Oh, he's a beauty!

I doubt that he'll be too scared to try again, hunger is a very powerful drive. Glad you released him unharmed and are taking precautions with your chickens, it's the humane and practical thing to do.

Thank You Naturelover.

Like you, I am very much the nature lover which is why I not only totally organic garden, but encourge nature into my garden.

In my tiny little 4 acres I plant not only the ornamentals and veggies that I love, but also plant or let grow what so many consider weeds to encourage wildlife to share my world and I'm so much richer for doing so.

And in doing so, nature makes her own balance, what is a major pest one year, creates a over abundance of what feeds on that pest the next year and the problem is solved, I just have to wait it out.

I am so glad that I have learned the ways of nature so have no fears of spiders, snakes and such. Birds are beautiful, I have a long list of those that visit my gardens, but it's the creepy crawlies that really make a garden.

Of course I released the owl. First of all, I never in my wildest dreams ever thought I would live trap a owl, the wildlife department never thought it posible either, we were both shocked over this one, glad I took pics to prove it, but also it's a federal crime to harm a raptor, not like I would do so.

I was expecting a coon or possum, which I would have relocated at my friends huge wooded property. I have a scare hawk in my pasture area, a few years ago a hawk took my very much beloved pet gander of 17 year and broke my heart but a scare hawk took care of that problem, but never thought a owl would cause problems since my chickens, ducks and geese are smart enough to roost in the barn. Guess this owl, a great horned, figured out how to swoop into the barn. Now I have to go out at dusk when the domestic birds and barn swallows are roosting, shut up the barn and then go out at dawn and open it up again. Good thing I wake up at 5am, my barn swallows will be happy I'm there to let them out, lol.

For fun, this is my scare hawk which I put out back in the early part of May before the veggie garden got going, the veggy garden is in the pasture where my domestic barnyard fowls are, it is very full right now this is a early pic. I was a K mart employee before my store got closed in may, so I call it my K crow, it's dressed like a K Mart employee and it works very well to keep the hawks away.

(( also plant or let grow what so many consider weeds to encourage wildlife to share my world))

Just curious what those weeds are, can you elaborate? I've been busy getting rid of weeds but have started wondering how many nutritious plants I'm whacking away out of ignorance.

I like to encourage wildlife but so far it's mainly birds, including a couple of returning hummers. My house is in a new subdivision and whatever animals were in this land were chased away when the houses were built. Besides birds I've only seen ONCE one squirrel and one tarantula in my property.

Naturelover, we live in such totally different climates that I doubt most of my 'weeds' would be your weeds.

But I have 4 acres and I let a wide band of weeds grow along my borders, the most being between my pasture and the farmers field behing me. In there I have a couple different typed of milkweed, goldenrod, plane tree, beechnuts, choke and sweet cherries, blackwalnuts, hickory nuts, joe pye weed, iron weed and countless others.

This feeds squirrels, chippies, countless birds and butterfly cats.

What you have to do for your area is find out what wildlife is native, what they eat and then plant or allow that to grow.

And never kill what you may think is a pest until you learn what it is. I learned that with my giant swallowtail butterflies, they are the uglies cats and the first time I found them I was so grateful I took the time to look them up before I killed them, lol.

And make your garden wildlife friendly. I leave leaves at the base of trees in the fall for ladybugs to winter over in, put up toad houses and always make sure there is water available. I don't bother to put up bird or hummer feeders, I have enough in plants for them to eat, the hummers and I fight over flowers when I'm trying to pick some for the house.

I do envy your taranchulas, I love taranchulas, but they are not native here, but I do get some beautiful orb spiders, all of which I name Charlotte, lol.

A visit, to help at an avian rehabilitation center, showed me that the owls, originally helped, would return to steal other healing birds.
A friend raises gamebirds and must keep wire on top of the pens to ward off owls.
When I kept chickens, making sure they were closed up, after they had retreated to the henhouse, for the night, was a limitation on me, as far as leaving home on vacation or even being to any occasion until after dark.

Great catch!
Looks like wire on top is the only safe solution for the future.

Wow! That is one beautiful owl! I wish we had a few of those here! Well, maybe we do, but I haven't seen any. I need one to rid me of our chipmunks.

Hope he finds something other than your chickens to eat. Do let me know if you want me to send you a few cute little destructive rodents for him-I have plenty to spare I'm afraid. ;)

Good story and great pics! And when he's through with cyn427's chipmunks, I'll send some moles...