Our barn is quite tall inside but all the doors are low. Birds frequently get trapped in the top because they don't know to fly down to get out. However, usually, after the initial panic they do figure it out. This hawk has been in the barn now for two days and is still determined to get out the top somehow. Does anyone have any ideas about how to get him to fly down ?

I wonder if he would fly down for a chunk of meat? Might be getting hungry.

It might be a juvenile and can't quite figure out how to find the escape route. I'd go with what Woofie suggests and maybe place a piece of meat near the open door to entice him to leave. If he's been in there a couple of days without food I have a feeling it might work. Keep us posted!

I was thinking of putting one of the chickens in a safe cage on the floor near the door. Do you think that would be better? Don't hawks prefer live food?

Oh, I'd never be able to put a caged chicken out for bait, it would scare the poor chicken. I'm sure if the hawk is hungry enough it won't have to be live prey ... I think hawks and other raptors in captivity are sometimes fed chunks of meat.

You might try chicken livers, and you also might have better luck if the meat is warm to the touch. Also, if it's warm, the bird should be able to smell it better. I think.

Thanks, I will try the warm meat first.

Just warm, not cooked. I was looking at a website with information on raising hawks and they suggested putting the meat in warm water long enough to get the chill off it.

We gave it a few seconds in the microwave - so far no luck.

PP ....

I don't know anything about this kind of thing, but I have a hunch you are right about a wild hawk targeting live prey. I see the hawks flying over the meadow below as they hunt for food every day. I've never actually seen them going for road kill. I think they leave that for the ravens and crows ...

I think your idea of a chicken or smaller prey may be more on target than a hunk of meat because you are dealing with a bird that has never survived in captivity and probably does not recognize even a warmed hunk of meat as food. Do birds have a sense of smell ? I honestly don't know ..

I am unsure about having the chicken in a cage would work for you. Of course, I've never tried to solve this kind of problem, so what do I know ?

Just a thought and yes, I know it seems inhumane ... is there anyway you can tether the prey to a post pounded into the floor of the barn near the door of the barn ? The chicken will will then move around and squawk in fear, which may bring the hawk down and if it's near the door it may go for the prey or it may go out to freedom.

Chickens on farms are not pets, so if you have to sacrifice one to save the hawk, you may not think of the chicken the way we do where we are not commonly raising chickens.

Smiles,
Lyn

Lyn is right, wild hawks go after live prey. I believe they have to be raised or trained to accept anything else. Same with snakes. Heh, if you have a pet store nearby that caters to snake owners, you might be able to buy a live feeder mouse to use as bait. I was just thinking that if he's hungry, he might at least be tempted to investigate a piece of meat and perhaps fly out the open door.

I can just see PP tying a tether to the leg of a feeder mouse and then tying it to a post pounded into the floor of the barn. What a mental picture ...

However, if PP has barn cats, I don't think that mouse would last long as bait.

Smiles,
Lyn

- - - That was part of the reason for caging the chicken... plus the racoons...

Ha! I was thinking of putting the mouse in a cage, rather than stressing a useful chicken. Of course, then what does one do with Mr. Mouse after he has hopefully served his purpose. Hmmm.
Of course, if I were having to deal with this, I'd probably try the mouse, have him escape, then the cats would go after the mouse, and the hawk would go after my cats. Sigh.

I finally figured that part out, PP. I am sorry I laughed, but the picture in my mind was just too funny. I had forgotten about barn cats until the mention of a feeder mouse.

I know the situation is not funny.

Do you think placing the cage just outside of the barn door might work ? The hawk may be attracted more to the sound of a prey animal in distress than to a hunk of meat it does not recognize as food.

Smiles,
Lyn

Oh, I think Lyn has a good suggestion there!

Maybe there are mice IN the barn and that's why he flew in there? Other birds nesting in there?

Hawks prey on snakes, diurnal rodents like squirrels and chipmunks, and smaller birds. All you need to do is get his attention and attract him to the door, right? How about a fake snake? Coil it up at the entrance to look like it's basking in the sun?

Do you have a dog toy or stuffed animal that looks like a squirrel? Pet stores have them.

Thanks for all the good suggestions. Since it is a Coopers hawk, the wild life rescue folks also suggested the mouse idea (caged, not tethered - although the thought of a tethered mouse is a macabre image). I wonder if Pet Co has a return policy on rodents?

I would not use a fake snake. I sure would hate if the hawk just happened to end up ingesting a piece of it.

I like the mouse or chicken or rat in a cage just outside the barn door. I don't think any dead meat is going to do anything except draw flies.

If you're going the "mouse route" maybe a rat might be better?? easier to see + bigger meal....if it's tethered the hawk could catch it and have a meal after being without food for so long ... just a thought....