Ever had an owl in the coop?

[TwinMommy2009]

Yep, thats a Screech Owl... I have some that nest in a box in one of my oaks every March.

 

[lleighmay]

Full grown screech owl. I've raised/rehabbed several of them. Death on mice though the chickens are probably safe unless they're chicks. Nonetheless I wouldn't want him in the coop. He'd be great to have on rodent patrol in the yard though!

 

[bukbugack]

Definately a gray screech owl. That's really neat! Cute little bird. Unless you have very small chickens I would also say it was after rodents. I hear them a lot at night near my house, in a very crowded residential neighborhood, but they are hard to spot. Some years back I worked as a naturalist at a nature sanctuary and we had a bunch of them. Really sweet birds. Surprisingly tame even when captured as adults. They make would make great pets, but you need a special permit (and a reason) to keep them as they are native birds.

 

[smarsh]

we had a Great Horned Owl to get into our chicken house when I was a kid. I am sure the chickens would have been in danger if it had gotten in that portion of the house, though it was likely rodents that attracted it.

that would be a western screech since you are in Washington. i can't tell one from the other.

 

[scooter147]

Little trivia. Do you know what the biggest predator of the skunk is?...the great horned owl. Why you ask? They have no sense of smell so the skunks defenses are usless.

 

[bukbugack]

The only thing that can tell the difference between an Eastern screech owl and a Western screech owl is another screech owl.

I've been worried about those horned owls lately. I hear them almost every night. My birds sometimes don't have the sense to go home on their own when it starts to get dark. They'll just sit outside in the dark until I make them go inside. They are quite unwary for chickens.

 

[houndit]

We did a couple years ago. I was feeding the rabbits, and could hear shooom shoooom as they ran back and forth across the wire. I thought they must really want out. I went out and fed them and then opened the door. There was a great horned owl sitting their. I was so shocked I just stood there with the door open until he flew out over my head. It was absolutely gorgeous! He did not harm anything.