A big white bird flying by night?!

[cgmccary]

Barn Owls are voracious eaters of rodents (mice and rats).

I have been around both Barn Owls and Barred Owls (living on the premises) and never had either bother LF chickens. I had a pair of Barred Owls with chickens on an open roost below the owls & they NEVER bothered the chickens.

It is the Great Horned Owl that is the feared predator of chickens (and is likely not what you have). I heard one last night. My chickens are locked up at night, but my geese are out 24/7.

Also, I live in Alabama and have seen a Snowy Owl down here in the winter before. It is rare but it does happen. I do not pretend to know if a Snowy is a danger to chickens.

 

[Flock Leader]

OK, update - a very alarming coincidence!

Last night (a day after the owl was sighted) two White Leghorn pullets for some reason decided not to go to sleep in their "sleeping cell" (we have a big open coop, with several divisions of lockable "cells" where the chickens sleep), but instead to roost way high up in the coop, so that I couldn't bring them down. I gave up, too lazy/indolent to haul a ladder... and the morning after, I found one of the pullets dead on the coop floor. There was no sign of injuries or wounds, but she was dead as a doornail, and I found her NOT right below the place where they had gone to sleep, but in another corner.

No heaps of feathers or anything either.

Could it be the owl?? As I said these were White Leghorns - very easy to spot - and perhaps the owl tried to take one of them, and literally scared her to death?

I have other 3 adults (a rooster and two hens, not bantams) who insist on sleeping outside and roosting very high up. All my other chickens are locked up.

 

[Life is Good!]

A barn owl attacked and killed several pullets earlier this spring in our flock. Do NOT discount them for taking a nearly full-sized chicken.

Our pullets were about 4#'s when a barn owl took them progressively over 2 nights. Don't be fooled - an easy meal means a return trip for the owl. Do try to get your chicks inside for the night. I caught the owl in the act the second night. Few feathers were ever found of the pullets taken.

 

[Flock Leader]

A barn owl attacked and killed several pullets earlier this spring in our flock. Do NOT discount them for taking a nearly full-sized chicken.

Our pullets were about 4#'s when a barn owl took them progressively over 2 nights. Don't be fooled - an easy meal means a return trip for the owl. Do try to get your chicks inside for the night. I caught the owl in the act the second night. Few feathers were ever found of the pullets taken.

OK, I realize the owl may be a threat to chickens... but could it kill the pullet and not take her? Why? Or was it just a coincidence? Could it pull the pullet off the roost and break her neck, then leave her for some reason? (there were no external injuries).

 

[aart]

OK, I realize the owl may be a threat to chickens... but could it kill the pullet and not take her? Why? Or was it just a coincidence? Could it pull the pullet off the roost and break her neck, then leave her for some reason? (there were no external injuries).

Yes. If owl was scared off for some reason it might leave the corpse.
Pullet could have been scared off roost for another reason and flown into wall and broke her neck.

 

[Life is Good!]

Yes. If owl was scared off for some reason it might leave the corpse.

This did happen to us. The barn owl attacked first on a Thursday night - the first night I hadn't locked the pullets up in their PVC tractor coop (all other hens were in their constructed coop and owl wouldn't go in that - but the PVC tractor was inviting in that the owl could see into it) - owl struck about 9:30pm. Took 2 chicks who were about 14wks old, about 4#'s (one cockerel, one pullet).

Next night, about same time, I 'interrupted' the feast - owl had killed two pullets and was trying to get one out of the coop. I scared it and it dropped the pullet to escape. Apparently, the pullets were big enough that it was quite a challenge for the owl to get the carcass out of the PVC tractor and up over the run fence (a 6' fence). The owl was apparently tired enough to not be able to fly up into our treetops - instead, it flew laterally about 75' and rested on the ground briefly before finally making it up to a branch about 20' off the ground. We've got 2 acres of meadow edged with large pines, oaks and box elder trees - it was a moonlight night so I could see the white owl against the green grass quite clearly.

Third night, I beat it outside at sunset to lock everyone up. Our dog desperately wanted out about 9:30pm - went out and the barn owl was sitting in the trees above the run screeching. It literally sounded like an old woman screaming. Eerie sound. Owl was ticked that the 'restaurant' was closed. Tough toenails. Owl had to hunt for other prey instead! I've only heard the owl a few times over the summer, haven't seen it in our property since. But perhaps it saw me and my dog?!

 

[Flock Leader]

This did happen to us. The barn owl attacked first on a Thursday night - the first night I hadn't locked the pullets up in their PVC tractor coop (all other hens were in their constructed coop and owl wouldn't go in that - but the PVC tractor was inviting in that the owl could see into it) - owl struck about 9:30pm. Took 2 chicks who were about 14wks old, about 4#'s (one cockerel, one pullet).

Next night, about same time, I 'interrupted' the feast - owl had killed two pullets and was trying to get one out of the coop. I scared it and it dropped the pullet to escape. Apparently, the pullets were big enough that it was quite a challenge for the owl to get the carcass out of the PVC tractor and up over the run fence (a 6' fence). The owl was apparently tired enough to not be able to fly up into our treetops - instead, it flew laterally about 75' and rested on the ground briefly before finally making it up to a branch about 20' off the ground. We've got 2 acres of meadow edged with large pines, oaks and box elder trees - it was a moonlight night so I could see the white owl against the green grass quite clearly.

Third night, I beat it outside at sunset to lock everyone up. Our dog desperately wanted out about 9:30pm - went out and the barn owl was sitting in the trees above the run screeching. It literally sounded like an old woman screaming. Eerie sound. Owl was ticked that the 'restaurant' was closed. Tough toenails. Owl had to hunt for other prey instead! I've only heard the owl a few times over the summer, haven't seen it in our property since. But perhaps it saw me and my dog?

Something like this might have happened to us, then. It might have taken the pullet and killed her, then dropped it off because she was too heavy, or because it was scared by our dog or something... anyway, lesson learned: all chickens must be locked up at dusk.

By the way, I love your signature!!

 

[Life is Good!]

Something like this might have happened to us, then. It might have taken the pullet and killed her, then dropped it off because she was too heavy, or because it was scared by our dog or something... anyway, lesson learned: all chickens must be locked up at dusk.

By the way, I love your signature!!

We didn't leave the carcass out to see if the owl would come back for 'leftovers'.
Do be vigilant though...the attack was in June, it's now November and last night, the owl was back - about an hour after dusk. My husband saw it and went to check on the flock. Was funny because he came in and asked, 'how many hens do we have?!' - flock numbers keep changing and he's lost track! Thankfully, the owl won't go through the pop door on the coop. Or it's not hungry enough yet to do so. We'll see about the dead of winter.

Good luck! Thanks for the compliment!

 

[sourland]

Life Is Good, the owl hasn't gone through the pop door YET. If and when hungry enough it will go into the coop unless the door is closed at night. One night I failed to secure the bobs on my pigeon loft. The next morning there was a large GHO in my loft. I removed it using a fishing net and made sure to secure the bobs the next night. At dusk the GHO was on top of my aviary trying to get into the loft. They are brazen and bold killers. Take care with your birds.

 

[Vamvakas]

Could be a ghost?