Help! An Owl Is Eating My Babies!

[Maihlet]

A week ago I woke up to the sound of a THUD on my upstairs deck. didn't think much of it, thought a branch fell from a tree. It's happened before. Then Saturday Morning heard dozens of Crows making lots of noise in the Trees. Went outside and there they have a HUGE Owl surrounded on top of a Tree. They keep attacking it and it flies a little further away, eventually the Owl takes a LONG flight out of sight.

Then I notice one of the two new Black Muscovy Ducks I have is missing. I got them a couple weeks ago and they wouldn't go in with the other ducks at night. They would fly up onto our upstairs deck and settle there. Now there was only one, so I figured the THUD I heard the night before was the missing Muscovy Duck becoming "WHO WHO's" dinner.

Then last night we got side tracked and forgot how much earlier it seems to get dark out. Suddenly, our Geese came up to the Door and started tapping. That got our attention. My Wife ran out and saw a HUGE Owl swoop down and pin our Prize Drake to the ground! She scared it off. The poor little guy had some small puncture wounds but his feathers were able to protect him and the Owl didn't have enough time to really sink his claws in.

The Drake is doing fine now. But now I know what happened to another Chicken and the Muscovy.

I don't mind having Owls around with all the squirrels and mice for them to eat, but now they want Poultry? I DON'T THINK SO!

Anyone have any advice on how to deter them?

 

[Olive Hill]

You'll just need to be diligent about locking the birds up at night, or if you cannot commit to that put them in a covered run all the time.

 

[3rocksandme]

An enclosed coop. Owls aren't the only chicken eaters out at night.

I am very curious though, I have never seen an owl live, in person, and in the wild.

 

[Olive Hill]

Quote:

Is this a typo? Do you mean "aren't"? I guess if you didn't count coyotes, raccoons, foxes, mink, rats, opossum, bobcats, cougars, bears, domestic dogs, snakes and probably a few more I'm forgetting just off the top of my head then owls would be the "only chicken eaters out at night" but that'd be discounting a whole lot of chicken eaters who are, in fact, out at night.

 

[Maihlet]

I think 3rocksandme meant "Winged" Chicken Eaters at night. Usually we are VERY good about locking up everyone at night (myself included). But I guess with it getting darker sooner now, it just got away from us. If the Geese hadn't come up to the Door and started Tapping, the Owl would have had a full belly of Duck!

 

[3rocksandme]

I did meant aren't. oops. must edit.

 

[sourland]

A great horned owl is not beyond trying to kill your geese. A full grown female is quite capable of doing so. Owls are not beyond entering your coop through the chicken door; therefore, everything must be locked down securely. They will even hunt at daybreak or dusk, and will hunt on overcast days if they are hungry enough. Encourage the crows to stay around by putting out feed for them. They hate owls.

 

[BlackBart]

Once he knows there is easy food there he will keep coming back until he either, kills them all, he gets killed or he can't get at the birds.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Owls will even crawl through the little pop door on your coop at night. You may have had your birds outside for years, but it only takes once for something to find them and then they know where to return to for an easy meal. Locking them up at night is the only solution. Sorry about your two birds.

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

vicious things those Owl are.....they will stop at nothing until they have killed the last bird.