How can i scare off a HUGE owl?

[hayley3]

I had no idea chickens would hurt snakes. I knew guineas would though. That would really explain a lot!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

They're hard on frogs and lizards too.

 

[Harborotter]

Last house I lived in had a large owl population and also the house constantly had mice coming in from outdoors. When I moved my chickens in the mouse population around the house dropped off sharply. The owners were always putting poison in the basement and traps as well. I moved in and removed all the poison and traps. I only saw one mouse while I lived there.

I was very surprised to learn that chickens will kill and eat mice.

My chickens did a far superior job of controlling the mice around the house than the owls ever did.

I saw them with a snake once and they all circled around it but seemed very confused. I ended up killing the snake myself as it was a kind that would eat eggs. Normally I like snakes but he was snooping around my laying boxes.

 

[hayley3]

They're hard on frogs and lizards to.

I've seen the occasional frog and lizard but they are far and few between and we are surrounded by water....something is eating them but it's not the chickens.
I do have an enormous amount of mice though...turn on the light and out they come in droves into the chicken's stall. I had to put poison inside that stall (in a locked cage of course) to get rid of them. The mice knew to stay away from the chickens I guess.

And I would rather lose an egg or two than put up with the mice so I tiptoed around that 6ft black snake but he didn't stay around. Something must eat big snakes around here. Surely the chickens didn't but now I wonder.

 

[centrarchid]

Frogs, lizards and snakes are removed largely via direct predation by chickens. Some reduction from loss of habitat (leaf piles and protective vegetation) and competition for the same invertebrate prey.

Mice in my experience are more effected by competition where chickens eat much of the forage the mice would otherwise eat. Exception to this comes when we provide chickens free choice access to feed and leave it out overnight.

 

[Harborotter]

I've seen the occasional frog and lizard but they are far and few between and we are surrounded by water....something is eating them but it's not the chickens.
I do have an enormous amount of mice though...turn on the light and out they come in droves into the chicken's stall. I had to put poison inside that stall (in a locked cage of course) to get rid of them. The mice knew to stay away from the chickens I guess.

And I would rather lose an egg or two than put up with the mice so I tiptoed around that 6ft black snake but he didn't stay around. Something must eat big snakes around here. Surely the chickens didn't but now I wonder.

Something really brave? That's a big snake.

And the frogs and toads around my place didn't seem affected by my birds.

Maybe the chickens weren't controlling the mice around my place? We had a lot of skunks as well. Severely evil ones!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Chickens won't have much effect on mouse population because the mice are afoot at night when chickens are asleep, won't come off the roost and couldn't see the mice if they did.
On many occasions, I've seen a chicken grab a frog or lizard and the rest of the chickens chase the first around the place tearing it to shreds.
IMO snakes, owls, hawks and foxes are among the best mousers, in that order.
A snake can get into those tight places where mice hide out and do so day and night. Who needs a barn cat when you have snakes?
They startle me when I come on them unexpectedly but I love my snakes.

 

[centrarchid]

Chickens won't have much effect on mouse population because the mice are afoot at night when chickens are asleep, won't come off the roost and couldn't see the mice if they did.
On many occasions, I've seen a chicken grab a frog or lizard and the rest of the chickens chase the first around the place tearing it to shreds.
IMO snakes, owls, hawks and foxes are among the best mousers, in that order.
A snake can get into those tight places where mice hide out and do so day and night. Who needs a barn cat when you have snakes?
They startle me when I come on them unexpectedly but I love my snakes.

The competition and habitat degradation effects do not require chickens and other species to be active at same time. Chickens consuming all forages, cleaning up grains, and tearing up leaf-beds during day are just as effective as if they might be done at night. Snakes can get tough to catch mice but think about how many mice a fox or coyote consumes per day. Then compare that to what the seasonal snake can consume per day. Hawks and owls eat a lot but that varies with predator density and cover (snow / vegetative) that does not impact the other predators as much. Regulation of prey like being discussed comes from multiple predators and habitat quality. We tend to ignore the latter.

 

[hayley3]

If the fox were eating the mice, then they'd not be eating my chickens..is my thinking. I have to poison the little buggers.
Oddly I'm surrounded by water and have no frogs as compared to when I first moved here. And my chickens are not eating them cause they are not able to leave the fenced in pasture.

 

[CrazyTalk]

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.

You really can't - not for chickens. If you contact USFW or the Department of the Interior (who are the organizations you need a permit from - the states don't have authority here) - the answer you'll get is "Pen your chickens securely". There are easy remedies here - the fact that you don't avail of them is not USFW/DoI's problem.

If you were raising something endangered, or were a wildlife sanctuary, you might be able to get a permit - but not for backyard chickens.