a predator in my chicken coop

| December 13, 2013 | 50 Comments

This is a first for me but it explains alot. I was able to get a sheet over it and let him out safely hopefully not to kill anymore of the chickens. He got a…

I have ordered day old chicks to arrive in late May so I have been busy building a chicken coop. First time I’ve ever built anything so it has been quite a l…

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Category: Chicken Coop

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  1. Remy Sampson says:

    Great video! Kudos to you for letting the owl live. Last night i lost my
    first chicken. I hope I react the same way you did when I find out who was
    the culprit. I think it was a hawk or owl. Are you losing anymore?

  2. mainbearing68 says:

    Kill the damn owl, just don’t tell anyone. And don’t make a video about it!
    You can say, however, you’ve solved the Owl problem once and for all. lol

  3. mainbearing68 says:

    @MrMisanthrope1 Dead Owls tell no tales… LOL, Besides, I live in the
    woods, if I called animal control they’d laugh at me. Around here, a good
    gun and plenty of ammo is the only “Animal Control” I need. (the voice of
    experience).

  4. bar50 says:

    So covering the head works good. We use the covering the head trick with
    garbage cans for unruly hogs that refuse to move where they are supposed
    to. We just walk them backwards and steer them with their tail. Maybe we
    should experiment with children that don’t behave?hehe

  5. MCDouga11 says:

    that noise it made at 0:54 im pretty sure thats a cyborg owl, pretty common
    in your area

  6. coffeefish says:

    Attack it with some snowballs.

  7. outofworkbum says:

    @theeastwatch I did now, Ha I never thought to give him a tootsie
    pop…..what a wasted oppertunity, we could have finaly had an answer to
    how many licks it takes to get to the center of it

  8. outofworkbum says:

    @learnsomethingful Depends on the breed but these make it through the NH
    winters as good as any crow or pigeon in the wild

  9. Robert Bell says:

    @mainbearing68 dont kill the owl, its a federal offense, call animal
    control they will come and catch it and release it somewhere else. Killing
    a beautiful owl for what? for being an owl?

  10. Vhammer2010 says:

    Cool owl, hope he doesn’t give you any more problems.

  11. butcherbls says:

    IMHO I would shoot him. We have a huge problem with redtailed hawks in my
    area and legally you are not s’posed to kill them UNLESS they are bothering
    livestock or pets. I’ve dusted a couple just this last fall cuz they was
    getting my birds. He’s found an easy meal a couple times already so he’ll
    be back.

  12. Garnett M. says:

    It`s a Great Horned owl. call fish & game it`s an endangered species

  13. WeAllJuggleKnives says:

    Start an owl petting zoo! ~Israel

  14. chetyoder says:

    shoot shovel and shut up, it works

  15. Liam Pike says:

    you diserve no like only dislike

  16. homout says:

    this is a great horned owl and will eat anything including skunk..has no
    sense of smell..kills its prey with its talons, one of which is a rotator
    (thumb I think)..I have this owl around my area…and they come if you wave
    at them..scared me a couple of times …they are so big

  17. pine tar says:

    cool…..potatoes go good with owl………lol…i don’t no if i would go
    in there

  18. americangamefowl says:

    You could try buying a “dummy” owl and attach him to a tree branch nearby,
    or on your roof. The more realistic he looks the better it will work. Owls
    tend to avoid other owls, except for mating. Often making him believe that
    another owl has claimed your area as his territory will cause him to leave.
    He will likely try to scare away your fake owl, but when the fake owl
    doesn’t budge he will probably leave rather than risk a fight to the death.

  19. outofworkbum says:

    @butcherbls if my chickens were laying it may have been a different
    story…lol but I’ll tell you that was a very cool bird and if he continues
    to give me problems I’m sure he would look great on my mantle, but that
    would be a very last resort. At least now I know where the chink in my
    chicken fortess is and can try to correct it, and should cover up the
    rabbit cage as well

  20. Joe Blake says:

    Much easier to remove from the cage if he is completely limp!

  21. outofworkbum says:

    I have not lost any in a while, but if you don’t expect to lose one here
    and there it will drive you crazy when you do.

  22. glock10mm says:

    you should do what G,Gordon L iddy did with the rat ,kill and eat it as a
    warning to all the others not to mess with you LOL

  23. chickencoop618 says:

    Wats with the driod

  24. Sims3Tapes says:

    wow that noise he makes is weird. cool owl tho!

  25. wideawake73 says:

    is that phone saying “do it” in a creepy terminator voice? lol

  26. Mark Pieklik says:

    Enjoyed your series on the coop. You sound like a retired gentleman as I
    am. Enjoy working the garden and doing things outside.

  27. Dale Calder says:

    Thank you and you are right retiring was the best thing I ever did. LOL

  28. Dale Calder says:

    Yes it is holding up very well . I used marine grade plywood. Which is
    fairly expensive but holds up very well in wet conditions. It still looks
    as good as the day I put it down.

  29. Darren Morton says:

    Hi Dale. I’m about to start building my coop. How are you going with the
    timber ply floor? Is it holding up ok?

  30. tdfrost03 says:

    Great video. You did a wonderful job building this chicken house. I want to
    build myself a chicken house as well so i have been watching several
    different “how to” videos. Yours is by far my favorite. If you don’t mind
    me asking, where did you get the plans for the chicken house? I’m having
    trouble locating plans and instructions for building a chicken house.
    Thanks again for the video!

  31. garygardens says:

    Looking real good Dale. For a non-carpenter, you’re doing quite well. You
    probably didn’t really need the marine grade plywood and it’s expense.
    Regular, exterior grade would have been fine. Marine grade has other
    attributes, such as no voids, that might not have been necessary for your
    purpose. Needless to say, it’ll be one fine floor though. Regards, Gary

  32. Dale Calder says:

    @Georgiahomestead Thank you. I’m not sure how long it has been since I had
    chickens, more than 20 years for sure. I can hardly wait the eggs went in
    the incubators at the hatchery on Monday and will hatch and start their
    journey to me on May 23rd.

  33. QaibThaiGuy says:

    Thank You!

  34. Dale Calder says:

    @lifeinthailand Thank you. I must admit it has been a learning experience
    and I have enjoyed it but at the end of each day I’m usually chuckling to
    myself thinking that the men in the carpenter trade around here really
    don’t have to worry about the extra competition.

  35. Dale Calder says:

    @garygardens When I had hens before I used to keep them in deep litter you
    just keep adding layers of bedding and clean it out once a year. That is
    hard work so I plan to clean this out at least once a month.

  36. QaibThaiGuy says:

    Where can I buy those cement blocks? And what are they called? Planning to
    build me a coop soon. And it floods alot. Those would be helpful.

  37. Dale Calder says:

    Thank you. I just sent you a PM with a link to a kit that I used.

  38. Dale Calder says:

    Here they call them Cement Deck Blocks and are available at any building
    supply store like Home Depot etc.

  39. UncaTuck says:

    looks good.

  40. Dale Calder says:

    @Watsamadoing Thank you. Yes our winters are so sever they will really need
    a good strong building. Also I live surrounded by forest and I know from
    past experience that there are many predators out there just waiting for a
    chicken dinner.

  41. jihadacadien says:

    @dalecalder2003 I see, great. And it’s raining here too…too much t go out
    and garden =S And it’s great it’s not leaking! The door well it can be
    fixed…..plus depending on the wind that comes with the rain it can leak
    some time.

  42. sparkykid17 says:

    use screws

  43. Dale Calder says:

    @selfreliantboy Thanks I do feel a bit more confident with a hammer and
    nails now LOL My old gardening hat is a Tilley you know you’ve found a
    Canadian in Europe when you find someone wearing a Tilley.

  44. Dale Calder says:

    @jihadacadien Thanks. That’s greats, everyone should have chickens.LOL I’m
    sure there will be lots of video of the interior later, right now I’m just
    concerned with getting it finished so I can put the day old chicks in it at
    the end of the month. I will build the roosts and nesting boxes etc, later
    on as I need them. The roof is finished and it is raining hard here and
    there aren’t any leaks, yeah!! Some water coming in under the door though,
    that will need some weather stripping.

  45. jihadacadien says:

    Hey this looks great!! You did it pretty quickly too! I hope you film the
    insides of the coop, because thats what I need to buid mine lol! And ya
    know I just might get chicks next year now!

  46. lifeinthailand says:

    When your done with your 5 star chicken hotel can you come here and build
    me a tool shed, Same size and design would work for me. Thanks

  47. garygardens says:

    @dalecalder2003 Good choice on the thicker ply. I supposed chicken
    droppings play havoc on whatever you put in there. Do you wash it out with
    water? Sure looks good to me and from here, lol. Gary

  48. Dale Calder says:

    @garygardens Thanks Gary. I went with the marine grade hoping it would be
    more water resistant, I’ve had floors rot out of my hen house before. I
    also went with thicker plywood the plans called for half inch and I used
    three quarters. It’s a long ways from perfect but it will do.

  49. selfreliantboy says:

    Wow ,you did great ! You’ll be buiding all kinds of stuff now lol .I like
    your hat .

  50. Watsamadoing says:

    I’ve missed hearing that voice.. Welcome back! Wow you certainly do a job
    well when you start out on one.. Nice work! Makes mine look a bit ghetto :)
    I guess your chooks need to be toasty and warm when it’s freezing out
    there.. Can’t wait for the rest of it…

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