Gutsy owl

[Brittwearsboots]

We had an owl kill one of our turkeys prior to netting off their entire coop, and we ended up making them an aviary. But our ducks cannot fly, so they have much shorter fencing that would be difficult to build the a-frame to put netting over, and the owl won't stop lurking! The turkeys are fine, but I went out to check them this morning ans the dang owl was in the yard right by the tall grassy area where we built their pen. At 8:30 in the morning! He was lurking about by them, walking in the grass. I put them inside their hut at night and let them out every morning after they've laid or before I leave for work. But he must be desperate because I've never seen it during the day. I do not want to destroy it, but how can I successfully keep it away even during the day?

 

[Brittwearsboots]

Correction**the turkeys are fine in their aviary, but the ducks have an open pen.

 

[BirdGirl2004]

Owls are a very nasty predator to chickens, so you'll want to take care of it right away! In my opinion, I would try to kill the predator because he will always be there... lurking around your ducks!! I wouldn't want to kill the owl either, but it will protect the lives of your ducks! Maybe you could try and set a live trap or something to catch it, and then give it to animal control or release it somewhere else??

Good luck!

 

[townchicks]

Maybe build a pvc frame to drape netting over. It won't keep out anything but owls and hawks, but that is your primary concern right now. My guess would be that the baby owls are getting pretty big now and the parents are having to work pretty hard to feed them. What kind of owl is it?

 

[Brittwearsboots]

I believe it is a horned owl, but it was not any bigger than my large laying chickens. It was not as big as I eas expecting since it killed a 15 pound turkey.

 

[Brittwearsboots]

I've never seen one during the day before. We just saw it last night by our barn, so there could be more or just one persistent owl. But a few weeks ago it killed the direct neighbor's cat in our barn too. He's just a huge nuisance. I think they're protected in my area, so I wouldn't be able to legally kill it without the right steps. But I've also heard that if you have them relocated, they will keep coming back.

 

[Brittwearsboots]

I hung up wind chimes too. I'm trying everything.

 

[townchicks]

That sounds about right. Do you have a wildlife center near you? They might be able to give you some tips to discourage them. I still think netting is your best bet, though. Personally, I'm against killing raptors for many reasons, not the least of which is they control the rat and mouse population. We don't want to be overrun with those, do we. I've seen video of what it looked like in Australia, when they were over run.

 

[centrarchid]

Owls are a very nasty predator to chickens, so you'll want to take care of it right away! In my opinion, I would try to kill the predator because he will always be there... lurking around your ducks!! I wouldn't want to kill the owl either, but it will protect the lives of your ducks! Maybe you could try and set a live trap or something to catch it, and then give it to animal control or release it somewhere else??

Good luck!

Legal issues with this approach.

 

[centrarchid]

I use deer netting for GHO's. They may have have to get tangled in it once to get the point but the soon learn to give it wide birth.