Great-horned Owl fun in 2017

[centrarchid]

I think it is about to start. Previous years varied greatly in terms of what occurred. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/great-horned-owl-fun-in-2016.1090039/#post-16735188

This year I have many fewer chickens and seriously upgraded confinement plus some game cams to see what will be going down. Cotton-tailed Rabbit abundance higher than I have ever seen. Rabbits forage in plan sight of Great-horned owls all night long in locations I can monitor. Before all is said I think this will get interesting.

 

[Sara Ranch]

I hear an owl hooting all morning and late afternoon. Not sure I hear the owl at night. After reading the other thread, I guess I need to be concerned and extra protective of my chickens and ducks, huh?

I hope you don't have any losses this year.

 

[centrarchid]

Losses if any here will be low. Water trough is bigger threat than owls as lost two to that since last fall. The owls educate showing me what my limits are when it comes to protecting birds.

Hooting here minimal this year even though I can see owl on crag near house almost all night. I am not hearing juveniles begging either. Could be second breeding failure in a row or prey so abundant owl chicks not compelled to beg.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I use to have several chicken walks, all 100% or almost 100% free range. They varied in size from 120 acres to 3 acres. All most all my hens (about 400) were completely free and most of them roosted in the trees.

Great Horned Owls were my biggest predator problem. The hen owl begins incubation as soon as she lays the first egg. So an owl nest may produce chicks for several months. This means that the parent owls are under pressure to feed several age class of young. This is bad news for the chicken keeper.

 

[PatriciafromCO]

Do love my Owls such beautiful Creatures. My favorite is a snow owl that I see from time to time. My second CO was really aerial sensitive, I thought she was such a loone as a puppy that it worried me not understanding it lol.. I let her be and hoped she not hurt herself going after moths and the like lol ... The Owls will sit outside our property on the electric poles and screech at her... She always not let them perch like they did before and one got into our barn that was the last of them even attempting to come on the property.

 

[animals1981]

can u get decoy owls? owls are not that smart like people might think, you can trick them easy

 

[animals1981]

not a smart bird but a bird with tremendous power

 

[centrarchid]

Owls not causing real trouble. Most birds penned and other prey easier to take.

 

[centrarchid]

Finding owl secondaries below my grape arbor. Good for grapes but bad for rabbits. Rabbits have a bunch of little ones near orchard in the wild roses. A quarter acre area has dozens of little rabbits moving through the brush so a honey hole for the owls.

 

[animals1981]

center have you noticed a decline in predators with owls around?? i wish we had more. I saw one kill a mink. ANother one killed a skunk. I also read they will kill adult coons large snakes weasels.