Installing predatory bird netting

[kwillia]

The mini-schnauzers have a glorious fenced in play area which incorporates a grassy area where they play tetherball and tug of war and such and a high-branch tree covered area with strategically placed bushes they run around like a dirt track zig-zagging a such. It is great to let them run amok for hours at a time.

Flash forward to a couple day ago, hubby was washing the truck and heard a lot of "who-who whooooing" going on. I searched the line and caught a HUGE horned owl fly off. Yep, large enough to swoop down and grab my babies... While talking to Shelley of 'Shelley's Pet Boutique' while the girls were getting their hairs and nails did, she recommended bird netting as a highly effective determent for all predatory birds.

I have a 50' x 50' being delivered tomorrow and trees of which I can attach to... anybody here installed a large bird net before who can offer lessons learned?

 

[vraiblonde]

Ugh. I have no advice for you, I'm just glad you realized about the pred birds the way you did instead of by watching them carry one of the babies off. That never even occurred to me.

 

[kwillia]

Ugh. I have no advice for you, I'm just glad you realized about the pred birds the way you did instead of by watching them carry one of the babies off. That never even occurred to me.

I am aware of hawk and eagle traffic, but NEVER thought about the large mammal eating owls. Based on this guys wingspan he would be able to carry the little one with no effort and possible the bigger one. Shelley said she has them in her woods and using the netting to protect her chickens with no issues. The Amazon reviews had several people say once the put up the netting the big birds don't even bother to circle anymore and travel elsewhere. I would have been horrified had that owl swooped in.

 

[General Lee]

The mini-schnauzers have a glorious fenced in play area which incorporates a grassy area where they play tetherball and tug of war and such and a high-branch tree covered area with strategically placed bushes they run around like a dirt track zig-zagging a such. It is great to let them run amok for hours at a time.

Flash forward to a couple day ago, hubby was washing the truck and heard a lot of "who-who whooooing" going on. I searched the line and caught a HUGE horned owl fly off. Yep, large enough to swoop down and grab my babies... While talking to Shelley of 'Shelley's Pet Boutique' while the girls were getting their hairs and nails did, she recommended bird netting as a highly effective determent for all predatory birds.

I have a 50' x 50' being delivered tomorrow and trees of which I can attach to... anybody here installed a large bird net before who can offer lessons learned?

I use deer netting for my poultry flocks. Works great, is easy to work with and is strong. Its made of plastic or nylon and 1/2 inch squares. The cloth type netting is a bitch to work with. Just staple it to the trees with a heavy duty staple gun and zip tie it to things you cant staple to ie; top of the fence. If there is an area you need head room just use a 2x4 or pole of some sort to create a "tent".

 

[General Lee]

I just lost a large duck to an owl. Couldn't fly off with it but killed it and ate its head and neck where it laid. Horned owls are more predatory then we think. They will kill an adult turkey.

 

[kwillia]

I use deer netting for my poultry flocks. Works great, is easy to work with and is strong. Its made of plastic or nylon and 1/2 inch squares. The cloth type netting is a bitch to work with. Just staple it to the trees with a heavy duty staple gun and zip tie it to things you cant staple to ie; top of the fence. If there is an area you need head room just use a 2x4 or pole of some sort to create a "tent".

I paid extra to get no-tangle netting that will also last much longer than the standard nylon netting. One review said it survived a hurricane that put a tree through the chicken coup yard.