Owl alert

[centrarchid]

I am trying not to have a repeat of this.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/probable-raccoon-problem-nope-great-horned-owl.1279655/

 

[Chicken101-07]

Half of the property is wooded area only place that has no trees is close to my house,the hen is gray and yes she is a meat bird.I'm pretty sure I have no mice in my property,used to have a lot to the point that they killed 2 of my parrotkeets .As I'm no fan of poisons that could be dangerous to chickens or goats,I ended up doing a trick that my grandparents use,released a black snake in the property,might sound insane but the point is the mice will go away if they smell the snake living there,I made sure that it couldn't fit through the chicken wire since I lost 2 chicks to snakes getting to them and biting them.

Owls may not be killed anywhere in the US; they are federally protected. I have heard that they will take a chicken, but I personally have never had it happen, despite having lots of owls around. Does the space where your chickens wander have lots of cover from airborne attacks? Or is it really open? What color is your new hen?

You say you have eagles--I wouldn't worry any more over an owl than an eagle. Chickens aren't an owl's usual prey. They will only hunt them opportunistically--the same as an eagle.

Owls are nocturnal. Chickens turn off like a light switch when the sun goes down.
IF YOUR chickens sleep in a tree, MAYBE...
OwL(S) want the rats your chicken feed is attracting.

 

[Betsy57]

Is there any chance of a owl killing a chicken?there's 2 right now in my property,every day that I let my chickens out to free range(I don't let chickens free range the whole day since I live in open woods,many animals live here that will make a chicken their lunch,eagles,raccoons and stuff like that) those 2 always show up,I didn't worried about them since my chickens would go all together until I got this bigger hen,she cant keep up with my friesian hens and rooster as my hens love to forage from place to place constantly moving,the new hen is like 5 pounds,I'm not really sure but she sure is a lot heavier than my friesian hens,the owl is pretty large probably around 1.5 feet standing ,the other one is smaller half the size of the big one,Is there any risk that it might decide to attack the poor chicken?I'm around but I'm busy changing water containers and watching that my 6 month old chickens dont wonder too far as they usually do when they are out but the property is like 1.5 acres,it will take me a few seconds to run back and forth if the owl decides to attack even if it doesn't kill it, might injure it,this past few days the owls been showing up at the coop more frequently even during the early morning when the sun is out,guessing that they've hunted most of the squirrels and rabbits in the area,there was times that I would find carcasses of squirrels and rabbits with the insides of their heads all eaten out,everything else untouched every few days,I'm sure that killing owls here is not a choice in North Carolina,should I just take my chances and hope it doesn't attack the hen or should I not take the hen out anymore??

An owl killed my blue rock 10 wk old chick today. The rooster didn't do his job. First one I've lost to an owl and I've had chickens for 9 years. Sad and mad!

 

[centrarchid]

An owl killed my blue rock 10 wk old chick today. The rooster didn't do his job. First one I've lost to an owl and I've had chickens for 9 years. Sad and mad!

The roosters are useless against predators at night. I have owls come in a lot, especially those that would eat the owl you have, and they are part of what I have to adjust for.

 

[Betsy57]

The roosters are useless against predators at night. I have owls come in a lot, especially those that would eat the owl you have, and they are part of what I have to adjust for.

It was day light when the attack happened as you can see from the picture and as indicated it was a 10 wk old blue rock. Two owls. One sitting on the post and the other eating the bird. I came home early from work and saw them finishing up their meal. The rooster and the other hens hiding on the other side of the chicken yard. This poor one was attacked while hiding under the coop (3' off the ground).

 

[centrarchid]

I bet attack occurred in the dark with only one owl. Then second owl alternated with first when actually feeding. Amount of bird missing appears more than what 2 owls would consume in a feedimg, assuming chicken is adult standard sized hen. The owls stayed with carcass during daylight enabled by overcast sky and lots of cover near kill site?