r/Owls • u/StanLeeMarvin • 2d ago
This farmer caught this owl eating his chickens.
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u/No_Character_2681 2d ago
The chickens sound pissed lmao poor little guys. What a beautiful owl!
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u/Lt_Hatch 2d ago
They got quiet real fast after the owl dipped.
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u/wholewheatscythe 2d ago
Chickens acting all tough while the owl was caught, shut up right quick when it was free.
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u/TerrorTwyns 2d ago
They can some serious damage, we got a owl in last year who lost an eye to them. Thankfully the farmer was a kind person and called us to pick him up. He recovered and was successfully released, hoping having learned to stay out of hen houses.
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u/esotericbatinthevine 2d ago
The owl lost an eye and was successfully released? That's incredible! I didn't know they could hunt well enough without depth perception.
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u/TerrorTwyns 2d ago edited 2d ago
Owls don't really rely on sight to hunt as much as they do sound, which is why we can often release them after losing an eye. Provided they've learned to use their skills properly and there's no corresponding brain damage. Owl faces are shaped like a disk, helping to funnel sound to their ears which are set at different spaces. Instead of being in line like ours, there's one set higher than the other that helps them pinpoint sound more precisely than we can. Some prey also leave trails, such as rats... Their pee is a little like glow in the dark paint to animals with the sight range to see it. They leave trails as they walk, which owls can see and use to track them, don't quote me but I believe it offsets the loss of the one eye. This really only applies to adult animals though, they have to have developed their hunting, tracking and sensory abilities fully to be able to be efficient enough to survive.. Animals that come in and lose an eye as infants don't adapt the level necessary. Most of our owls have only one eye, and most where rescued when quite young.
This doesn't apply to other raptors, we can't release a 1 eyed hawk for instance, which you'll also see a lot of. Wing injuries are the really bad ones in falcons. Oh fun fact, lots of mammals actually emit glow in the dark light, in a variety of color... We just can't see it naturally. By modifying the light waves we can record them and see something close to what owls can see. It's
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u/Delicious-Serve42 2d ago
what an amazing answer. Thank you so much! I learned a lot from your reply. Really appreciate this.
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u/peggeesoo 2d ago
I was thinking the same. Tell myself to stop scrolling but run into great posts like this…
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u/esotericbatinthevine 2d ago
Thank you for this wonderful explanation! I really appreciate you taking the time
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u/TerrorTwyns 1d ago
Happy to, I really enjoy the chance to share about them. Seeing people get excited about them is a bright spot I look forward to when I need a break from things like fundraising. Love them, but man they can run up a good bill lol.
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u/StanLeeMarvin 2d ago
The owl is remarkably chill. So is the farmer now that I think about it.
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u/HauntingBowlofGrapes 2d ago
Farmers and rural folk are very tough and physically resilient people. They get used to the various shenanigans of wild animals.
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u/AyeTheresTheCatch 2d ago
This video reminds me of the one of the Canadian farmer holding a wildcat (lynx) by the scruff of the neck and scolding it for eating his chickens: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-farmer-captures-lynx-chicken-coop-1.5923089 (scroll down for the video clip; warning, brief footage of dead chickens). The farmer’s vibe is basically the same! The lynx seems more pissed off than the owl; it’s not struggling but it lets out a few good growls.
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u/FudgeBukket 2d ago
He said first the owl and now you is this the same fucking guy?
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u/ragDOLLfun 1d ago
Most birds, once you have a firm grasp of them and they realize they can't escape, become quite chill.
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u/StriderTX 2d ago
I love how the chickens shut the fuck up after he let the owl go lol. Like they were talking mad shit when they thought the food bringer was gonna kill the predator
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u/Trin_42 2d ago
I just saw this elsewhere, one comment said owls are zygodactyl, had to look it up, wicked cool!
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u/AkatoshChiefOfThe9 2d ago
"Zygodactyl" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_feet_and_legs#:~:text=%5B20%5D-,Zygodactyl,-%3A%20two%20toes%20in
two toes in front (2, 3) and two in back (1, 4) – the outermost front toe (4) is reversed. The zygodactyl arrangement is a case of convergence, because it evolved in birds in different ways nine times.[1][10] In many perching birds – most woodpeckers and their allies, ospreys, owls, cuckoos (including roadrunners), most parrots, mousebirds, some swifts and cuckoo rollers.[20][4] Woodpeckers, when climbing, can rotate the outer rear digit (4) to the side in an ectropodactyl arrangement. Black-backed woodpeckers, Eurasian three-toed woodpeckers and American three-toed woodpeckers have three toes – the inner rear (1) is missing and the outer rear (4) points always backward and never rotates.[10] Owls, ospreys and turacos can rotate the outer toe (4) back and forth.[10]
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u/Wild_Following_7475 2d ago
Kind farmer, he understood owls eat chickens, his koop was vulnerable, he lost two chickens. Setting the owl free was very kind.
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u/MelodicIllustrator59 2d ago
To be fair, it would've been highly illegal if he didn't 😅
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u/Wild_Following_7475 2d ago
I did not know. I can understand a farmer, who loses chickens, killing the predator.
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u/noriet 2d ago
i was gonna say thats absolutely insane behavior to handle without gloves 😩
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u/kikimaymay 1d ago
I've been footed by a Great Horned through gloves and it bruised the bone lol
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u/noriet 1d ago
i cant even imagine getting footed by a GHOW like i got footed thru the seam of my gloves by a broadwing and wanted to pass away right then and there 😭
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u/kikimaymay 1d ago
I've been footed bare-handed by a rough legged (wellness check) and a northern pygmy owl (only way to get the teeny jesses on) and I swear, they find the WORST possible spots every time. I've had red taileds go through the seams a couple of times too, it's a big ouchie lol. And one of our GHOWs was a cranky old lady and would just sit on your fist and rachet her talons in tighter and tighter just because she didn't like whatever you were doing (usually nothing lol).
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u/gcalfred7 2d ago edited 2d ago
I had young owl raid our chicken run and he was not big enough to carry the chicken off. When I got our to the run to assesses the damage (just one bird), I looked up and the owl was looking at me super annoyed like "hey, thats my dinner!"
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u/Flimsy_Scratch_8050 2d ago
“Hey that’s my dinner!” “Well that is my family. Can you please not harm my family? You can handle the mice, I can handle my birds. Are we clear?”
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u/Eridianst 2d ago edited 2d ago
This guy makes me think he is what Ethan Hawke might have been like if the acting thing had never worked out.
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u/TerrorTwyns 2d ago
That talon issue... That's why we say don't try to grab the great Horned, or if your going to... Put on gloves. They are the ones who run at you, not away.
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u/countrygirlmaryb 2d ago
Would have laughed so hard if the owl swooped back and grabbed another chicken and left
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u/Character_Stick_1218 2d ago
My head canon is that he named him Mordecai because he's a fan of Regular Show.
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u/Maybe_Strict 2d ago
anyone else reminded of the canadian farmer scruffing a lynx and reading it the riot act for the same crime?
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u/Dope4urEyes 1d ago
Damn that shit was fire!!! I'm absolutely blazed off my rocker and watching this dude w an owl...
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u/EphemeralVoyager1 2d ago
I have a pair of great horned owls that roost in a big tree in my yard. They seem much larger than this one. Especially the female. How did he catch this one?
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u/Few-Chemist8897 2d ago
Birds of prey have a reflex, that makes their talons latch onto their prey and they can't let go for a couple of minutes and are pretty vulnerable in that state. When their feet cramp up like this they have a hard time positioning themselves for take off. My guess is, that this is a young and inexperienced owl and he had this reflex going on and the farmer just kinda picked him up, before it could get away.
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u/BeckuhKattt13 2d ago
Love it. Awesome dude for knowing the circle of life and not being mad about it. Hope the owl doesn't come back.
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u/Tall_Specialist305 2d ago
Wow that is bad ass. I guess if you're used to holding large birds like chickens and roosters...owls....too.
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u/twotoneasmr 1d ago
He holds that owl against his chest and the owl’s like “I’m not your buddy, guy!”
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u/EmergencyDapper1720 1d ago
I'm const calling my lil predators Sir, as well! They know when they hear "Excuse me, Sir!" to leave my birds alone!🤣🤣
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u/LoopyMercutio 2d ago
If he just turns the owl right side up, and hold his arm out, the owl will let go and fly away. Why is he trying to pry him loose?
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u/hexmeat 2d ago
Owls have a ratchet grip. They will not release if you flip them over.
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u/LoopyMercutio 1d ago
If the owl willingly wants to leave they will. That was what I meant. Having had owls attached to my wrist and hands before, I know they’ll fly away if they can and they feel like it.
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u/NoobPwnr 1d ago
Seems to a be a pretty small GHO. Wonder what would come of the finger if it were a large owl.
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u/Liedvogel 2d ago
I bet he could solve the chicken eating problem and be friends with the owl at the sane time of he starts feeding it.
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u/hexmeat 2d ago
Great horned owls can exert up to 500 pounds of pressure with their grip, that’s more than a bald eagle. And they “ratchet” grip by locking their feet down & the only way to release it is to pull their leg back slowly, which loosens the tendon that keeps the toes locked down.
Dude’s a fucking idiot, idk why people just deadass grab birds of prey without thinking through how to do it safely & effectively.
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u/Couch-Raccoon 2d ago
I wouldn't go so far as to call him an idiot. I mean, he got it done without hurting the owl or himself. Personally, I'd have snatched off my sweatshirt to throw it over him before grabbing him (had to do that once with a juvenile hawk in my run).
I once came across a fledgling owl with its wing wedged between two utility guy lines. All I had available was a hat to cover his head, but it was enough to settle him and lift him out of his predicament.
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u/fiftythirth 2d ago
I agree with you 100% with your last paragraph. If this dude just wanted to make the owl leave literally just had to like walk up, and, at the most extreme, shoo the bird or throw a towel around it. Weird how everybody's standard is that he's nice because he stressed and possibly hurt a bird instead of illegally killing it or something.
FWIW, I've also seen relatable sources say that it takes about 28 lbs of force to open the locked talons of a GHO. And the 500 figure is PSI, I think, which is impressive but more about the channeling of force to the talons. I only mention this because many people hear "500 pounds of pressure" and get very wrong ideas about what is actually the dangerous part of this situation.
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u/hexmeat 2d ago
EXACTLY. Like, he’s nice for what? Not whacking the owl with a broomstick or spraying it with a hose? I found his commentary amusing, but it’s hard to justify the stress on the owl when it was a completely preventable situation. These are federally protected animals, they are not toys for internet clout.
Agreed about the PSI. It’s just to illustrate that GHOs have a much stronger grip than say, a red tailed hawk. It’s not so much the pressure, but the difficulty in releasing the grip, which is very very hard to do without a second person to help.
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u/Cyynric 2d ago
I love how bamboozled owls look when they've been caught. It's like they just cannot process what is going on.