Great Horned Owl in my Pigeon Loft - Pics (some graphic)

Thank you all for your sympathy with my losses. I take full responsibility for the dead pigeons. I realized it wasn't the Owls fault because he's just doing what his instincts tell him to. I have taken this incident as a lesson and will modify my bob entrance so I can lock it at night.

BerkleySprings: Yes we live in a wonderful area. We're in the Cascade mountain range on the eastern slopes. Lot's of timber around and lots of wildlife. It does have it's own price though in terms of no broadband, 20 minute drive to the nearest store, harsh winters, and a short growing season. It's manageable but we're in the "happy" season right now. Once the snows hit, we're in the "grumpy" season. LOL! 2 years ago we had over 6 feet of snow on the ground and we could only see the tips of the posts from our garden fence poking up through the white. We were basically snowed in and our driveway was a bobsled course. We got our truck stuck despite 4WD and all four tired chained up. Our driveway was so narrow from all the snow berms from plowing that we had to roll down the windows and exit the truck "Dukes of Hazard" style! It's fun living like that if you don't have anything else going on but as soon as you have commitments then it really sucks to battle Old man winter.

Dan

So, so sorry for your losses and thank you for safely releasing the owl. Such a beautiful bird.

I've had raccoons, opossums, and my own cat get in my loft. The coon and cat got in through the trap door, but the possum we found got in by pushing through under the roof (the metal had warped over the years and had some loose spots). Needless to say, our cat was gone as soon as I found it in there. I now have a wooden flap that covers my traps at night.

See the covers? They hinge up and latch to the wall to keep them open.

On my young bird loft though, we have a different system. Our landing board doubles as a settling cage. When it's closed, nothing can get in or out.

See that wire landing 'board' above the release doors. It hinges up and closes at the roof, boxing in the trap doors. All of this is on top of the aviary below.

Becky,

Thanks for those photos. I've got some ideas of how to modify my entrance and I'll post a picture or two once I get the work completed. I won't get around to it until this coming weekend though. Until then, it's just blocked off with a huge hunk of wood.

Dan

Little jerk. Glad you released it though.

We learn from nature. Thankful to see your kind approach. I know first hand about losses. I am grateful for your kind treatment to the Owl and hopefully your adjustment to keep your flock safe.

I just stumbled across the BYC site today and was reading about the incident you had with the GHO getting into your pigeon loft. For some reason I am not able to view the pictures. I curious because you had so many comments about how beautiful the owl was, I just wanted to see it. Also, I was wondering if you were able to resolve the issue of unwanted birds, animals, etc. getting into the loft.