Owl guards

[JoeD]

Have had owl troubles for many years and have tried all the commercial
owl guards on both gourds and t-14 and my own modifications with extended rods
But still the owls have many successful raids. I know this because the owls shows up on
my shed about 75 feet from the t-14 every night at sunset and a new pile of feathers
is under his/her perch on many mornings. Exasperated I am going to try wire cages
Can anyone recommend what type of sturdy wire caging to use and how big the openings
need to be. I am going to try to cage the t-14 first with a 4 foot diameter circular cage. From my
own experience I believe the barrier needs to be at a minimum of 12 inches from the entrance.
Thanks,

[Forum Admin]

There's some good info and photos in this thread: https://www.purplemartin.org/forum/view ... e+AND+blog

[Hanover Bill]

Hi Joe;

I used 2 x 4 inch welded wire fencing for my T-14 owl guards. Rather than encircle the entire T-14 I wrapped the fencing around each individual door, stapling it to the door edges. When you open the compartment door the owl cage opens right along with the door. I also cut out a piece of wire directly in front of each compartment opening, making that a 4 x 4 inch opening. I was concerned about the Martins getting used to the cage, but they took to it like a fish to water, no hesitation at all, and no problems with the young fledging through it.

For my gourds I used the standard method of 2 rods extending out in front of the gourd entrance, and bending down in front about 6-8 inches from the porch. I never had an owl attack but I wanted to be pro-active with protection, I know there are owls in my area. So far so good.

Hanover Bill.

[jamesjohnson5551]

Thanks for sharing and this thread helped me a lot.

[JoeD]

Bill, Thanks for the great advice. I am going to take you up on it!
Sounds like it would just as effective and a lot easier to install
Joe