Homesteaders

[rancher hicks]

Great horned owls will without a doubt. Many other species of owl are a bit too small to take a full grown bird, but chicks would be fair game.....

I don't know much about owls and haven't seen any. I think I may have seen an owl one day based on the way it was flying through the woods. Could have been a hawk or falcon right? Kind of gliding or soaring.

 

[boskelli1571]

I don't know much about owls and haven't seen any. I think I may have seen an owl one day based on the way it was flying through the woods. Could have been a hawk or falcon right? Kind of gliding or soaring.

They definitely glide, soundlessly. It is not uncommon to see them in the daytime, but they are usually roosting at this time. Of course, there's always one in every box..........

 

[DesertChic]

I don't know much about owls and haven't seen any. I think I may have seen an owl one day based on the way it was flying through the woods. Could have been a hawk or falcon right? Kind of gliding or soaring.

Owls are generally nocturnal hunters. They do glide and are typically soundless, but rarely hunt in the daytime. If you saw something gliding/soaring through the woods in the daytime it was more likely to be a hawk or falcon, which will definitely hunt your chickens in the daytime.

 

[rancher hicks]

Racoons are supposed to be nocturnal too aren't they? I saw one once during the day on the ice at the creek.

 

[boskelli1571]

Racoons are supposed to be nocturnal too aren't they? I saw one once during the day on the ice at the creek.

Yes & no. They are more frequently out and about between dusk & dawn, but they do venture out in the daytime. As long as it was acting 'normal', it shouldn't pose a threat. It was probably looking for food and smelled something tasty nearby. I have seen a few over the years during the daytime just minding their business. The only 'iffy' raccoon I had to shoot was at night - go figure!

 

[trsturself]

Correct, owls are mostly nocturnal hunters. Not really a threat to the chickens since they are going in a dusk and the owls are just coming out. Our chickens have a protected run since we have a lot of hawks and foxes around here though, so I'm not worried about the owls but wouldn't recommend inviting any type of raptor into your property if you don't have your chickens protected.

Racoons are supposed to be strictly nocturnal. If you see one around dusk I wouldn't be concerned but one in the middle of the day would cause me concern it was rabid.

 

[rancher hicks]

Correct, owls are mostly nocturnal hunters. Not really a threat to the chickens since they are going in a dusk and the owls are just coming out. Our chickens have a protected run since we have a lot of hawks and foxes around here though, so I'm not worried about the owls but wouldn't recommend inviting any type of raptor into your property if you don't have your chickens protected.

Racoons are supposed to be strictly nocturnal. If you see one around dusk I wouldn't be concerned but one in the middle of the day would cause me concern it was rabid.

When I delivered mail there was one. Folks were all concerned. A work crew nearby skewered it with a long drill bit. It was clearly sick. That was years ago.

 

[wyoDreamer]

For the plastic for the barns and such, I am assuming that you are referring to those panels with the many strips hanging down. If your animals are afraid of them, curl up most of the flaps, leaving just the very outer ones hanging down. They will go through the opening no problem. Then just drop a flap every couple of days. Soon it wont bother them at all.

Rancher, thanks for the advice on the tomatoes. We are looking to make a garden this spring and I was trying to figure out how to handle all the tomatoes that I am going to plant. Late summer is going to be so busy around here, that if I can put off canning the tomatoes until later that will be a good thing.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Boy, sorry my last post was so late and off topic... stupid computer didn't refresh from last time I was on.

I almost got knocked out a deerstand by an owl. Turns out that I put the stand in his favorite hunting tree. His treebranch was right above my head. When he came in for a landing at dusk, I turned my head just in time to see him about 4 feet from me. At eye level it seemed... all silent and big feet with talons extended for touchdown. I'm sure that I scared him just as bad as he scared me... but I was standing 8 feet up on a 3x3 foot platform holding my bow, right on the edge of a 12 foot deep ravine... That would have been a hard landing.

One day I watched that poor owl get chased from tree to tree across a pasture by a flock of crows. Crows and owls are enemies. Owls will kill and eat crows at night, so crows will attack any owls that they find during the day.

 

[rancher hicks]