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Author Topic: Owl attack  (Read 6050 times)

Rainyplace

  • Joined Jan 2008
Owl attack
« on: November 04, 2008, 09:26:02 am »
Two days ago  lost one of my hens and thought it was Mr.Fox. Just arriving back from schoolrun about 5.30 last night and saw a massive owl swooping across the drive, thought no more of it. One of my hens is very difficult to shut in at night and likes to roost up a huge Scots Pine tree. About 10 mins later I heard such a commotion, the hen was extremely noisy, went out to investigate with torch and saw the owl dive-bombing my hen who was up the tree. The owl flew away. I will have to try and coax her into the hen house tonight.

Blinkers

  • Joined Jan 2008
  • Carmarthenshire
  • Carmarthenshire/Pembrokeshire border
    • Glyn Elwyn - Faithmead Herd
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Re: Owl attack
« Reply #1 on: November 04, 2008, 10:38:37 am »
OMG :o :o  What a shock........Chooky had better get in that henhouse  a bit sharpish tonight.    Any idea what type of owl it was?
Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again !!
www.glynelwyn.co.uk

garden cottage

  • Joined Sep 2008
  • forest of dean
Re: Owl attack
« Reply #2 on: November 04, 2008, 05:41:53 pm »
hi rainyplace amazed to hear of owl attack, what part of the country are you in? would be interesting to find out the breed. only ref I can find is great horned owls will take poultry but this is an american owl???????   we have lots of tawny and barn owls  around us.               neil

Rainyplace

  • Joined Jan 2008
Re: Owl attack
« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2008, 08:04:50 am »
Hi we are in Central Scotland. Not sure what type of owl it was, made a kind of high screeching noise and was very big. Will go and see my neighbour who is a bird enthusiast, maybe he might have seen it around.

doganjo

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Clackmannanshire
  • Qui? Moi?
    • ABERDON GUNDOGS for work and show
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Re: Owl attack
« Reply #4 on: November 05, 2008, 01:41:07 pm »
Sure it was an owl?  Buzzards and other birds of prey are possibilities too.
Always have been, always will be, a WYSIWYG - black is black, white is white - no grey in my life! But I'm mellowing in my old age

garden cottage

  • Joined Sep 2008
  • forest of dean
Re: Owl attack
« Reply #5 on: November 05, 2008, 04:17:06 pm »
have a friend who's father farms sheep in scotland, during lambing they suffered a large quantity of dead lambs, the farmer said leave them there and wait. about 6 buzzards arrived and picked up every single dead lamb, amazing what nature will do.

Ross Bibby

  • Joined Oct 2008
  • Stirling
Re: Owl attack
« Reply #6 on: November 05, 2008, 07:06:36 pm »
Sounds like a barn owl.

They're the ones that make the screeching sound. They're not that big but do have relatively long and broad wings so they do look big when you see them in flight. Oh, and they're white  ;D

It's a brave effort for a barn owl to go for a chicken so, who knows, maybe it was starving or trying to drive the chicken out of it's area or perhaps quite foolhardy.

Not heard of barn owls killing chickens but I have heard of tawny owls doing it.
Interesting problem though

Ross


shetlandpaul

  • Joined Oct 2008
Re: Owl attack
« Reply #7 on: November 05, 2008, 08:28:46 pm »
have eagle owls not been crossing from norway

Ross Bibby

  • Joined Oct 2008
  • Stirling
Re: Owl attack
« Reply #8 on: November 05, 2008, 09:00:56 pm »
Maybe and they've been lost by falconers but they don't screech they hoot. It would be a more suitable bird to attack a chicken with though.

Rainyplace

  • Joined Jan 2008
Re: Owl attack
« Reply #9 on: November 06, 2008, 08:53:28 am »
Well, thanks for all your thoughts, did speak to my neighbour who had never heard of an owl attacking chickens, although he thought if it was an owl it might have been a tawney. He had heard of an eagle owl that had escaped but that was a few years ago now. I wondered too whether it could have been another bird of prey. The neighbours are all now listening and watching for further activity...

 

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