearance, and it hunts both from soaring flight and from ground level, approaching prey on foot in a manner unusual among large hawks.
Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni)
Swainson’s hawk is a long-distance migratory buteo that breeds across western North America and undertakes one of the most extraordinary migrations of any North American raptor, travelling in enormous flocks to wintering grounds in Argentina each autumn.
During the breeding season and on migration, large gatherings of Swainson’s hawks near agricultural areas and rural poultry operations can pose a significant threat, particularly to young birds and bantams. The hawk is a versatile predator that takes a wide range of prey including small mammals, large insects, and birds, and its opportunistic nature means it will readily exploit the easy pickings offered by free-ranging chickens.
Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)
The northern goshawk is the largest and most formidable of all the accipiters, a fierce, powerful, and notoriously bold predator that is fully capable of taking full-grown standard chickens, ducks, and other poultry of considerable size.
It inhabits mature forests across the Northern Hemisphere and descends on rural properties and farms with a directness and aggression that sets it apart from other hawks — goshawks are famously fearless and have been known to attack human beings who approach their nests, giving some indication of the determination with which they pursue prey. Historically one of the most prized birds in falconry, the goshawk is a supreme aerial predator in every respect.
Broad-Winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus)
The broad-winged hawk is a compact, stocky buteo of eastern North American forests that is best known for its spectacular autumn migrations, during which thousands of birds gather in swirling flocks called kettles at well-known migration watchpoints.
While primarily a predator of small mammals, frogs, and large insects in its forested breeding habitat, broad-winged hawks are opportunistic feeders that will take small chickens and bantams when the opportunity arises, particularly during migration when large numbers pass through rural and agricultural areas and individual birds may be hungry and motivated to try unfamiliar prey.
Harris’s Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus)
Harris’s hawk is a uniquely social raptor from the arid southwestern United States, Central America, and South America that hunts cooperatively in family groups of up to six birds — a behaviour almost unparalleled among raptors and one that makes it a particularly effective predator of larger prey than any individual bird could take alone.
Groups of Harris’s hawks hunting cooperatively are fully capable of taking full-sized chickens and have been known to systematically work through free-ranging flocks with a coordinated strategy reminiscent of pack-hunting mammals. Their social hunting behaviour, intelligence, and boldness make them one of the most challenging hawk predators for poultry keepers in the American Southwest to manage.
Zone-Tailed Hawk (Buteo albonotatus)
The zone-tailed hawk is a fascinating and deceptive predator of the American Southwest, Mexico, and Central America that has evolved a remarkable mimicry strategy — it closely resembles the turkey vulture in shape, flight style, and even wing posture, and takes advantage of the fact that many prey animals, including chickens and other poultry, have learned to ignore the non-threatening turkey vulture.
By mingling with soaring groups of turkey vultures and adopting their characteristic rocking, tilting flight style, the zone-tailed hawk approaches potential prey with dramatically reduced alertness and suspicion before breaking from the group to make a sudden, fast strike.
White-Tailed Hawk (Geranoaetus albicaudatus)
The white-tailed hawk is a large, striking buteo of open grasslands and coastal prairies in southern Texas and through Central and South America, readily identified by its clean white underparts, white tail with a distinctive dark subterminal band, and chestnut shoulder patches.
It is a powerful, opportunistic predator that hunts a wide variety of prey including small mammals, reptiles, large insects, and birds, and free-ranging chickens and bantams in rural properties within its range are vulnerable to attack. It frequently associates with grass fires, hunting the small animals flushed from cover by advancing flames with remarkable efficiency.
Rough-Legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus)
The rough-legged hawk is an arctic-breeding buteo that migrates southward into the continental United States and Europe during winter, bringing it into contact with rural farms and poultry operations in open, agricultural landscapes.
Named for its feathered legs — an adaptation to its arctic breeding environment — it is a large, variable hawk that hunts primarily by hovering in place while scanning the ground below, a hunting technique it uses with great skill and persistence.
While small mammals are strongly preferred, opportunistic attacks on bantams, chicks, and young chickens have been recorded, particularly during harsh winters when natural prey is scarce.
Short-Tailed Hawk (Buteo brachyurus)
The short-tailed hawk is a small to medium-sized buteo found in Florida and through Central and South America that hunts almost exclusively in soaring flight, launching fast, steep dives from considerable height onto bird prey spotted from above — a hunting technique known as stooping that is more typically associated with falcons.
It comes in two colour morphs, dark and light, and while small wild birds form the bulk of its diet, it will readily strike small chickens, bantams, and chicks when these are accessible in open, exposed runs or free-ranging in areas beneath the hawk’s soaring territory. Its aerial hunting technique makes it difficult for chickens to detect before the attack is already underway.
Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)
The common buzzard is the most widespread and abundant large raptor across Europe and Asia, a familiar sight soaring on broad, rounded wings over farmland, woodland edges, and upland moors throughout the temperate regions of the Old World.
While rabbits, small rodents, earthworms, and carrion form the backbone of its diet, the common buzzard is a highly opportunistic and adaptable feeder that will readily take bantam chickens, chicks, guinea fowl, and other small poultry when these are available and accessible.
Poultry keepers across the British Isles and Europe frequently report losses to buzzards, and the species’ increasing population in many countries means encounters between buzzards and free-ranging poultry are becoming more frequent.
Roadside Hawk (Rupornis magnirostris)
The roadside hawk is a small, common, and highly adaptable buteo found throughout Central and South America, where it is one of the most frequently encountered raptors in agricultural, suburban, and rural environments — including the farmyards and smallholdings where chickens are kept.
Despite its modest size, the roadside hawk is a bold and persistent predator that will repeatedly raid the same flock once it has identified chickens as a food source, taking chicks, bantams, and small breeds with ease. Its tolerance of human-modified landscapes and its comfort around human habitation make it a particularly persistent and difficult-to-deter predator for poultry keepers across Latin America.