This is our second year, second winter, with ducks. I have been relieved, but somewhat surprised, that we have not had owl predation. The ducks are nocturnal, and though we provide shelter, they prefer to roam around at night. We have not been locking them in because night has been their peace time without any hens or geese bothering them.
Well, a 3 a.m. noise and commotion roused us. Tony turning on the outside light spooked the predator away, but we had to put one of our muscovy hens down from her injuries. We weren’t sure if it was a weasel or an owl – they both attack at the neck.
Come daylight, I walked the perimeter of their fence looking for any sign of tracks and couldn’t find any so figured it must have been an owl. Good – they are easier to protect against. Then we saw this print on top of the garage, which confirmed it. We have jerry-rigged a gate across one of their shelters and are keeping them in at night from now on.
Owl wing print on roof
One of the downsides of raising livestock is that it changes your outlook on some wildlife. We used to love hawks and owls and other raptors. Now when we see one we chase it away. I must be quite a sight running toward them flapping my arms and yelling. We don’t mind if they keep the wildlife population in check, but we don’t want to feed them our animals. I still marvel at the beauty of their wingprint in the snow though. And hope they find plenty of wild prey. We haven’t seen many rabbit prints lately so prey may be getting scarce.
