Barred Owl - Should I worry?

[chickencheeper]

You wouldn't believe me if I told you how much I've read about owls today, I'll never look at them the same

Me to!

 

[twilightgecko]

where i am from, owls have a lot of symbolism and superstition .. we grow up respecting them..

 

[Frazzemrat1]

My husband and I both think that looks like attack mode. like a cat getting ready to pounce lol

That's exactly what that is. That was preparation for a stoop.

She may not bother the chickens in the daylight, when she's already sluggish... but Keep an eye out towards evening, or first thing in the morning. My neighbor's chickens were decimated by owls. Pretty much their fault, as they built the coop without a door, and the run without a roof.

 

[FrankHomestead]

That's exactly what that is. That was preparation for a stoop.

She may not bother the chickens in the daylight, when she's already sluggish... but Keep an eye out towards evening, or first thing in the morning. My neighbor's chickens were decimated by owls. Pretty much their fault, as they built the coop without a door, and the run without a roof.

Eek that's not very wise. My coop is fort Knox, I'm overly paranoid lol. Yea don't let your guard down around the owl, she may be trying to hypnotise you into trusting her. IDK if owls are that smart lol

 

[schatze]

She's alone with my birds literally from an hour before dawn until mid afternoon or later. Unless I quit my job there isn't much I can do regarding that. I don't know what her motives are other than to seemingly get physically closer to me, but for now I'm thankful for her companionship and keeping away the hawks, foxes, and raccoons who have killed my birds. When she appeared the killings stopped.

It could still be the long con. I don't know how 5 weeks translates into owl time.

 

[carlsaSC]

I had a barred owl in a tree overlooking my coop and run. The chickens all went into the run and were squawking up a storm. That's what caught my attention and drew me to look. This was afternoon hours, and the owl did not return the next day.

 

[Patinas]

View attachment 1142219

I just noticed in some of your photos she is gripping the branch with only her left foot and letting the right foot rest. Is it possible she has a foot problem? In others, she's using both.

Have you seen her perching like that often and does she ever rest the left foot like that? Maybe that's just normal owl resting stance?

As suggested, I would get a falconer's arm protector and see if she will land on you! That would be really amazing and pretty much prove someone raised her. I'd also dangle a mouse! I have no idea if those arm protectors are expensive or not but you could also try wrapping a thick towel on your arm and tape it so it doesn't move/fall off. I'd use a brown towel to mimic the color of leather.

She seems to want to be in the company of humans so I'm betting she would land on your arm!

 

[Zoomie]

@schatze: If you do decide to tempt the bird down on your arm, use a real leather glove, not a towel! Unless you have that towel folded really, really thickly. Those talons are razor sharp and she can grip incredibly tightly with them. She would not MEAN to hurt you but you could be hurt very seriously, and who needs a doctor visit with everything else in life? Best to play it very safe. Use the actual equipment that is made for having a falcon or owl sit your hand/arm. They make those out of heavy harness leather for a reason!

If she does ever sit on your arm, and if she was actually trained... you can get her to step off by offering her a perch from behind her legs. They are usually taught to step backwards onto the perch, in other words. Also, if you ever do pet her, only do it with the back of your hand on the breast. Your palm has oils that can stick to the feathers, giving her a mess to clean up to keep her feathers in good flight condition, plus, they don't seem to find the back of the hand as scary as the front of the hand.

That is so awesome you are having this experience. Birds of prey are really amazing animals not to mention gorgeous.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

At this point, instead of fish and wildlife, I would contact any local falconry clubs, find out if somebody's owl flew off. My only concern is that she's acting so out of character for a wild animal. And a feral animal (which is what she would be if she flew off from a falconer) have no to little fear of humans. As a falconry animal, she would see you as a food source. My worry is that if you don't pay up and offer her food, that she may eventually get pushy.
I too was concerned about that foot, since she didn't appear to be stretching in the pic.

eta, I also 100% agree with getting a falconry glove if you're going to attempt to tempt her to you. If she lands on your arm, you have to be prepared for the weight of this bird, which isn't like your chickens. And you have to be prepared for how strong her feet are. As said above, she won't mean to hurt you, but if you move at all, she'll tighten her grip to make sure she doesn't fall. Those talons will hurt if you don't have good thick leather between your skin and her talons. A towel simply won't cut it.

 

[Patinas]

Ok Ok Towel was a bad suggestion on my part. I don't know the first thing about falconry, I just know I wouldn't want it landing on me without something to protect me.

As @Frazzemrat1 suggested, calling a falconry club is a great idea! You could at least get some professional insight into her behavior. Someone from a club might even come out with the proper equipment and expertise to test her out and see if she would come to them.