How can i scare off a HUGE owl?

[CrazyTalk]

Not true that owls ,especially the great horned, will not hunt during the day.

Owls mostly hunt at night, but smitteez is right that some will hunt during the day. I've been told that you can tell the time that an owl hunts by the color of it's irises.


To the people saying to fire warning shots at the things - that's a felony.

 

[CrazyTalk]

Foxhunter is right. It is obviously there for free meals and you need to convince it that your chickens aren't worth it. Personally, I am growing weary of the idea that everything that attacks or threatens to attack my chickens, whether by land, sea, or air is protected, but my chickens are not. I am just supposed to take a lawn chair, crack a can of beer, and sit back to watch this "wonder of nature" tear one of my chickens to shreds.

What are you talking about?

You can shoot pretty much anything that harasses your livestock - pretty much the only thing protected is raptors. Dogs, cats, coyotes, raccoons, skunks, mustellids, you can shoot em all - just not birds of prey.

 

[Honey B]

I am new to chickens but have worked with birds of prey for many years. To repeat what others have said...all raptors are protected, shoting at them (even warning shots) is illegal. From my experience as a falconer, owls are more likely to be staking out the rodents visiting your coops at night than the chickens. This doesn't mean they will not take a chicken or two of the opportunity presents itself and they are hungry. Birds of prey are solely motivated by hunger to hunt. I have spent many a frustrating hunt staring at my raptor while they watch squirrels scamper through the trees because they were not hungry (hunting weight not dialed in correctly). Raptors do not kill indiscriminately like other predators. If they leave a kill it is because they have eaten all they could and are full or got scard off. Best way to deal with an owl is to herd the chickens into the coop before dusk, acknowledge you might lose a bird or two but at least your rodent population will stay in check.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

 

[Harborotter]

In some situations you can get a special permit and then you can shoot an owl. You have to prove that you are doing everything in your power to detour them. They don't like issuing them but it is possible to get one.

Suckers are as thick as vermin anyways. They are getting extremely bold and even attacking humans. Being protected as long as they have is causing them to lose a lot of their fear of humans.

I had a couple that I would go outside and scream at, at the top of my lungs. They would fly a few trees off and come right back in. They would even reach through my fencing and rip my chickens, guineas and ducks heads off. They were relentless. I would even light up all my offroad lights on my Toyota FJ straight at my coops and crank up the heavy metal as loud as I could. None of this scared them much. I spent many nights watching the moon rise and then set over the mountains.

The owls learned to work together and scare my birds out while one waited at the fencing for the scared birds when they would run away.

I have no compassion for these winged wolves that kill and eat very little only to come right back and kill again.

My ducks are much more rare than these owls that are killing them.

After spending many nights outside, guarding my birds, I am absolutely amazed at how many of them are concentrated in small areas.

They should be like any other predator, legal to kill if they are killing your livestock.

 

[centrarchid]

With next bird loss, consider leaving the deheaded carcass out. Then explore methods to keep owl from getting at the carcass. Try to use methods that can be adapted to where your birds roost. My place crawls with GHO's at times and they can be beaten without actually going after the owls which even when ignoring legality issues is not the most effective approach.

See some of the fun I had with them in thread linked below. Losses light but still a headache.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/979818/great-horned-owl-fun-in-2015

 

[Harborotter]

You are much more tolerant than I am. I moved from that location as I couldn't handle it anymore. I have owls at my current home but my newly purchased Maremmas have helped out. Even though they are very young, still puppies, they already don't like owls, or any other wildlife coming around. Most nights they alarm us though I lost an Australian Spotted Duck hen last night. The owl only made off with the head. I am sure it was interrupted by either my geese or puppies. I haven't had a loss in over a month. It was so nice.

Mostly they want my guineas at this house.... They have taken 6 so far. Sometimes I just want to give up and sell all my birds. I lost exactly 50 chickens in one night to a pair of skunks that dug their way in this past Summer. I broke down and cried when I discovered that atrocity.

These owls are not nearly as aggressive as the ones at my last house were though. I am thankful for that.

 

[centrarchid]

Losses I suffered are a lot less than you have suffered and I stopped it even with owls coming in every night. Penning your birds up is often the best practice if dogs currently not up to the task of running the owl off. Look into setting up coop / roost so all birds must enter on foot. Then make entrance too tight for dogs assuming they are not safe around birds yet.

 

[hayley3]

I am new to chickens but have worked with birds of prey for many years. To repeat what others have said...all raptors are protected, shoting at them (even warning shots) is illegal. From my experience as a falconer, owls are more likely to be staking out the rodents visiting your coops at night than the chickens. This doesn't mean they will not take a chicken or two of the opportunity presents itself and they are hungry. Birds of prey are solely motivated by hunger to hunt. I have spent many a frustrating hunt staring at my raptor while they watch squirrels scamper through the trees because they were not hungry (hunting weight not dialed in correctly). Raptors do not kill indiscriminately like other predators. If they leave a kill it is because they have eaten all they could and are full or got scard off. Best way to deal with an owl is to herd the chickens into the coop before dusk, acknowledge you might lose a bird or two but at least your rodent population will stay in check.

That is interesting. I can hear owls at night but I have an overabundance of mice. I am always overjoyed in the summer when I see a black snake, because the mice seem to go away during that time..sadly snakes are a rare sight too. I live slightly inside the Hoosier National Forest so I should have plenty of both but as I typed this, I realized I am surrounded by tall grass making it hard for an owl to hunt.

 

[centrarchid]

That is interesting.  I can hear owls at night but I have an overabundance of mice.  I am always overjoyed in the summer when I see a black snake, because the mice seem to go away during that time..sadly snakes are a rare sight too.  I live slightly inside the Hoosier National Forest so I should have plenty of both but as I typed this, I realized I am surrounded by tall grass making it hard for an owl to hunt. 

You may come from very close to here I am from. Some changes in rodent and snake abundance are not cause and effect. Also our poultry keeping hard on snakes in generally. The biggest threat to my snakes are my chickens. Chickens readily consume small snakes of all stripes even when poisonous.