Owl eating all my pets at night!!!!!!

[beefy]

Quote:
well i might of embellished that a wee bit but around here you dont tell somebody you are going to shoot their dog and then act surprised when your house burns down after the dog goes missing..

 

[SilkieCRZYness]

i wouldnt tell someone if i was going to shoot there animals, but an owl, well my luck, ill take care of this lone guy and then a male and female with young growing up and learning how to kill and eat will take over this one territory and ill have like 5 eating my stuff. haha, wow that would suck. but i dont think i have to worry about any reprocutions from neighbors retaliating or anything. i think ill test the triple sss.

 

[beefy]

how do you know an alligator didnt get htem?

 

[LV426]

I would think a better option would be to lock up your pets at night if you care about them so much. I've never lost a duck when I lock them up. The one time I lost a duck is when I couldn't get her in the pen to lock up and something ate her. The rest have never been harmed. 1/2 hour before sunset I round them all up and secure them. No losses from dog, owl, fox, or coon.

 

[AngieChick]

My understanding is Great Horned Owls fall under the Migratory Bird Act. Here is the law:

http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/migtrea.html

$15,000 fine and possible 6 months jail time.

The birds are nocturnal, I have only seen them at night, not at dusk. I am sure that they can kill your birds, but many things can. Unless you know for sure, they would not be high on my list of possible predators of your ducks. I would suspect raccoons, foxes, gators, etc., way before the owl. I think you should do a bit more hunting around for clues before shooting a protected bird, especially when it carries such major legal repercussions. Could be it's a raccoon, then you are free to rid yourself of the predator legally. Good luck, and tread very carefully.

I am sorry you lost your ducks, I'm sure it was heartbreaking.

 

[SilkieCRZYness]

lets just say, ive used that sss thing about 3 months ago before i got my ducks, and had me some gator tail from a 7ft 11inch female i took out of there, i fish it all the time and havent seen one since i did that, and its only about 40 yards wide real small. also my chickens and cats are on the other side of my 20 acres, and one of my chickens just went missing ton as i said, and he was right out from my front door roaming, and i didnt see no gators out prowling while i was cooking dinner right out my window. hed have to use his ups and jump 2 fences or borrow some wire snips n cut a hole, then repair the fence perfect after he left, and didnt wake up my two dogs that bark at a cricket chirping. i have no doubt its this owl ive been seeing. thanks tho for the idea

 

[SilkieCRZYness]

n bout locking them up at night, i do, and will have to cut there roaming time down an hour before the creature starts prowling at dusk. as far as rounding up my ducks, well, idk if u have any advice but my ducks dont come to me like my chickens do. infact they run in the water when i walk up then when i put feed on the ground and walk away they come out to eat. idk but there not to friendly. ide have to cast net them haha

 

[rooster-red]

The best defense against predation is a secure run & coop.

 

[SilkieCRZYness]

angiechick, i def have pondered this for about 4 months now, elminating all other possibilities, im an avid hunter and have put my climbing treestand along side my pond and watched until i couldnt see 5 ft in front of me it was so dark hopeing to see a fox/coyote or racoon. no such luck, no such tracks, i pride myself in animal tracks as i am a enviromental studies major and studied them for a while and i know everything that walks on my property and non above are here, well nemore i have taking some coons out. i mean i can keep trying to catch something in the act and until i do just let my animals get killed, or take out something and see if the prob stops. idk, my friend hit an owl in his car a while ago and killed it and lets just say no one thought anymore about it than just roadkill, its not like its endangered.

 

[SilkieCRZYness]

Quote:
well i agree for my chickens, but for my barn cat and kittens, little piglets that keep dissapearing which i forgot to mention that is another one of my pets that is dissapearing during the night, dogs that wont take a dump on a leash so i have to let him roam by himself or hell crap in my bed n only weighs 5lbs and cost 600 dollas. honestly, my chickens price wise are worth the least, so as far as the secure coop, for my chickens i agree.