I have a Screech Owl that now sits a foot outside my window atop a dead palm frond - blending in pefectly. During the day he will sit motionless for hours on end. He has gone away for days at a time the last few weeks but always comes back to the exact same spot. I love having him here, find myself disappointed when he's gone and excited when he comes back. At about 9" tall, he's adorable.
Built 2 in western NC last year. Mostly because I love owls. It drastically cut back the rodent problem in my horse stalls. Had tried before. I was just mounting them on the wrong side of the tree. I also attached a tree branch on the front. Those babies get brave fast! Thank you!
I had to build one at my old place. They already had a screech owl living in the attic. But they built mine with the hole at the bottom. Thing will scare the crap out of you at night. Great build.
Enjoy that cool weather. Mid 70's here today, almost 80 tomorrow. Lol! The first time I saw my chickens get after a mouse, I couldn't believe it. Keep in mind that owls can also be hard on your poultry flock, wild game birds and even kittens and small cats. That being said, I always like having owls around here.
It hit 72 once last week then bam back in the 20s. Gonna even hit the teens this Sunday evening or so they say. Of course when it rains it hovers right around 35 so no snow. And youre right, owls can raise hell on chickens. Thats why Im encouraging the little guy, the screech owl. Too small to do any damage to chickens or cats. The great horned owls though, ive seen them take kittens. Its not pretty.
Right on with the box. I had an owl n fox back in MD that would keep the garden rodent free. Everyone thought I was crazy for not running off the fox until they learned why it was there.
this video greatly improved my knowledge on where to place the owl house i just constructed. I also have to say, nice design. great tips on perches and the latch as well
Fun project, and I made one a few years ago. I may have made a mistake on placement because I only had a squirrel take up in it. I'm thinking about making a box for Barred owls. I seem to see them more and one frequently visits my brouther-in-law's porch. Just found your channel and subscribed. Thanks for sharing this project!
My prepper closet is on a second level and its made out of steel reinforced block and steel reinforced concrete, I have never had a problem on the second floor storage, I did have a problem on the first floor storage. My best bet is finishing my shed to make room in my prepper closet to get rid of the first floor storage closet...The owl 🦉 box came out really nice.
@@PalmettoPrepared building is what's keeping me sane right now, im even sleeping better than before. I'm going to try to get as many projects done during this pandemic, ill take a break after the pandemic is over.
feeling froggy? that is a term I haven't heard in a million years! I finally got to see our chickens~ I'm lucky enough to have a Great Horned Owl living in the cops of trees next to my house... great idea to put up an owl house. We used to put up bat houses (at our mountain cabin) a bunch live near me somewhere for the darn mosquitos.....but I do like the owl house. I wonder how many owls can live in a small area? Imma gonna look that up. Thanks for the idea.
I have great horned owls all over. I hear them regularly. Sometimes even get them in the oak right out front. I just tell the wife her letter for Hogwarts has finally come. Bathouses are next. I need a table saw to cut the kerfs so theyll be able to climb up and in and stay there. We have plenty of bats here in the summer especially since i have a creek in the back. As for owls, i know the screech owls always nest in pairs and its never a bad idea to build a back up house just in case they get run out of the primary. As for density, i know the screech owls are territorial i just dont know the limits. Regardless, i really hope it gets a resident as i could absolutely use the help especially since ill be planting much more grains this season
I appreciate that. We get those great horned owls every now and again. They're huge and hard to miss. These little guys are hard to see, you gotta listen for em. Great pest control for sure. How are the bees doin over this cold winter?
@@PalmettoPrepared yeah. Bees are doing good as far as I can tell. They were out the other day when it was warm. Above 55 you will see them. Above 60 they are working hard. So we will see in the spring when I open the hives and add the supers.
We have owls rest sometimes here during the night. Have only seen them in the daytime once and then it was a barn owl. They are beautiful bird and since we have no kittens anymore would love to encourage a nesting of owls here. Like you said they would keep the rodent population down. Since we are in the country, I sure could vote for that.
Good video Anthony! I haven't ever thought about having owls nearby to keep the mice and such down. I'm so going to do this as there are owls around that I have seen. Also keeping nice down keeps the snakes away. A snake bite from a rattlesnake in SHTF is pretty much a game ender....so anything to help keep them away is a major plus. Update the video when you get an owl to take up residence!
Exactly where I was going with it. When i plant more grains, mice inevitably move in. That brings snakes. Id much rather have owls vs rattlesnakes and copperheads. I hope i get a resident this spring. If not, ill move it closer to the creek since i hear they love to be close to water
@@PalmettoPrepared they all can get pretty loud, We have a county park that holds a Owl calling night for the local kids.. sometimes one of the screech Owls gets alittle pissed off and lets everybody know it. Lol
Hey man ! Just stumbled on your channel whilst looking for ideas on my own owl box for Tawny owls here in the UK. Really useful guide and love the tips like the wire mesh under the entrance hole for the chicks to climb in and out of the box. Just subscribed !
Any chance I could get the name of the exact stain you used? Been doing some research and haven’t seen a conclusive answer on waterproofing it. Built mine out of pine (probably not the best idea) and don’t really want it to rot away but also heard some birds won’t go in it if it’s stained
I built mine out of pine too don't worry. I used Thompsons water seal (the deck stain) only on the outside. 2 years later she's still hanging with only a slight warp of the top from the sun. Still sturdy and since I didn't stain the inside, its still attracting use
I hope it works to bring in a breeding pair. We can see it from our upstairs window so we are hoping it works. Since we have the creek behind us, theres all kinds of critters for them to eat. Lol my chickens are freaking dinosaurs. Its crazy seeing them rip apart moles or mice. Almost gruesome
Cool project Anthony. My troop in scouts built those for the state and then went out and hung them 🤓 Been missing ya at my streams and such is my bell hit on your channel?
Yeah being a micropreemie has her behind on a quite a few things. Thankfully she will hopefully outgrow most of her issues but for now its doctors appointments and medications galore
Thats the beauty of the screech owl, since theyre only max 10 inches tall, they cant take a bird except a chick but theyll never be free ranged unless they are fully grown with a roo escort
Thank you! Unfortunately I wasn't able to attract any screech owls this year. I'll assume my timing was just a bit too late. The box did get used but by chickadees if you can believe it. Going to wait till fall then move the box back closer to the creek in hopes that the area will be more suitable
Good info, however, 15 to 30 ft.? Way over kill. At those highest, how do plan to maintain it, they do need to be cleaned annually. A simple design adjustment would include allowing the bottom to slide out for cleaning.
Lol my cats do the same. Its like some sick form of torture. I generally hear the mouse squeeking for its life while they toss it around. Poor little fella. Im sure owls are much quicker
I have a Screech Owl that now sits a foot outside my window atop a dead palm frond - blending in pefectly. During the day he will sit motionless for hours on end. He has gone away for days at a time the last few weeks but always comes back to the exact same spot. I love having him here, find myself disappointed when he's gone and excited when he comes back. At about 9" tall, he's adorable.
Built 2 in western NC last year. Mostly because I love owls. It drastically cut back the rodent problem in my horse stalls. Had tried before. I was just mounting them on the wrong side of the tree. I also attached a tree branch on the front. Those babies get brave fast! Thank you!
Antony you rock it out buddy . Mother Nature love earthlings like you ! Much love and Mad Respect
Thank you Howie. Im all about living as sustainable as I can. Nature has the balance, we just have to get out of its way
@@PalmettoPrepared Well said
They’ll appreciate the finishing touches! Turned out great.
👍
We’ve become quite fond of the self tapping black screws. Neat wire idea.
Very informative 👍
Thank you! I like self tappers too. I was just curious if the plans would actually work and they sure did, like a charm
Great video. Just spent the day making on and it came out perfect.
Hope you get an occupant this spring
Using nature to live in nature = A+ from me
Best way to go about it
It looks great 👍🏻 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I had to build one at my old place. They already had a screech owl living in the attic. But they built mine with the hole at the bottom. Thing will scare the crap out of you at night. Great build.
Im weird, i cant wait to hear it. The great horned owls are a plenty here. Im always hearing the hoots and seeing the outlines in the trees at night
@@PalmettoPrepared They dont hoot, they scream. As soon as they drop from the nest and also while in the trees calling for a mate.
Enjoy that cool weather. Mid 70's here today, almost 80 tomorrow. Lol! The first time I saw my chickens get after a mouse, I couldn't believe it.
Keep in mind that owls can also be hard on your poultry flock, wild game birds and even kittens and small cats. That being said, I always like having owls around here.
It hit 72 once last week then bam back in the 20s. Gonna even hit the teens this Sunday evening or so they say. Of course when it rains it hovers right around 35 so no snow.
And youre right, owls can raise hell on chickens. Thats why Im encouraging the little guy, the screech owl. Too small to do any damage to chickens or cats. The great horned owls though, ive seen them take kittens. Its not pretty.
Well done!
Good job Anthony
Thanks uncle al
Great project , that turned out very nice , great tip about the perch , thanks for sharing , God bless !
Thank you Michael
Right on with the box. I had an owl n fox back in MD that would keep the garden rodent free. Everyone thought I was crazy for not running off the fox until they learned why it was there.
As long as its not rabid or as long as you dont have chickens, foxes will do wonders. No rabbits, voles, or mice messin with your stuff
Great video. Very well detailed.
this video greatly improved my knowledge on where to place the owl house i just constructed. I also have to say, nice design. great tips on perches and the latch as well
Great job on the video. You got right to the point. Thanks. Gilcortez from Texas
Very nice. I need to make some bird houses for swallows to control flies.
I enjoyed the project. I think ill make more and spread them around the property
Fun project, and I made one a few years ago. I may have made a mistake on placement because I only had a squirrel take up in it. I'm thinking about making a box for Barred owls. I seem to see them more and one frequently visits my brouther-in-law's porch. Just found your channel and subscribed. Thanks for sharing this project!
I didn't get an owl in mine this year either. I just got it up too late I think. I did get a family of chickadees though
My prepper closet is on a second level and its made out of steel reinforced block and steel reinforced concrete, I have never had a problem on the second floor storage, I did have a problem on the first floor storage. My best bet is finishing my shed to make room in my prepper closet to get rid of the first floor storage closet...The owl 🦉 box came out really nice.
I have to keep building things or I might lose my mind. Figured this project could fill that void. Im sure you know the feeling
@@PalmettoPrepared building is what's keeping me sane right now, im even sleeping better than before. I'm going to try to get as many projects done during this pandemic, ill take a break after the pandemic is over.
@@PalmettoPrepared By the way, that would be a great video topic lol
feeling froggy? that is a term I haven't heard in a million years! I finally got to see our chickens~ I'm lucky enough to have a Great Horned Owl living in the cops of trees next to my house... great idea to put up an owl house. We used to put up bat houses (at our mountain cabin) a bunch live near me somewhere for the darn mosquitos.....but I do like the owl house. I wonder how many owls can live in a small area? Imma gonna look that up. Thanks for the idea.
I have great horned owls all over. I hear them regularly. Sometimes even get them in the oak right out front. I just tell the wife her letter for Hogwarts has finally come.
Bathouses are next. I need a table saw to cut the kerfs so theyll be able to climb up and in and stay there. We have plenty of bats here in the summer especially since i have a creek in the back.
As for owls, i know the screech owls always nest in pairs and its never a bad idea to build a back up house just in case they get run out of the primary. As for density, i know the screech owls are territorial i just dont know the limits. Regardless, i really hope it gets a resident as i could absolutely use the help especially since ill be planting much more grains this season
Nice house. We got a few of them big ole owls around our place. That is a great idea, think I may get a few of them out. Always great stuff brother.
I appreciate that. We get those great horned owls every now and again. They're huge and hard to miss. These little guys are hard to see, you gotta listen for em. Great pest control for sure. How are the bees doin over this cold winter?
@@PalmettoPrepared yeah. Bees are doing good as far as I can tell. They were out the other day when it was warm. Above 55 you will see them. Above 60 they are working hard. So we will see in the spring when I open the hives and add the supers.
We have owls rest sometimes here during the night. Have only seen them in the daytime once and then it was a barn owl. They are beautiful bird and since we have no kittens anymore would love to encourage a nesting of owls here. Like you said they would keep the rodent population down. Since we are in the country, I sure could vote for that.
They are gorgeous. I love having them around. Just reading the amount mice they can take in one night makes it well worth the build imo
Thanks brother, keep up the good information.
Cool video!
Thanks Steve
Good video Anthony! I haven't ever thought about having owls nearby to keep the mice and such down. I'm so going to do this as there are owls around that I have seen.
Also keeping nice down keeps the snakes away. A snake bite from a rattlesnake in SHTF is pretty much a game ender....so anything to help keep them away is a major plus.
Update the video when you get an owl to take up residence!
Exactly where I was going with it. When i plant more grains, mice inevitably move in. That brings snakes. Id much rather have owls vs rattlesnakes and copperheads.
I hope i get a resident this spring. If not, ill move it closer to the creek since i hear they love to be close to water
I was thinking it would be cool to have a camera to view the owls and their young.
Nice Owl penthouse...Now just wait for your My Cousin Vinny moment at 1am, you'll know one has moved in..lol
Lmao thankfully the screech owl just makes a nice fluttery, almost purring sound. Them barn owls though
@@PalmettoPrepared they all can get pretty loud, We have a county park that holds a Owl calling night for the local kids.. sometimes one of the screech Owls gets alittle pissed off and lets everybody know it. Lol
Nice project!
Thanks for checkin it out
Lol love it how u talked about the cats
They're my buddies
Great video, thank you for the info! 🦉
Hey man ! Just stumbled on your channel whilst looking for ideas on my own owl box for Tawny owls here in the UK. Really useful guide and love the tips like the wire mesh under the entrance hole for the chicks to climb in and out of the box. Just subscribed !
Good stuff, dude. Gotta tend your domain
Hes alive!!!
Any chance I could get the name of the exact stain you used? Been doing some research and haven’t seen a conclusive answer on waterproofing it. Built mine out of pine (probably not the best idea) and don’t really want it to rot away but also heard some birds won’t go in it if it’s stained
I built mine out of pine too don't worry. I used Thompsons water seal (the deck stain) only on the outside. 2 years later she's still hanging with only a slight warp of the top from the sun. Still sturdy and since I didn't stain the inside, its still attracting use
@@PalmettoPrepared ok, thanks so much!
HAY P.P. GREAT JOB JUST A SUGGESTION HOW ABOUT A BAT BOX BROTHER. KEEP THEM COMING BROTHER
Yep. Working on that one as we speak. Gotta go pick up a table saw from my uncle so i can cut the kerfs since bats definitely need it
@@PalmettoPrepared 👊👊👊👍👍👍👍🌈🌈🎆🦄🦄🦄😎😎🙏🙏
Man that's a great project i need to get done. I have a open field behind the house and mice are terrible. My chickens dont do a very good job.
I hope it works to bring in a breeding pair. We can see it from our upstairs window so we are hoping it works. Since we have the creek behind us, theres all kinds of critters for them to eat. Lol my chickens are freaking dinosaurs. Its crazy seeing them rip apart moles or mice. Almost gruesome
Cool project Anthony. My troop in scouts built those for the state and then went out and hung them 🤓
Been missing ya at my streams and such is my bell hit on your channel?
You realize i have a special needs infant at home right? Its hard to get on at certain times
@@PalmettoPrepared i knew you had an infant didnt know about she being special needs...I truly apologize and send my prayers 🙏
Really im sorry
Yeah being a micropreemie has her behind on a quite a few things. Thankfully she will hopefully outgrow most of her issues but for now its doctors appointments and medications galore
@@PalmettoPrepared ya when my son was born he had a hole in his heart....lots of trips to docs and testing...my prayers are with you my friend
FAB
Nice work. I got voles issues here. The neighborhood Hawk is a slacker
Freaking voles drive me crazy. They killed 2 of my first friut trees
How about your chickens, would the owl not after then if you free range them
Thats the beauty of the screech owl, since theyre only max 10 inches tall, they cant take a bird except a chick but theyll never be free ranged unless they are fully grown with a roo escort
Since I live in s Florida maybe north facing would be best, zone 9b.
You're probably right. It gets plenty warm very early there
Outstanding job, Anthony! Did you ever get any nesting ESO's in your box? Take care and keep up the great work!!
Thank you! Unfortunately I wasn't able to attract any screech owls this year. I'll assume my timing was just a bit too late. The box did get used but by chickadees if you can believe it. Going to wait till fall then move the box back closer to the creek in hopes that the area will be more suitable
@@PalmettoPrepared Starting my build tomorrow and thanks again for posting this!
I'd like to get an owl near me. How do you know another type of bird won't move in?
👍
I would love to buy a box from you.
What size screw did you use?
Just regular coated 1 inch deck screws
How did you mount it?
3 3inch screws on top and 3 3inch screws on the bottom
How did you know 13 degrees?
It's on the drawing
You call it OCD I call it craftsmanship
Good info, however, 15 to 30 ft.? Way over kill. At those highest, how do plan to maintain it, they do need to be cleaned annually. A simple design adjustment would include allowing the bottom to slide out for cleaning.
Getim Antony
Great vid. No need to drill a countersink. Pine is soft and the screw will sink itself and make a more secure hold.
👍🏼
I built one today in less than an hour.
Any luck?
Yep. Not an eastern screech owl like I planned for but an American kestrel last year. This year I haven't seen any action yet
I hate meeses to pieces !!
Owl house...good idea...
You got me Kraken up...
Kitty kills everything....after she plays with it....
Lol my cats do the same. Its like some sick form of torture. I generally hear the mouse squeeking for its life while they toss it around. Poor little fella. Im sure owls are much quicker
5 minutes before the build wasted
Very nice! Does the stain have smells and vapors that are bad for the owls?
I didn't want to take any chances so I only stained the outside. Haven't noticed any issues as it has seen residents these last few years