I have no front pictures of this beautiful bird whose picture I captured, so identification could be a little difficult. But to me, it doesn't look like a Great Horned Owl, to me, it looks like a Great Grey. What do you think?
Two nights ago a cockerel was killed. My cockerel pen isn't covered, and I clip a wing so they cannot fly out. Cockerels there are either sold or grow until I butcher them. Usually it is the latter. The cockerel was torn in half, so I was thinking it was a raccoon or something along those lines.
I set the left overs outside the pen and setup a game camera. Unfortunately, a juvenile wild turkey was killed on the road by the house yesterday, so I grabbed that up to bait the camera, too. I am glad, because that was one hungry owl! I am only showing the best picture, but it came and went from 10pm until 6am, decimating the carcasses throughout the night. There is very little left, even of the turkey.
It sitting on the turkey gives you an idea of size, too. That was quite a large juvie turkey, and the owl sitting on it is also quite big! Much bigger than the chicken it snacked on.
My solution is obviously to cover the pen with the cockerels, so the owl cannot have them as a snack. My other pens are covered, so they're safe.
Two nights ago a cockerel was killed. My cockerel pen isn't covered, and I clip a wing so they cannot fly out. Cockerels there are either sold or grow until I butcher them. Usually it is the latter. The cockerel was torn in half, so I was thinking it was a raccoon or something along those lines.
I set the left overs outside the pen and setup a game camera. Unfortunately, a juvenile wild turkey was killed on the road by the house yesterday, so I grabbed that up to bait the camera, too. I am glad, because that was one hungry owl! I am only showing the best picture, but it came and went from 10pm until 6am, decimating the carcasses throughout the night. There is very little left, even of the turkey.
It sitting on the turkey gives you an idea of size, too. That was quite a large juvie turkey, and the owl sitting on it is also quite big! Much bigger than the chicken it snacked on.
My solution is obviously to cover the pen with the cockerels, so the owl cannot have them as a snack. My other pens are covered, so they're safe.
