It is a common practice to scare away chickens using fake owls. Many house entrances and yards, especially the ones that plant various kinds of trees, often display a fake owl. This attempt may seem a little overboard sometimes, but it actually works.
Here, we will discuss whether a fake owl will keep chickens away. We will further discuss the reasoning behind it. Read ahead to learn more about this interesting concept.
Will a fake owl keep chickens away?
A fake owl will keep chickens away. But it will not be able to maintain this for too long. The fake owl will temporarily scare the chickens away. But it will not take the chickens too long to realize that the owl is not moving and will not cause them any harm.
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Chickens are naturally scared of birds like owls and hawks. This is because these birds are common predators of chickens. So they are always on the lookout for owls, hawks as well as snakes.
Many people set up fake owls on their porch or yard. This is especially done in order to scare the chickens away from entering the yard because they have a tendency to ruin bushes, plants, and set up camp inside of houses.
We have to say, the concept of setting up fake owls to keep chickens away is quite clever. And it works pretty well.
But it will keep chickens away for the short term. It is not a long-term solution because the chickens will eventually figure out that the owl is fake.
Chickens are pretty smart beings. They cannot be fooled for too long. It will not take them a long time to realize that the owl in your yard has no movement. They will no longer bother with the owl because it will not look dangerous to them.
They will soon deem the owl as harmless and enter your yard without a worry. While they will still remain very vigilant, the chickens will enter the boundary anyway.
So to summarize our answer, fake owls will keep chickens away from your property. But this method will not be effective for a long time.
It will only work as a short-term solution until the chickens figure out that the owl is not really dangerous. Once they do, they will enter your property, despite the fake owl.
Are chickens afraid of fake owls?
Yes, chickens are afraid of fake owls. Owls are among the most dominant predators of chickens, followed by hawks and snakes. So chickens are naturally very scared of them.
Chickens are quite vulnerable to predation. So they are always on the lookout for their predators. Chickens are vigilant beings and they will never enter a threatening territory.
Chickens obviously cannot tell the difference between a fake owl and a real owl. So when they see a fake owl, they immediately get defensive and protective of themselves and their community.
They will not enter your boundary if they see that you have put a fake owl on display.
However, this trick will not work for too long. Chickens are smart beings as well. It will not take them too long to realize that the owl on display is not moving. They will soon notice that the owl is not harmless and will not cause them any trouble.
2 reasons why fake owls keep chickens away
Chickens are afraid of fake owls. Here are two reasons why fake owls keep chickens away.
Owls are predators:
Chickens are naturally very scared of owls. This is because owls have a reputation as predators. Chickens are quite vigilant by nature and they will not enter a place where they can sense some danger.
Owls eat chickens. It takes them just a couple of minutes to hunt a chicken, prey on, and feed on it. And they do not hunt during nighttime alone.
When they see a fake owl, they have no way of knowing that it is fake at first glance. So naturally, the fake owl scares them. It also stops them from entering the region where you have placed the owl.
Owls prey on chickens both during daytime and nighttime:
Chickens have no reason to believe that they are safe from owls during the day. Owls do not only prey during the nighttime, but they do so during the daytime as well.
So chickens always feel the need to be aware of their surroundings, more so when they spot an owl.
How do I keep chickens off my fence using fake owls?
Here are the steps that you will need to follow in order to keep chickens off your fence using fake owls:
Get a fake owl:
The first step would involve making a fake owl for the display. You will find a range of fake owls in the current market, in different sizes and colors.
Choose an owl decoy that is not too large for your property – something that you can hide or store easily.
Make sure that the color is not too flashy either, you do not want the owl to draw too much attention to your fence. Otherwise, it may drive away from some useful insects and birds in the process.
Set it on display:
Now you would want to set the owl on display. Owls have a reputation of being predators, so many animals, birds, and insects are scared of them, besides chickens.
You do not want to scare the useful beings with the owl. So keep this factor into consideration and choose an ideal location for the fake owl.
It would be great if you can identify the route that the chickens are taking to enter your yard. Then you can place the fake owl by the fence along that route.
Change the position of the fake owl every once in a while:
As we have mentioned earlier, the chickens will soon get accustomed to the fake owl and realize that it is not dangerous.
This happens because the chickens notice that the owl is not moving. So it would be ideal to change the position of the fake owl every once in a while
Will a fake owl keep hawks away from chickens?
Yes, a fake owl will also keep hawks away from chickens. If you have pet chickens in your yard, then you should be careful of any predator hawks. They will prey on your chickens as soon as they can get a hold of them.
You can set up fake owls or decoys in your yard to keep the hawks away. Hawks are afraid of owls. The hawk will perceive the owl as the predator of chickens. So they are technically competitors here.
Why do people put fake owls outside their houses?
There are several reasons why people put fake owls outside their houses. Let’s take a look at some of the most prominent reasons behind this:
To scare away chickens:
Depending on where you are located and the type of chicken that surrounds you, you can find fake owls of various sizes to put on your fence.
You can either camouflage the owl decoy or put it in plain sight. This depends on your intention with the decoy.
In addition, you should make sure to move the owl decoy and change its position every once in a while. This will reinforce fear among the chicken and animals that you are trying to scare away.
Fend off birds:
You can also use fake owls to scare away birds from your property. There are many birds that have a tendency of destroying the plantation on your property. Plot owners then use fake owls to scare those birds away.
Owls are natural predators. They are often feared by smaller and weaker birds. So fake owls work like magic in scaring away birds from your property.
But you cannot fool the smarter birds with a fake owl. They will soon notice that your fake owl is not moving and does not appear to be dangerous.
To reinforce fear in those birds, make sure to move the fake owl after a while. You should change the fake owl’s position after certain intervals.
To scare away hawks:
If you have pets that are preyed on by hawks, such as hens, chickens, or ducks, then you could definitely benefit from a fake owl.
Hawks have a tendency of preying on chickens and ducks, so you should be careful of them. The decoy will scare away hawks from your property.
Final Thoughts
Fake owls will definitely scare away chickens. Chickens are naturally afraid of owls because they prey on chickens. But owls will soon realize that your owl is harmless when they notice they are not moving. So make sure that you’re changing the owl’s position every once in a while.