A quiet evening on a Texas farm turned into an unforgettable moment when a local farmer spotted an unexpected predator near his chicken coop. What started as a routine check quickly turned into a wild encounter, and the startling aftermath was all caught on camera. The video shows farm owner Sam Moffett of Shirttail Creek Farm holding the owl in question by its legs as he shares a surprisingly calm and unexpected moment with the bird. The clip has since gone viral, captivating viewers nationwide.
Wearing a black sweater and blue jeans, Moffett is seen standing by his chicken coop, calmly holding the owl as he speaks to the camera. “Owls have strong talons,” he explains. “This fellow here was eating my chickens. I’m not going to hurt him. I just had to grab him to get him out of this [expletive] chicken house.” At this point, the farmer tries to gently free his finger from the owl’s powerful talons, wincing at the grip. It’s clearly causing him some discomfort.
Nevertheless, Moffett continues, “And I can’t get my finger out of these talons. This is [expletive] nuts. Ow, they’re sharp. Its talons are quite sharp. I got him.” as he breaks his finger free from the owl’s tight grip. “Oh my god. He got me.” he says, before turning to the owl and pulling a few playful faces. Staring at the owl, and with the owl staring back at him with wide yellow eyes, the farmer declares, “I wish we could be friends. You’re [expletive] cool. I don’t want you eating my birds, however, sir. Look at this amazing [expletive] owl. Now what you don’t want is you don’t want that beak getting on you. If those talons are that strong, I can only imagine what the beak is like.“
After delivering one final playful warning, “This isn’t allowed, sir. This is not permissible. Now fly, Mordecai! Fly!” the farmer releases the owl, watching as it soars back into the blue sky.
With more than 100K likes and 2.8K comments on Reddit alone, the video quickly went viral, with viewers praising the farmer’s calm and respectful handling of the unexpected visitor. One helpful Redditor chimed in, writing, “Should you ever be gripped by a Great Horned Owl, or pretty much any other raptor, there is a trick to make it easier to extract yourself. If you straighten their leg that’s gripping, that releases the mechanism that is locking their talons in place. They have a strong grip, yes, but once gripped it takes zero effort to hold that grip because there is a system much like a zip tie in place that holds them there until the leg is straightened. Source – 10 years as a volunteer raptor rehabilitator who has been grabbed by everything from Saw-whet owls to Golden Eagles.”
Others, meanwhile, noted the cool composure the farmer displayed while holding the pesky owl, with one penning, ““I’m not going to hurt him.” “I wish we could be friends.” Respect.” and another adding, “Some people ooze swag. Holding an owl, crackin’ jokes. Just damn…” A fourth netizen made a lighthearted joke about how the owl appeared so nonchalant and unconcerned by the encounter, writing, “Love the owl’s face, like, “I apologize for nothing! Someone once said that owls are basically just cats with wings, and seeing this owl, I believe it“.
