How can I scare away an Owl?

[chickendogblake]

I've been hearing an owl for about a week in my backyard right before dark. I chose to start locking my chickens in the coop at night rather than leaving it open to the pen like I have been doing. The other day, I opened the back door and the owl went flying away from the coop. I bet it was just about to make a move! The next morning, my roosters were crowing as usual, and then I heard the owl hooting. The roosters stopped crowing all at once and I never heard a peep out of them the rest of the morning. I put a scarecrow near the coop, hoping that works to scare away the owl. Are there any other practices to scare them away and keep them out of my yard away from my chickens?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I've been hearing an owl for about a week in my backyard right before dark. I chose to start locking my chickens in the coop at night rather than leaving it open to the pen like I have been doing. The other day, I opened the back door and the owl went flying away from the coop. I bet it was just about to make a move! The next morning, my roosters were crowing as usual, and then I heard the owl hooting. The roosters stopped crowing all at once and I never heard a peep out of them the rest of the morning. I put a scarecrow near the coop, hoping that works to scare away the owl. Are there any other practices to scare them away and keep them out of my yard away from my chickens?

Hi, and welcome!

Sounds like it's time to assess the situation and determine if the owl is the threat you perceive it to be. The presence of the owl may not be as much of a danger to your birds as you believe. You mention a pen - is it completely enclosed (top included) or more of an open air enclosure? If the former, what type of wire have you used? Do you keep your birds inside the pen at all times or allow free-ranging for some portion of the day? This will play into whether your efforts and investments are better spent in trying to scare away predators (the owl is the one you know about, for every predator you see/hear there are several you have not yet realized are there) or addressing it from a security perspective with regards to our coop and run.

 

[centrarchid]

Owl coming back frequently even when not able to access chickens is indicative of rodents being present. Efforts we make to provide for chickens also promote rodent abundance.

When owl gets to be a genuine nuisance my approach is to give is a close call. I used to have to go out multiple times a night when it comes out and make certain it knew I was there so it would not be able to hunt without getting close to me. Dogs now do same. Owl quickly learns time better spent where potential threats can be avoided. In some instances like my current, you may need to repeat process periodically. For me Great-horned Owls come back during week around the full moon. No full moon, no owls.

 

[chickendogblake]

Hi, and welcome!

Sounds like it's time to assess the situation and determine if the owl is the threat you perceive it to be. The presence of the owl may not be as much of a danger to your birds as you believe. You mention a pen - is it completely enclosed (top included) or more of an open air enclosure? If the former, what type of wire have you used? Do you keep your birds inside the pen at all times or allow free-ranging for some portion of the day? This will play into whether your efforts and investments are better spent in trying to scare away predators (the owl is the one you know about, for every predator you see/hear there are several you have not yet realized are there) or addressing it from a security perspective with regards to our coop and run.

I use chicken wire for the walls, buried 1.5 ft. on all perimeters. Currently, there is no roof or top on the pen, but I plan to use chicken wire to enclose it completely before I leave for North Dakota this week. When I know I'll be spending a few hours outside on nice days, I open the coop door and let them roam. They don't stray too far from the coop, and I never leave them out more than a couple hours. I haven't seen or heard the owl since my last post. I put a scarecrow up on one of the posts of the fence. Could this be helping?

 

[aart]

Scarecrow might help for a while, until it gets used to seeing it.

Chicken wire will keep most chickens in, but it won't keep most predators out......keep your chooks locked in a safe coop at night.

 

[Tenneesse]

On the one occasion I left my coop open resulted in a hen and chics killed and eaten. When night falls preds come out whether winged or otherwise. I always lock the coop down at night and open again in the morning. I did lose my ranging birds to a Bobcat over the summer all taken in daylight hours because simple pickings had been developed I was fortunate enough to kill the Bobcat last week but again lost a fine Wyanndotte in the process.

I'll continue to range my chickens but will always tuck them in at night and lock the coop securely.

Hawks and Owls and Eagles never stop hunting same with ground predators.

 

[JLin]

 

[animals1981]

if the owl can get in at night then anything can

if hes just hanging around that is what u want cause hes killing all the weasels, skunks, foxes martens and whatever your chickens attract.