How can i scare off a HUGE owl?

[mississippifarmboy]

Quote:
Mfb starts getting nervous when folks start talkin' about me and guns in the same conversation.

I've never had any large owls bother anything, so never tried to run any off. I would think loud noises might work though.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Quote:
No gun here... *sigh* Only real old BB guns. and a broken paint ball gun..

I may be able to use the paint ball gun enough to give MFB some pretty colors though....

Hey now!

I don't want no pretty colors... just more brownies please.

 

[Jerseycoop]

Owls are amazing birds and many are protected. If your coop/run is well protected then so is your flock. I have an owl nest box I built last spring to attract one which did work. They rid your property of mice, rats, moles, bats etc. From all the things that I have read the only concern would be windows..making sure there's hardware cloth on them and any vents etc. Hungry owls have been known to fly through unprotected glass windows. My owl is an Eastern Screech owl hasn't bother with coop/ run in the almost three weeks since the girls went out. It's also not true that all owls are nocturnal some do hunt any time of the day and not just because they're hungry. Google is a good way to get to know their hunting habits based on which type of owl you have. Good luck

 

[redhen]

Quote:
No gun here... *sigh* Only real old BB guns. and a broken paint ball gun..

I may be able to use the paint ball gun enough to give MFB some pretty colors though....

Hey now!

I don't want no pretty colors... just more brownies please.

UM!.... You are getting your ladies mixed up! I give you CUPCAKES....EM gives you brownies... REMEMBER??
*grumble..grumble.. the man is really cruising ...*

 

[WestfarthingHomestead]

Another large owl. They're territorial, I think. Maybe get a fake owl from the garden center. Also, lock up the birds at night and cover the top of the run with chicken wire or whatever.

Firecrackers! Be sure to surprise the owl.

 

[bryan99705]

Quote:
AMEN Brother! Seems like everythings protected but me and mine.

As for stopping a owl, outside of a covered run, you really can't but what you can do is have a good rooster or two that will keep a eye on him and give the girls a warning growl so they will run for cover

 

[Jerseycoop]

http://www.extension.org/pages/11018/hawk-and-owl-damage-management hi found this a little while ago. Thought it could be useful.

 

[centrarchid]

I am starting to get handy at dealing with Great-horned owls. They visit me when moon is near full particularly in the fall and spring. I pen vulnerable birds first. Owls usually then probe area each night trying to catch stray juveniles or adults roosting too close to pen wall. Nightly visits are very consistent in their timing and chickens usually make a ruckus. My dogs go out promptly but I also like go out standing in plain site and stare at bird. That seems to unnerve them. Doing this a couple nights in a row seems to get them going elsewhere for a while otherwise they will try to work me a week or more at a time. Dogs stop losses pretty good but they do not have the patience for the stare down.

 

[smitteez]

Not true that owls ,especially the great horned, will not hunt during the day. After losing 5 chickens in one day and finding it still in my chicken house at 3:45 in the afternoon I did some research. They will also hunt at dusk and early am. They will land and walk throughout the pen, or in my case into my coupe and continue to kill. It didn't eat 4 out of 5 of the birds and barely any of the first bird it killed outside. I had netting over my entire chicken yard but heavy snow had weighed it down and created a large hole. That's how it got in, but obviously not back out. It's a lucky owl that I didn't employ the SSS technique and had my son open the coupe door and let it fly out. It's BS that it's super prolific and is throughout the US and parts of Mexico/S. America and yet we're unable to protect our flocks from their attacks or get rid of nuisance birds!

 

[augiedranch]

I had the same problem, but with a great horned owl taking my guineas. The guineas won't go in the coop at night, but roost in trees. I actually put a baby monitor out by the guineas tree and when I heard a commotion I went to look and saw the biggest owl I've ever seen! So, I put up 4 Nite Guard lights pointing in all 4 directions 12 feet up in the air. Not a problem since doing that.