I currently live about 3/4 mile from a licensed falconer. His bird(s) are routinely at my house on top of the chicken pen. On one occasion, I caught his Coopers Hawk in the pen and spent 4 hours trying to locate someone who would take the bird from me(before I knew whose bird it was). A local falconer came to the rescue and located the owner through his sources. The owner visited and thanked us and told me his bird wasn't trained to go after birds. I know what I saw and this hawk was attacking my bantam hens. He said it was "hacking". Is it customary to turn birds loose with bells and "tassels" on? I was under the impression that only the"master" fed the bird to insure it kept returning. Does any state entity check up on falconers? While I would never harm the bird, my concern is that it can't fend for itself with it's bells on and that it had parasites when I caught it. The bird I caught had many lice(they crawled onto me). Not a sign of a healthy bird.
Just this past weekend his Coopers hawk was back again. It will fly extremely close to people (1'to 2' above their heads). We were able to chase it away again. I would be interested in your opinion here. I live in Upstate NY outside of Albany.

Hacking is usually done on young birds that have being raised from chicks. Once the bird is at the age where it would be leaving the nest a radio transmitter is attached to it, they are placed in a box in an appropriate area, and supplied food. The bird will naturally start exploring and chasing things, unfortunately like your bantams, and learn how to hunt. Once the bird is somewhat independent it is recaught and its falconry training continues. Gives the falconer a stonger and better bird.
Some might consider hacking a mature bird just to keep it in shape when not regularly hunting it. This is usually bad form for the reasons you mentioned which could lead to it getting shot or injured. Especially in an area where it will routinely encounter other people.

I believe the "tassels" you referred to are leater strips attached to the legs. They are called jesses. Hacking is a good practice only in areas where the bird has lots of room to roam without annoying neighbors. A hawk should never be hacked with jesses or bells on. These could get the bird caught in tree where it would starve to death. Mites on falconry bird indicate a very poor quality falconer. Call you local fish and game.

HJ Wilson, I wasn't sure what they were called but, the bird did catch it's feet in the netting by my coop. I live in a very rural area and have an open field with a dead fall at the top. The hawks sit there and blitz anything that moves in the field. I have offered the field to falconers to trap there first Red Tail.
The bird I was talking about is a Cooper's hawk raised from a chick. THe falconer that took the bird off my hands said it was the biggest Cooper's he's ever seen but it was thin. I have tried to talk to our Wild life officers but they have better things to do.
On the day I caught it, it took 4 hours and many phone calls to locate someone who would take it. I tried calling our local DEC hot lines and never got an answer. A gentleman from Utah contacted someone who lived about 10 miles from me. I wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible because of the state laws.
And.. No I don't shoot them. In the 10 years I have had chickens, I have only lost about 5 birds due to hawks and falcons. Coyotes, coon and fox remain my biggest problem. The chicken are free range so I know I'm playing with fire. THanks for your help both of you.

Next time you catch it , bring it to the DEC and just release it in their offices !!!

My luck they would arrest my arse for having a bird without a license. Our DEC looks at every situation as a way to make $. as long as these people pay their yearly license fee they are blind to the happenings.

A Cooper's hawk is an accipiter, and the owner of this bird is full of crap if the thinks it won't kill a chicken. In the wild, this bird's food source is damn near entirely made up of other birds. This bird is hard wired to kill its other feathered friends.

I would put the thing in a box next time and bring it to the DNR's doorstep with a note explaining the current problem.

MG

I just had a talk with a fellow who works at an airport . Many airports have trained hawks to keep away the birds . Bird strikes can be very dangerous . They just had one in La Guardia airport in NY . An older 2 engine aircraft ,on take off ran into a flock of canada geese ! Three hits - wing, engine and windshield !! By some miracle he made an emergancy landing .The pilot was very shaken !!

Watch "Myth Busters" when they shoot a chicken through an air plane cock pit. Makes you wonder.
My nephew is a pilot and he has some horror stories too.