Need Advice from other who allow Free Ranging

[critterkeeper25]

We free range. We don't have problems with owls yet but have had issues with hawks trying to catch our hens. We had a friend that had Silkies. She didn't lock them up at night until owls started to attack them at night. They use to peck their heads open. I know, yuck and very sad. She lost about 5 chickens that way until she made sure they were secure at night. Sounds like the owl is checking out your chicks. I think that the mobile wire covered box is a good idea. I wouldn't leave small chicks/young hens unsupervised outside if I were you.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I am new to the chicken world andove my little chicks. It was important to me that they be allowed to free range. We have 16 acres of which about 3/4 of an acre is a 4 ft fence adjacent to the house. I allow the chicks to sort of free range in there. They have their coop door attached (a barn) and go in and out during the day but we lock them up at dusk when they go in. Problem...there is now a large grey owl who sits in a tree about 2 acres into the property who watches them in the early evening. When I start to walk back there he flys away but I have seen him there the past few nights.

Question...those of you who allow your chicks in wide open areas and not totally fenced in, how do you do it? I am a nervous reck worrying about Hawks and owls but I really want them to be able to roam. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have done it for quite some time. Adults fare much better than young and adults can protect young by simply being present. You can reduce risk of loss by restricting time out. Also look into use of a chicken tractor.

Be advised that after Sundown all the advantages are in the owl's corner and no advantages are on your chicken's side. At night chickens are helpless.

Most owl species begin incubation as soon as the first egg is laid. This means that there are owlets of all age classes in anyone nest. There may also be a hollow in your tree that the owl or owls that you're seeing is using for a nursery. This staggered hatching almost guarantees that the owl or owls that you are currently seeing will be hanging around for a while. Predators kill and eat the easy grub first so they are unlikely to bother your birds during daylight hours even though owls sometimes hunt during the day. But if an owl can access your flock while they are roosting be it in your barn or in a tree it may well be Katy bar the door for your chickens. If the owl that you see is the same species as this one that is bad news.

 

[BreezyMeadowsNJ]

Oh yes! That is our owl. Not worried about night time because we lock them up tight in the coop. more worried about desk just before they go into the coop as this is when we are seeing the owl. Hoping he is just focusing on wild rabbits. I've been chasing him away every night from his original perch but now he has hanged perches. I bird watch and knowing them I know he/she has a nest somewhere near by so it is here to stay for a while at least. Thank you for your reply...just have to become comfortable with the free ranging and accept that I may lose some chicks

 

[centrarchid]

Oh yes! That is our owl. Not worried about night time because we lock them up tight in the coop. more worried about desk just before they go into the coop as this is when we are seeing the owl. Hoping he is just focusing on wild rabbits. I've been chasing him away every night from his original perch but now he has hanged perches. I bird watch and knowing them I know he/she has a nest somewhere near by so it is here to stay for a while at least. Thank you for your reply...just have to become comfortable with the free ranging and accept that I may lose some chicks

What sounds does the owl produce? Activity is no longer centered on nest since chicks fledged a couple of months ago. If like mine, then the juvenile owls will remain in area through November. Also if like mine you will have two possibly three young ones. Adults will make much less noise. Juveniles, as fall approaches, will test the boundaries of what we consider typical Great-horned Owl behavior. Once the juveniles start hunting I have to pen at night all chickens that do not roost down in the grass. Dogs also have to step up patrols as the owls come back quickly after being flushed. Owls much more scared of me than they are of dogs.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Oh yes! That is our owl. Not worried about night time because we lock them up tight in the coop. more worried about desk just before they go into the coop as this is when we are seeing the owl. Hoping he is just focusing on wild rabbits. I've been chasing him away every night from his original perch but now he has hanged perches. I bird watch and knowing them I know he/she has a nest somewhere near by so it is here to stay for a while at least. Thank you for your reply...just have to become comfortable with the free ranging and accept that I may lose some chicks

GHOs are suckers for a small steel trap set on top of a fence post and wired up so that if your owl decides to stick around until Sunup, it will be suspended between heaven and Earth and not struggle to free itself. But alas game wardens now take a dim view of this practice. So I erected a tall post and I ran an insulated hot wire up one side of the post with the final 3 or 4 inches crossing the top stripped naked. Then i run a ground wire up the pole about 3 inches from the hot wire and ground the second wire at the bottom of the pole. A two pole light switch in the hot wire finishes this contraption so that I can switch off the juice during the day to keep from shocking the mocking birds or in case of an ice storm shorts out the hot wire. Owls hunt with their ears and they home almost exclusively on their prey by sound. Therefor owls like to lite in an elevated position and use their radar ears to locate their next meal. Folks think that predators are noble when in fact they are more human like than you or me, always looking for the easy way out by first taking the low hanging fruit. If you make it both too dangerous and too difficult (they are both the same thing) predators will move to greener pastures and easier pickings.