The Great Horned Owl and The Flock

 

 

The Great Horned Owl on Little Utah Farm. 
This owl never harmed anyone's chickens. He would visit then fly away. 
Photo by Deborah Moen of Little Utah Farm

Recently news came of a very large owl who hoo hoo was attacking free roaming chickens in our area. I have lived in Utah for 12 years now and never had any incidences. 

My first response was to keep my hens and ducks safe so I kept them in the coop. The weird part of this was that he attacked night and day. I thought owls slept during the day. They do come out on dark cloudy days at dusk or dawn but not daylight, or so I thought. Thinking the owls were only night creatures gave us the freedom and confidence to let our flock roam in the back yard. 

I felt very sad as our yard has always been safe haven with good fencing and tree cover. The girls know when a predator is nearby and they will either duck underneath the big fir tree or run for the coop.

 I decided this was time to watch over our flock. This way they could get some sun and exercise. The dog's presence helped also. 

The Winter Sun Room where the hens lay down and soak up the sunrays .

When I let the hens and ducks out of the coop they run and find their food and water. First the hens go inside the Winter Sun Room ,where I have tossed some scratch and a clean bowl of water. There is a lot of scratching and pecking through the straw then they lay down in there soaking up the sunrays which is quite warm at 6,000 ft. in elevation. After a good warm sunbath they walk to the big fir tree and fountain area which has tall grass all around. The ducks continually waddle from water bucket to water bucket to splash and snorkel. 

Father Raven always warns me of a nearby hawk. He flies really low overhead and calls out an alarm. I looked up and sure enough there is a hawk or falcon approaching. The ducks begin to waddle quickly to the coop and I take my herding cane and call out the cue to "go to bed" The hens begin to move out of the shadows and into to open space. They stoop really low and scramble inside. They are so smart! I close the coop door and they are safe. 

Once Raven came by calling the alarm. I looked up and saw a large bird ( a juvenile red tailed hawk with a full white breast) tucked his body into a streamline bullet and began diving headfirst towards our yard. I grabbed my cane which we lovingly call our "duck stick" and I swung it over my head like a helicopter blade and gave the call out to go to bed . Like a fire drill they all file into the coop. 

I have not yet seen the Great Horned Owl that was hunting chickens in our area. But I will continue to shepherd our flock. It is really nice to spend time with them. With winter here that time is cut short with the cold and snow but I allow them to stretch their legs while I fix up their food. As I carry the bowls back to the coop they follow. 

Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm,

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Deborah Moen of Little Utah Farm

Until next time:

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And visit our Little Utah Farm Store on Zazzle.

I photograph images of our animals, garden, four seasons, and vintage tractors and place them on greeting cards, aprons, pillows blankets and other great products. 

Little Utah Farm

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Amanda is a Jersey calf in our Little Utah Farm Store on Zazzle.

Amanda Little Utah Farm Store. Amanda Jersey Calf is our neighbor. She strikes the cutest poses. 

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                                                    Amanda's Throw Blanket 

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Black Hawk Finds A Home On Little Utah Farm

Black Hawk minutes after we found him,
Alone in the alfalfa field only 4 weeks old. 

"Walker, Kollie !" my husband, Paul, called out to our dogs. "Get over here !" Those two dogs love the tall grass borders along the alfalfa fields and tend to get caught up exploring, sniffing, eating grass, and peeing on all the wild scents. They ran back to us as we made the turn towards our home.  At that moment I heard high pitched sound, like a hawk, which I thought was coming from the bushes along the fence. My husband even asked, "Is that a hawk?" Probably a hawk hunting we assumed and walked on home. 

The next morning we set out on our walk. Paul confided to me that the thought of the hawk kept him awake all night. He told me he wanted to check that area thoroughly in case the hawk was injured. We entered the field. The alfalfa had grown near 8" high and we picked up our feet to step over each clump. We stopped at the spot where we heard the hawk cry out. I leashed the dogs and stayed back while Paul went ahead and searched along the bushes. 

I thought I heard him say kittens and rushed over to see. A tiny black kitten emerged from the bushes wobbling straight for me. My heart pounded in my chest. There was a bed and a bowl of food and water hidden back against the fence that runs along a very busy country road. "What shall we do?" Paul asked. "I am taking him home with us." I answered.  I felt so sad someone would leave such a helpless creature in an alfalfa field exposed to the freezing nights and predators.  

"Mew ! Mew!" the little baby kitty cried and cried. Then it struck us...it was the kitten crying out yesterday, not a hawk. As we continued our walk we decided we'd name him, Black Hawk. I asked Paul for Kollie's pink bandana. He untied it from her neck and I wrapped it around the kitten to keep it warm. I held her close on my chest. 

When we got home we went and bought him some kitten formula and a bottle. More on that later.  

This is the video below of our dear little Black Hawk on his first day home.

 I realized the best thing had happened. We found Black Hawk and he had found a loving home on Little Utah Farm. 

Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm.

Until next time,

We will be posting updates on Black Hawk's life with us. 

Deborah Moen
Little Utah Farm