last night an owl got my flock

[sourland]

Great news on the survival of your flock. A secure place for the evening is essential. I agree with Centrarchid the owl will return tonight. It may very well have a go at your parrot if it is outside. They will get a bird flapping around a pen and then grab them through the wire/bars of the cage.

 

[witchwriter]

the girls are hanging out back today. my backyard looks like "land of the lost" cuz the mower is broken. everytime hubby fixes something another thing breaks. he got part of the front yard cut this past weekend but nowhere near the back. I have 6' elephant ears growing (which wouldn't be cut anyways) and grass almost a foot high. wishing son was home with the truck cuz i would just sleep outside in the bed of it tonight but, he's not...... i will come up with something. here's a pick of what the girl's are hiding under while foraging today.

 

[witchwriter]

hubby fixed the curtain that fell before leaving for work. i am going to hang the extra one this evening before the girls come roost. i have to find a way to tie it up so i can raise it each morning so my parrots can see out each day.

i have cleaned up the porch and i am going to set the cot up and sleep outside with the birds for the next couple of nights. i really like where they have been roosting (other than having to hose off the porch each morning) because i can see them from where i sit in the living room. i also like hubby can count them when he gets home from work which is anywhere between 11 pm and 2 am depending on which night. i have rope lights hanging so its not totally dark and there is electricity so i can still watch netflix

most importantly, i can watch my girls.

am i the only one who constantly counts their chickens?

 

[welasharon]

I have mine penned up at night not to have to worry. I can hear an owl frequently out near the pens. I also have possums and raccoons.

 

[sandesnow]

Wish we were able to let them roost out like that, but ours are locked up tight in the barn at night. Too many owls, fox, racoons, coyote, and loads of other stuff that find chickens tasty around here. After we lost a hen last year, even now ours are still skittish to any 'shadow' overhead. They run for cover immediately.

 

[witchwriter]

we lost 3 when we first got them but they were roosting on the ground. the next night they moved themselves to the top of the bird cages as shown in my avatar. i am bipolar with a plethora of phobias attached and the meds i take affect me different from day to day. i can't pen them up at night because my sleep pattern is erratic, to say the very least, and i can't guarantee i can let them out before the sun beats down on them at 100° around noon each day. they get up at daybreak and drink some water and head out foraging. they are used to getting fed whenever i come outside whatever time it may be.

i have agoraphobia and it was a rare occasion that i had actually left the house - we were at rural king when they had chicks. hubby bought them cuz of my smile when i looked at them. said he hadn't seen that smile in some time. he also he also thought they would get me out of the house every day. i was having a hard time going out on the front porch and now here i am going to sleep out there the next 2-3 nights. they have definitely been therapeutic for me. and they make me smile and often laugh out loud. i do love my ladies!

 

[witchwriter]

i made it about 2 hours on the porch i did wake up and go out about 4 am which was when the owl attacked and nothing last night. fixing the curtain and adding one seems to have done the trick but i will still be vigilant tonight and go out at the same time the next 2-3 nights just to be sure they're safe. flock is intact and behaving normally this morning. thank you all for the advice and help. its great to have a place with so many knowledgeable folks willing to offer their experience

deb

 

[rc4u]

in june we had two great horned owls....one female and one male...they are very big and can carry chicken no problem... before the owl attack i had many chickens that roosted outside our coop as i dont close the door...after the attack they all are in the coop 2 hours before nite....i have a big owl feather in our garden and it does keep the chickens out...it is really hard to defend against owls as they will come in day or nite or dusk or whenever....you would have to keep in overhead fenced area...jeff

 

[Outpost JWB]

I think an owl got one of our pullets last night around 9pm. We were inside and my neighbor called from outside saying our chickens were raising cain. We ran outside immediately, but all was quiet. Checked all the coops, and low and behold a pullet which I had pulled from her flock and put in a circle fence was missing. I pulled her out because the flock was picking on her, and had ripped her comb. She was in a corner scared. I figured when I closed the doors on the coops, I would put her back in the coop on the roost. That would hopefully give the flock a chance to settle down and leave her alone. The screen that was on top of the fence had a piece ripped off. We looked for probably a hour+ for her. We all heard an owl hooting VERY close as we were looking for her. It is common to hear them, just not that close. Hoping she turns up today, but not counting on it. Otherwise we will search the woods behind us for feathers.

 

[witchwriter]

i'm so sorry - i know how scared and helpless i felt that night only being able to find 2 of mine. i do hope you find her today. expect the owl to return at the same time for the next couple nights. i was up about 4 am with mine for the next 3 nights just to be sure they were ok. we added some better cover and thankfully haven't had any problems since.

deb