Whew!!

[annep]

Last night, we had two childen feed the rabbits..They are outside in cages, in a covered area...Someone didn't close them up well enough, and after working a 15 hour day, my hubby came home after we were all asleep, and saw that some had gotten out. So, they rounded them back up, but as they walked out the back door to do this, they saw a huge owl in the tree...She would've loved to have taken off with some rabbit meat, for sure...
Now, my question really is about chickens. On the coop, we have a small window that one hen can fit through, it's towards the top, for ventilation. We used to have netting covering it, but it's off right now for whatever reason...Will an owl get in through there? It's a small coop and we only have 8 chickens. I'm sure if she got in, she'd make quite a fuss/mess! We've never seen one around here before..Also, our dog, a Pyr named Sugar, sleeps outside. I wonder if she's enough to keep the owl at bay...I really wonder what she'd do if she heard a huge commotion in the coop..Not that I really want to find out...Winter's coming fast..Just thinking ahead too..Thanks
Anne

 

[turtlebird]

for sound sleep, that you may rest easy, I would just cover the hole with 1/2" hardware cloth

Anything that can climb could get in that hole also. Ofcourse, it would have to get past your dog first!

 

[thechickenwhisperer24]

I don't think that a bird of prey could get through the window, (not that I would know)but a fisher reached in our run, got one bird and injured two others. A raccoon could climb through, also a bunch of other predators. we think when the fisher climbed seven feet up the run, our White Rock, Amelia, flew through our window which is located similarly to yours, and perched on the roof. I would recommend that you cover it, you'll have peace at night.

 

[florida lee]

Yes, most certainly an Owl could get in easy.....don't know if they would bother a full grown standard chicken but a chick or bantams would be in peril.