Owls house them at home. Many-faced owl: symbolism, talismans, traditions. Video - Types of Owls

This article covers the main aspects of the nutrition of species of owls, common in captivity in our country (former CIS countries). It is applicable to representatives of such genera as: owl (Strix), eagle owls (Bubo), eared owls (Asio), owls (Athene), scoops (Otus).

All kinds of owls, owls, owls, scoops, owls are polyphages. They willingly switch from one feed to another, focusing on the mass character of one or another biological species. In nature, owls actively hunt not only for rodents, but also for birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, insects, worms. The percentage of types and classes of animals in the diet of owls depends on the size of the owl and on the availability of food. So, for example, during the period of mass departure of cicadas or locusts, even large owls for several weeks can switch to food only by insects.

Polyphagy, or polyphagy - the use of animal polyphages of various animal and plant foods.

When compiling a ration for captive owls, one should proceed from the principle of maximum feed diversity and the degree of poultry mobility. So, the food of an owl kept in an apartment without active flights and trainings will differ from the nutrition of owls living in an aviary all year round, and even more so from the diet of owls that they actively “work with” and are engaged in hunting or free flights.

An owl should not be fed boneless meat or chicken. An owl often absorbs the body of the victim whole with wool / feathers, bones and all organs. Undigested food residues - wool, feather, bones, scales, thick chitin in the muscular stomach are pressed into a dense, odorless lump called a riddle, which is regularly burped by the bird, while the cuticle is partially renewed (hard and desquamous part of the gastric mucosa). When feeding meat or chicken fillet, the entire gastrointestinal tract of daytime birds of prey and owls is disturbed, which leads to a whole cascade of unpleasant and fatal consequences for the body and ultimately to the death of the bird.

In this video, barn owl (Tyto alba) swallows a small rabbit whole.

If such a period happens (let’s be realistic - everyone, even the most responsible owner of owls, faced with a situation of lack of feed animals, including not through their own fault), that it is not possible to feed the owl with whole animals, then TEMPORARY you can use wool, gammarus, grated carrots, shrimps, or their shells to roll off sliced \u200b\u200bpieces of meat (turkey, chicken hearts).

Additional feed for barn Owl: quail meat boneless in feathers, raw shrimp, carrots, apples. A photo Nicky Kuklina.

If an owl is not actively engaged in training, training, free flight, then, due to a sedentary lifestyle, high fat content of the food will lead to fatty degeneration of the liver and atherosclerosis, therefore, in adult rats and quails, it is necessary to remove subcutaneous fat.

Birds with which they are actively engaged in hunting, training, free flight - you can not limit the fat content of feed animals, but this does not abolish the rules for buying feed animals from good sources, where they are grown on high-grade feed.

All types of owls need to arrange “fasting” days - do not feed the birds once a week.

An important aspect overlooked by many keeper - in nature, many species of owls stock up on food. Thus, in the winter, the owls have several spare “warehouses - hollows” which they fill with caught mice and birds. Moreover, the number of carcasses of animals can be very large. The owls can spend the night in such hollows or visit them from time to time to replenish supplies or eat them up. Naturally, the “stocks” are running out, but this does not prevent the owls from feeding on them.

A similar behavior is observed in owls kept in enclosures - they hide the uneaten remains of feed animals and eat them later, when they are already highly fermented. Owls kept at home exhibit scattering of the intestines of rats and mice, and if the owners do not immediately remove such residues, owls eat them after 2-3 days, very bad.

In this video virgin owl (Bubo virginianus) returns the next night to the carcass of the killed chicken.

This is an important aspect of maintaining normal intestinal microflora of owls and the activity of their digestive enzymes.

Fish in the diet of owls:

Owls, owls, eared owls in nature actively catch river fish.

On video spotted owl (Strix varia) eats fish.

Gray owls in our latitudes also actively hunt fish. Observations of Gray Owls ( Strix aluco) in the Oksky Biosphere State Reserve showed that, in addition to the mouse-like rodents, the owl also caught perch, pike, ide, swimming beetles, spindleworms and fed the nestlings with them.

Fish in the feeding of gray owl (Strix aluco). V.P. Ivanchev, R.B. Bobkov, M.V. D Idorchuk, M.V. Onufrenya, O.P. It’s empty. Russian Ornithological Journal 1997 issue 7.

It should be clarified that sea fish do not need to be introduced into the diets of owls. Only river fish should be given.

Vegetable feed for owls:

Many will be surprised to learn that owls enjoy eating fruits, berries, vegetables, sometimes even foliage and herbs (the latter refers to self-healing of animals). Here is an example of an interesting observation, in this video gray owl (Strix aluco) eats oak leaves.

Owls eat apricots, cherries, grapes, ripe pears, tomatoes, zucchini. In captivity, there have also been cases of hunting consumption by owls. bell pepper and chili, plums, bananas, fresh herbs and dandelion flowers, clover, plantain. Small insectivorous species - house owls, splyuski and other scoops are especially prone to accept plant foods.

In this video, an adult female Virginian owl ( Bubo virginianus) eats grapes. Interestingly, this bird is tame and free; it can be seen that the bird lives on the territory of the site, breeds and at the same time maintains a connection with the person who fed it.

Barn Owl is eating zucchini. Photo Author Nika Kuklina

When kept in captivity, it makes sense to try to offer plant foods to all species of owls, as rodent feed rodents, poultry, insects are depleted in food compared to their natural equivalent. In the natural environment, owls receive plant foods, consuming whole carcasses of animals and insects, along with the stomach and intestines, filled with semi-digested chopped plant food.

Brownie Owl (Athene noctua). The owl ate blueberries, as can be seen by the color of the beak. Photo Author Nick Bison.

It is worth noting that owls are more adapted to the processing and assimilation of plant foods than daytime predators, due to the presence of paired blind guts (they are reduced in daytime raptors), which contain specific microflora involved in the fermentation and breakdown of plant components at the final stage of digestion .

After eating a large number of berries or fruits, owls can have episodic diarrhea, especially if the owl takes these products for the first time or very rarely. No special measures to eliminate diarrhea in these cases are necessary.

Birds in the diet of owls:

In nature, all species of owls consume proportionate species of other birds from time to time. During the warm season, the proportion of poultry prey in the owl's diet increases due to the nestlings and broods of various species that are easily accessible for hunting.

Pearl Sparrow (Glaucidium perlatum) got a lovebird parrot. This photo illustrates the dangers of keeping small owls and other birds together. .

In captivity, Japanese quail, daily subsistence and bred chickens are used as additional food. It is better to choose quail eggs, rather than meat and egg (large heavy breeds), because due to the fast “broiler” weight gain and fattening, the latter, as a rule, have high fat content. By age, preferable to young, i.e. quail at the age of 1-2 months, the skeleton of which is already sufficiently formed (which means that the owl will receive the necessary amount of mineral substances from the feed), but at the same time the quail has not yet had time to “feed fat”. From the carcasses of adult quail for owls contained in the apartment and having little opportunity to move, it is advisable to remove visible deposits of subcutaneous fat, most often they are located in the area of \u200b\u200bthe knee fold, abdomen, in the interclavicular fossa under the quail goiter. If you doubt the availability of veterinary services for the poultry head at your quail supplier, you need to gut the gastrointestinal tract, wash off the litter or cut off the bare parts of the paws of the carcass - this is necessary to minimize the risk of transmission of pathogenic bacteria, helminth eggs, protozoan cysts that may carry quail due to crowded content and "conveyor" breeding.

Quail youngsters up to a month of age and day-old chickens are an inferior feed and can be introduced into the diet only for a change, since such feed objects are poor in calcium and phosphorus, and the yolk sac (it is located in the abdominal cavity of chickens and quail) has a high fat content, therefore, before feeding carcasses of chicken owl is best to remove the yolk sac; however, from time to time, it can be left and offered unsolicited daily chickens:owls living in an apartment - no more than 1 time per week, and aviaries (especially wintering in the street) - up to 3-4 times a week.

Insects in owl nutrition:

Small species of owls, such as Athene owls and scoops (bulanic, collar, Ussuri, crouch), are mainly insectivorous species in their natural habitats, although they do not neglect other feeds (mouse-like rodents, small birds). It is desirable to enrich the diet of these species in captivity as much as possible with a variety of insect cultures - least 50% of the feed should be they. Other species of owls in nature also do not disdain to catch and eat large beetles, dragonflies, grasshoppers.

On sale you can often find a variety of feed insects to enrich the diet of an owl in captivity - all this

It is best to offer insects fresh. To increase the nutritional value of feed insects, it is advisable to feed cockroaches / crickets with greens or vegetables for several hours before feeding or freezing.

Live insects are well suited for enriching the habitat of owls, as seen in the video feeding house owls with live cockroaches.

All insects are digestible protein. Crickets and cockroaches are rich in chitin, which serves as a mechanical stimulator of gastric motility and mysterious material, and is also a natural hepatoprotector, i.e. involved in the restoration of liver cells. Brazhnik caterpillars are rich in calcium (thanks to the specific diet on which they are grown - wheat seedlings) and they have a minimum of fat. All three of these feed crops can be given to owls without restriction.

Flourworm, zofobas, wax moth - also contain chitin, but in a smaller amount, while they contain more fat (especially in the zofobas) - these crops should be given only for a change and in a limited amount.

“Street” insects collected in nature can be offered, however, with the caveat:
1. insects must be collected in an ecologically clean area where plants are not treated with pesticides and herbicides;
2. collection should be done away from highways and major roads due to the accumulation of salts of heavy metals by plants serving as food for insects;
3. collecting certain types of insects that can be eaten by owls — May and June grubbers, grasshoppers and mares, crickets, locusts, “hairless” caterpillars, butterflies and moths are suitable for this.

Other captive feed for owls:

Rabbits, guinea pigs, adult rats: carcasses with bones, meat, wool and organs can be used to diversify the diet and are given in portions in pieces about 1-2 times a week. As with other feed animals, it will be more beneficial to use adult rodents and hares for owls due to the skeleton formed and saturated with minerals compared to young animals (“naked”, “hairy”, “runners, etc.).

Variety of feed north american scoop (Megascops asio) The male feeds the female on the clutch - crustaceans, fish, rodents, amphibians. .

“White owls in Montros Point, on the north side of Chicago, prefer to hunt rats. In the southeastern part of the lake, birds dominate their menu. And near the airport in Midway, on the southwestern side of the city, most often voles. In other words, they will eat everything that is available! But this is only information obtained from the mysteries and from the contents of the stomachs, which imply a limited review of only part of their diet. ”

More and more often, as pets, they’re getting not familiar cats, parrots and hamsters, but exotic animals. Owls became especially popular. On the Internet you can see thousands of videos where people brag about their apartment predators, hold them in their arms and stroke them. But an owl is a wild bird, accustomed to living and hunting in the wild. Should I make this feathered friend for home maintenance?

What are owls

Do not forget that an owl, even a domestic one, is a bird of prey that has a sharp beak and claws. This cute fuzzy man, under cover of night, pierces his victim through his claws and rips it with his beak.

Owls are very smart and cunning by nature, the flap of their wing is completely silent, which allows you to get as close to the victim as possible without causing suspicion. Powerful strong legs are able to break prey, which does not exceed the size of the bird itself. Therefore, if your house has a hamster, cat or small dog, it is not recommended to start a bird of prey, as pets can easily become its prey.

To remain unnoticed in the room does not work out, the owl can turn its head 270 degrees around itself and tilt to the side by 180 degrees. This anatomical feature allowed her to see always and everything around her.

And now a little more about the reasons why I strongly oppose keeping an owl at home and about what you will encounter when taking an owl home as a pet:

Owls are very vulnerable and susceptible to change. They are not as independent and menacingly lonely as they look. If you go on vacation, the owl will not only not accept food from another person, but will also be very aggressive towards someone else's. Moreover, everyone will be “strangers” to the owl, except for the one who feeds and cares for her all the time. And if the owl chooses you as someone, then your long absence can not only inflict severe moral trauma on the owl, but literally kill it.
Caring for an owl using the trial and error method is a very bad option. Even with the usual pets - dogs and cats, which we have known about since childhood, problems arise. And in the case of an owl, you will have to study everything that is necessary for its proper maintenance, because only you will be responsible for this bird. Absolutely everything from feeding, the choice of food, illness, possible infections to the usual daily care, you have to know and do only yourself. The owl will not let anyone else in.
You can’t just put an owl on a perch and leave to go about your business. This bird is used to living in a pair, and in this case its “pair” is you. The owl will not let you forget about it and will scream very loudly, demanding your attention. You will have to devote a lot of time to it, including to give the opportunity to fly. The bird is in great need of flight exercises, so it will require it from you (in the literal sense of the word).
A lot of dirty work awaits you. An owl sheds every year, so get ready to rake feathers and owl pellets from various places. Owl pellets (riddles) are a mixture of fluff, feathers and all that the stomach of a bird did not digest. Yes, and one more thing, you have to be careful and look under your feet, because if you keep an owl at home, you never know what you are going to enter, I mean a riddle or a litter. By the way, the owl is not a vegetarian, so her litter smells accordingly.

You will need a large separate freezer, where you will store food for the owl. Do not think that the bird will be able to feed on store-bought or even market meat of pigs, cattle or hatchery chickens for a long time. She needs a game. You will have to get the game somewhere and pay for it. Can you imagine a freezer filled with dead animals in your apartment? But this is not all “charms”. When an owl eats, it does not hold a piece of pineapple neatly in its paw (as a parrot does). Having pressed prey to a branch, a pole or to any other surface, an owl ruptures it mercilessly. On the sides fly viscera, intestines, stomach, kidneys, etc. Therefore, to protect yourself from the terrible stench emanating from the entrails scattered around the room, you will have to gut the game yourself before giving it to the owl. Pieces of meat will still fly apart and it doesn't smell very good somewhere behind the cabinet, but the insides smell even worse. But even such precautions will not save you from having to remove rotten and stinky mucus from walls, cabinets, ceiling and floor.
Let me remind you for the last time that owls are wild birds of prey. A bird of prey may unexpectedly attack during fun and games without any warning or announcement of its intentions. The content of an owl is 24 hours of constant work and attention, including deep and small scratches from its claws on your body with pain and screams.
Even though you make an owl a pet, it will never become a pet. You will not receive the joy of communicating with an owl, which can be obtained by communicating with a dog or cat. You will never be able to squeeze it to yourself, cuddle and really stroke it. She will not let you do this, but even if she does, then believe me, it smells just awful.
The mating season is a real hell for the owner of an owl who does not find his partner. You will have to put up with her marital cries day and night. It is possible that the owl will consider you to be its partner (partner) (it will rather happen if you take it to the house as a chick). In this case, she will actively try to enter into an intimate relationship with you, and in this case you will become her property. The owl will attack indiscriminately anyone who tries to approach you or enters "your territory".
Forget expensive furniture if you have an owl at home. Anything that can be scratched will be scratched by its claws. Pillows torn to shreds, soft toys, crumbled bedspreads, tablecloths and bedding will be commonplace for you.

Diet than feed a domestic owl

Absolutely any species of owls use exclusively animal food for food, represented by worms, large insects, snakes, fish and lizards. Some species prefer to eat rodents and small birds. It is important to remember that owls never eat carrion and are even ready to starve to get a complete protein food. On average, one domestic owl per day can eat a couple of mice. Once a week, it is advisable to arrange a fasting day for a bird of prey, which will prevent the development of obesity.

It is advisable to purchase a separate freezer for storing food. Among other things, the owner of the owl must be prepared for the fact that in the process of eating food such a pet with its claws and beak mercilessly breaks the food, so the entrails of prey fly apart. Experienced counselors recommend gutting game and rodents on their own before feeding them to a domestic owl. It is necessary to give the bird meat along with bones, feathers or wool, from which calcium and other trace elements vital for the owl are partially absorbed by the predator. The undigested residues burp in the form of a lump, called a "riddle."

It is interesting!Owls brought from tropical countries enjoy eating fruits, various vegetation and berries, and some species can go without water for several months and quench their thirst only with the blood of prey.

Disease and treatment

Both for poultry (chickens, ducks) and forest birds, there is a special vaccination system that can protect them from a number of diseases. Usually, a specialist prescribes a course of vitamin-mineral nutrition in parallel with the vaccine, because life in captivity greatly limits the predator. If you plan to buy a couple and engage in breeding, the veterinarian will tell you how to equip a nest and take care of little owls.

How to make friends with a predator?

The first time after meeting, many birds do not eat anything at all and are fearfully slaughtered in a corner. Soon, the owl should be active and take the food offered by the owner. When the predator realizes that you do not want to harm him, you can begin the process of training. Wear leather gloves to protect against claws. . Be patient and waituntil the owl stops hissing or clicking on your manipulations and voice. No imposition will bear fruit in taming.

If the owner wants to walk with his pet, it is worthwhile to purchase entanglements (leather cords that connect the paws of the bird and the owner’s glove). Put on the device from the first days, so that the animal gets used to them. A domestic owl is not averse to playing with balls, but it is worth hiding too small objects from it, since the bird can swallow them.

We get an owl

If at this stage everything suits you, and you nevertheless decided to get an owl at home, go to the next one - buying a bird and its first days in your house. First decide what kind of owl you would like to keep. It is better if it is a bird of small or medium size, such as an owl, owl, barn owl, marsh or eared owl. No large predators, like eagle owls! The bird has to fly, it needs a lot of space. Eagle owl, like other, especially large representatives of the owl family, even in a rather large room will feel like in a cage. It is best to take a young bird that will be easier to tame.

An owl’s cage is not suitable even for carrying. Put the bird in a large box and take it home. Do not forget to close this temporary carrier and make several small openings in it for air access. At home, let the owl get comfortable in a new home, do not scare it with loud sounds and sudden movements.

Why experts discourage from the establishment of owls

It seems that these graceful and at the same time cute birds are not at all problematic creatures, which are not much more difficult to contain than the usual parrots. This is a profound error and that is why.

An owl is a predator, but it is absolutely impossible to feed this bird with beef and chicken, and even less so with sausage and sausages. In order for the bird not to have health problems, its diet should consist of mice, hamsters, rats, quails, insects and even rabbits. You will have to kill this “feed” on your own, as the birds raised for keeping at home have poorly developed skills of killing the prey - a rodent, called to be a dinner, can easily bite an owl by its paw, which will entail the development of infection. To feed the bird, you will need to take care of a stable supply of such food that costs a lot of money, as well as a separate freezer for storing food.

Owls crap a lot. A lot of crap. The birds have a very good metabolism, which leads to the rapid excretion of feces. Small birds defecate more often than large ones, but large ones leave larger heaps. Also, the frequency of bowel movements depends on the activity of the bird. For example, a movable little detective a day can spit fifteen times. By the way, owls spoil not only litter, but also the so-called riddles. The fact is that in the wild, owls swallow the whole carcass of the victim, along with wool, claws and bones. All these indigestible residues are compressed into a lump, which the bird then burps. Do not think that having cleared the mice of everything superfluous, you will thereby help the owl. For normal digestion, this predator simply needs “material” for riddles, otherwise the owl will feel bad.

Owls are yelling. In fact, a cute hoot is not found in every species of owls. The characteristic sounds of this feathered are screams, and quite loud and sharp. So the bird will communicate at night, in the spring and at any other time, when it seems necessary to it.

To keep an owl, you will have to select a very spacious aviary or a whole room. It is strictly forbidden to keep this bird in a cage, as it will encircle a feather, a waxen and earn namina on its paws. The dedicated room will have to be equipped - curtain mirrored and glass surfaces, remove all objects that the owl can tear or in which it can get tangled. From the moment you settle in the owl, it will perceive the premises leased for use exclusively as its territory. However, this is how a bird can relate to your entire home.

And finally, an owl is far from being the friendliest creature. All Internet users were struck by a video where the detective with pleasure closes his eyes from the fact that he is stroking. Owls rarely have such glimpses of tenderness. These birds are not very fond of being touched, and can also be very aggressive, especially in the spring, when the mating season begins in nature. Also, the owl will fiercely defend its territory, so think ahead of time who will meet your feathered face to face. If the owl will treat you calmly enough, then the bird can persistently drive the members of your family and friends away. An owl can give out tremors or even clutch a person in the face. Some species of owls like to bite. For example, a baby girl popular among fans of owls bites no worse than a healthy owl. Not only people and pets, but also any home decoration can suffer from claws and beak of an owl. Hook-like claws easily tear upholstery and all pillows, even if the owl just lands on this place without the intention of spoiling anything.

Now pets are considered not only cats, dogs and various rodents, but also wild birds. Owls were not spared in taming. However, when choosing a pet for yourself, the first thing you need is to objectively evaluate your capabilities, both physical and material.

The main thing is not only to acquire the animal itself, but also to provide him with a decent life. And if we take a puppy or kitten, we already know a lot about their content, care, food addiction and behavior, then acquiring a wild owl as a pet, we are faced with something unknown.

Domestic owls are not cute parrots and sonorous canaries that can easily live in a cage and occasionally fly out for a walk. As we know, owls are especially active at night and they need a lot of space for flying. Can you get used to your pet's night walks and strange sounds ?! Although if you yourself prefer nightlife, you will find a common language.

Domestic owls can attract with their exotic appearance and large dark eyes. When buying a bird, the seller tries to advertise his goods as best as possible, praising its calm nature and unpretentiousness in food. You should not trust such people, it is better to postpone the purchase and prepare more carefully, having familiarized yourself with the information you are interested in. Most domestic owls are acquired at the poultry market, and some bring foundlings home from the forest as chicks and raise them on their own.

There are practically no legal places where you can buy an owl. These are mostly wild birds that have been caught in an illegal way. After the capture of an owl, it can either be sold or left to breed new offspring and their further sale. As a rule, such birds have a different bouquet of diseases and infections, and it will be very difficult to find a knowledgeable veterinarian. We do not recommend bringing the owlet home from the forest, unless it is left alone and is not able to fly away from you. It will be difficult for him to survive in the forest.

Care for domestic owls.

Domestic owls need special care and if you cannot provide him with a separate space, then it is better not to start. Such an owl will not be able to become your faithful and affectionate pet, as it is a night wild, ravenous bird. Being in the same room with such a bird is dangerous to health. Yes, you can’t get used to its smell, it is so caustic that daily cleaning does not help either.

Being locked up for a long time, the owl will fly around the cage until you release it. If the place where the owl is kept is relatively small, then a large bird will not be able to spread its wings there. And a small individual during flight can damage its wings on the grill. You can only think about the contents of an owl in a large country house, and you will not get along with it in a cramped apartment.

At night, the domestic owl will make loud noises for both you and your neighbors. If you do not find a good veterinarian who can help her, then at one point you can lose the bird.

How to choose an owl?

If you insistently decided to take an owl as a pet and you are not afraid of all of the above, then you must be responsible in choosing the type of owl. As you know, there is a wide variety of owls and not all of them may suit you. Therefore, stop at the choice of small owls, for example, polar owls are huge in terms of wingspan and need at least three to four rodents per day as food. Based on this, when choosing a pet, like a home owl, consider a barn owl or an owl. Even if you manage to tame her over time, she will never be able to trust you one hundred percent. Your home owl will remain a forest predator.

In the room where the domestic owl will be kept, first of all, remove all fragile breaking objects. Since the owl is a lover of playing, valuable things should be in hard-to-reach places. You can slightly change the mode of the day of the owl. To do this, curtain the windows of the room with blackout curtains, not forgetting to remove the tulle, in which the owl can get tangled up like a net. There should not be mirrors, since she will not understand what it is and trying to fly through them will get hurt.

For the convenience of an owl on the walls, you can make poles covered with soft cloth or grass so that she can sit down and relax. Do not forget to install a feeding trough and a drinking bowl on one of the poles, as well as a bathing tank. Since owls like to swim often, you will have to change the water often enough. As a bath, you can advise a deep container with sides or a tray from a cat's toilet. As mentioned earlier, the smell from the bird will be very unpleasant and persistent. Have to clean every day and do not use chemistry in the water.

Another disadvantage in the content of a domestic owl is the process of feeding it. You cannot give your owl only pieces of raw meat. This bird of prey must be fed entirely by rodents so as not to disturb the digestion process. Feathers, bones, blood should enter and be processed into the stomach. Other food will not be able to ensure the normal functioning of the body and the overall health of the owl. From the fact that the bird cannot digest, lumps are formed in the stomach, clues that the bird burps over time. And if all the food is digestible, then there will be no riddles, and consequently this will lead to poor health.

In addition, whole carcasses of animals contain all the necessary vitamins and minerals that she needs so much. And the process of absorption is not the most pleasant sight. After each such meal you will have to do a thorough cleaning, as the food remains will be everywhere.

The main disadvantages of keeping a home owl:

- toilet - litter from which a terrible smell emanates will be scattered throughout the room. And soon your room will resemble a chicken coop.

- food leftovers that also smell bad

- you will have to stock up on a large number of rodents and small animals in the market, since feeding hamsters to an owl is not cheap.

- will have to contain rodents or prepare them in the freezer yourself

- owls are extremely rarely trained. Therefore, if they feel a danger from you, they may attack you or your family members.

How many domestic owls live?

The average life expectancy of a domestic owl is not more than 20 years. And during this time you will have to seek the help of a veterinarian more than once. Since the owl is a wild bird, once it gets into domestic conditions, it experiences stress, and as a result, the immunity begins to work weaker. Therefore, we advise you to constantly find a doctor so that he monitors all changes in your owl. Like other pets, owls should be vaccinated every year from various infections and take a vitamin complex, especially if your plans include their further breeding.

Domestic owls cannot become completely tame. Therefore, playing with them like dogs or cats will not work. She can fly to you for a mouse and take it from her hand, but any movement in her direction can be perceived as a threat. For safety reasons, do not allow children to enter the room to the owl alone.

Domestic owls are rather a conditional name, since they will forever remain forest birds, which are best admired aside and occasionally. Perhaps you should buy a funny parrot that eats seeds, rather than a large predator that feeds on carcasses of small animals. Maintaining and caring for an owl requires special skills and can be dangerous for both you and your family members.

In one of our past publications, we told you about whether it is worth keeping a raven at home, and what is fraught with such cohabitation - look for this article. And, if the ravens for most of our readers it became clear, then how is it ... with owls? Fans of exotics are haunted by the opportunity to surprise their friends with the unusual choice of a pet, therefore, sometimes they decide on such a desperate step (why desperate - you will understand a little later) how to get an owl in your house. Is it worth it? Will the owl be comfortable living under the same roof with a person? How to care for such a feathered pet and what you need to know about the features of owls - we’ll tell you all about this now ...

Who are owls - meeting birds of prey

If you didn’t know, then owls are still birds of prey, so be prepared for the fact that this cute fluffy, which you found in the forest or bought for nothing on the bird market, has sharp claws and a beak that are designed to in order to kill and tear prey. In addition, Nature endowed these feathered creatures with a cunning mind and resourcefulness, the ability to fly silently, which allows them to approach the prey and kill it before it sees a bird.

In the wild, owls feed on all types of mammals, the size of which does not exceed the size of the owl itself. So, the larger the owl itself is, the stronger the victim can overpower it. Therefore,

Is it possible to keep an owl at home

Let's try to hypothetically try to answer this question. Well, for most countries, keeping these birds at home is an illegal and unprecedented case. The only exceptions are situations where naturalists contain them for use in educational programs or to increase their population. It is also possible to temporarily keep a wounded bird, but about the permanent one, a number of serious doubts arise. Unless you are a hunter, and you hunt with falconry (you have a license), only an owl acts as a hunting bird for you. In this case, the bird needs to provide appropriate living conditions.

In all other cases, it is worth remembering that the bird always remains free and its natural instincts and natural needs are too strong for it to change and become different. In addition, the owl has a lifespan of 50 years or more, and this is a large part of your life, and when you decide to keep a bird, you must be aware that after a few years, even with extremely strong natural instincts, it will become incapable to life in the wild, and without you it will simply perish, as it will get used to the good.

If you have not yet been able to mentally give an answer to the question of whether it is possible to get an owl at home, we suggest moving on to the next paragraphs of the article that will reveal to you all the nuances and delights of living together with this bird of prey.

Features of the content of an owl in the house

Having familiarized themselves with the peculiarities of keeping an owl at home, many people who want to get such a bird at home still understand that this is not worth doing. However, let's not get ahead of ourselves, but first things first.

Owl character

Outwardly, the owl looks formidable, lonely and self-sufficient, but inside it is very vulnerable and susceptible to change. Therefore, what happened to her (you found an owl in the park, and she cannot fly) is a strong stress for the bird, from which it is not easy for her to recover. Adapting to new conditions is also very stressful for her. Taming, getting used to you - the bird may not survive one of the stages and you should be prepared for this.

If the period of adaptation went well, and the owl got used to you, then your absence can cause her to refuse to eat and lead to the death of the feathered pet.

Owls are birds that require special conditions of detention, a special diet. And, if you want the bird to live comfortably with you under one roof, you must provide it with all this. If you are not ready for this, it’s better not to try to tame the animal, and after you give it all possible help, let the owl out.

Remember, we talked about how owls are monogamous. If you are lucky to find a common language with her, you will become that only half for her, and besides you they will not let anyone else in. So, sharing responsibilities for caring for an owl with other households will not work. Moreover, she will perceive you as her couple, respectively, will constantly require your attention. How? With their loud screams.

Do you still want to keep a feathered predator in your house? Then, be mentally and physically prepared for the fact that one day an owl can try to attack you with its claws and beak. You will never wait for any cat caress and dog devotion from her, this bird will always stay on its own. But, even if you are lucky to pick it up (voluntarily-forcibly) - owls have a specific pungent smell that will test your stomach for strength.

Owl habits

In the cage, the owl does not feel comfortable

The bird needs constant flight exercises, and if you want to keep it at home and do not plan to let it out, your apartment or house will become its flight airfield. This will be accompanied by damage to furniture, wallpaper and other property of value to you.

Living an owl in the house is quite troublesome in terms of maintaining cleanliness. An owl sheds annually, and you have to periodically rake its feathers and spools from different corners of the room.

Despite the fact that the owl will live in your apartment or house, it will obey the biorhythms of nature, and the mating season will begin for her with enviable frequency. Those owners who have encountered this problem claim that experiencing this is not so easy. Not seeing the partner or partner in front of you, the owl begins to attack you, because it is you in its wise owl eyes of its couple. Moreover, she will perceive your household and friends as enemies encroaching on her “marriage”, therefore, she will attack them rather harshly. Over time, people will simply stop coming to your house, because they will be afraid of your aggressive bird, and the owl will achieve what it wanted - it will remain alone with you.

Damage to your property is a separate topic about the fee for cohabitation with a wild bird. Scratched furniture, torn pillows, damaged linens - all this will be the result of a meeting of your property with owl claws ...

Do not forget about the special owl mode of life. These birds are nocturnal predators, therefore, at the time when you want to sleep, the owl will whine and fly around the room, preventing you from resting.

If you expect to deal with some points of such features of the owl in your house with the help of a spacious cage, then you are forced to disappoint. These birds are not to be kept in cages. Your house will become a spacious cage for her, otherwise, the bird may injure feathers on the metal bars, it may injure the wax and earn money on its paws. A caring owner will definitely want to avoid this.

Where to keep an owl in the house

It’s better to allocate a separate room for the owl, or even a whole room, from which you first remove all that is dear to you and what you want to protect from the beak and claws of the bird. By the way, this applies not only to large things, but also small ones. Owls love to drag everything they come across, so do not leave your phone and documents unattended. The windows in the room where the owl will live should be covered with blackout curtains. Tulle is not suitable, as the bird in it can get tangled and injured. It is also better to remove mirrors from the room - an owl can hit them. It is recommended to keep the windows constantly shuttered so that the bird does not try to break the glass and fly away.

On the walls of the room you will need to install special additives - made of wood or iron, which will be upholstered with soft material - carpet, for example. Since owls love to swim, you will also need to install water tanks for them (for this purpose you can use cat litter trays with high sides). In them you will pour clean and fresh water daily.

Do not forget to take care of the artificial "hollow" - the old and empty nightstand will do.

As for the indoor lighting fixtures, they will need to be removed - in any case, you will definitely have to refuse fragile chandeliers. Your owl will surely sit on them, and swing until it breaks ...

At night, in order to somehow protect yourself from a wild bird, you can put it in a temporary enclosure. However, it must be at least 3 meters wide and 1 meter long. The walls of this enclosure can be fenced with a soft mesh. However, there is always a risk that the bird will injure itself or make a tricky escape. Therefore, it is much more reliable to lock it in a separate room.

How to feed an owl

The diet of an owl should not consist of sausage and meat, but of game. Therefore, get ready for the fact that you have to purchase a separate refrigerator in which you will store dead rodents and other animals, which will make up the diet of a feathered pet. Moreover, in the process of eating, the owl behaves like a real predator - it tears pieces of game, scatters them around the room and from time to time you will have to remove the remains of such a “feast” from your clothes, from chairs and a sofa. You will have to come to terms with the fact that you will deal daily with freshly slaughtered carcasses of birds and rodents. You can, of course, give frozen ones, but you should not forget about live food, since without it the bird will begin to hurt and die.

On average, an owl eats up to 2 mice per day.

You can also give her daily chickens and quails. By the way, the latter should be cleaned of the insides and remove their paws and heads, this is necessary so that your predator does not become infected from these birds with their diseases.

Some owl owners — usually newcomers — try to clean feathers of chickens — this is not worth it. The bird must eat the whole carcass - including feathers, wool and bones.

Providing the bird with such a specific diet daily is not a cheap pleasure.

If you are dealing with a small owl (you can distinguish it by its fluffy plumage and small size), you will have to cut it into a carcass and show how to drink water - for this you need to lower your hand into the water and splash it, attracting the attention of a small predator.

If you want to tame an owl and ensure that the bird becomes tame - offer her food from her hands, however, do not forget about caution, especially at first.

After each meal, the owl will have to throw a riddle - not overcooked bones, wool and feathers. Regurgitation usually occurs after 10 hours from the moment of feeding. If there is no such clue, this is an occasion to worry about the state of health of the bird. The next feeding should occur only after you have discovered the riddle and removed it.

Please note that there must be live rodents in the diet. That's just, mice should be pre-cut, because owls for some reason are difficult to cope with and in the process of fighting, the mouse can bite a bird, and this can cause an infection in it.

Once a week it will be useful to arrange a fasting day for the bird so that it does not begin to suffer from obesity. You should not feed an owl on this day, but you are simply obligated to provide it with water.

A person who has decided to get a feathered predator at home has a lot of questions: how to feed an owl, how to equip a dwelling for it, what diseases a bird can get, and what disadvantages it will have to face. The fashion for breeding exotic birds and animals at home is growing steadily, but without knowledge some difficulties may appear. Our article will introduce you to the habits and lifestyle of the night watch, help to understand the intricacies of its contents.

Is it possible to keep a bird at home

Theoretically, you can keep an owl at home, but it is worth considering several features of its contents. In many countries, growing a predator in a cage is considered illegal. Unless they are brought up by ornithologists and naturalists to observe habits and character. At home, the bird needs to provide a number of conditions so that it does not wither, does not fall ill, and does not yearn for freedom.

The life span of an owl averages 50 years, or even more. Therefore, if you are already over forty, think about who the bird will remain with if it outlives you. She will quickly get used to the cage, regular feeding and, letting go free, you will doom her to inevitable death. Carefully study the remaining paragraphs of the article to conclude: is it worth it to get an owl at home or not.

Types of decorative owl

Ornithologists distinguish 3 subfamilies, thirty genera and seven times as many species in the owl family. One common species is a long-eared owl. It reaches a length of 35 cm, and the wingspan varies from 85 to 100 cm. The gray-brown color of the feathered with white breast makes it very recognizable. The bird got its name because of the ear bundles with six feathers.

The second most popular is the eagle owl. The largest representative of a feathered predator. The length of his body reaches almost a meter, and the wingspan is 190 cm. The plumage of an owl is red with beige inclusions, his eyes are bright orange, and above them are tufts of long feathers.

The common barn owl has a red plumage with numerous speckles, stripes and specks. The body length reaches 40 cm, and the wingspan can be up to a meter. Asymmetric ears allow the bird to hear very well.

The spyushka or dwarf owl got its name for its relatively short body length and the characteristic “spitting” sound that it makes during hunting. The size of an individual does not exceed 20 cm, so its maintenance at home does not require huge bird aviaries.

Summing up, we can say that it is most convenient to keep a dwarf owl at home, but with a great desire and patience, you can tame other popular species.

Where and at what price can I buy a domestic owl

It is best to purchase a home (decorative) owl in specialized nurseries. Such institutions must ring the predator and attach documents to it. A number is knocked out on the ring, which is duplicated in the passport and certificate. The price depends on the type of bird and its age. So, for example, the price of a baby splyuska does not exceed 12 thousand rubles, and an adult costs about 30 thousand.

If you do not want to spend such an amount of money, you can try your luck and catch an owl in the forest yourself. The chick may accidentally get in your way. Due to his age, he still flies poorly. It is enough to carefully approach it, transplant it on a strong stick, and then you can cover it with a net or transplant into a cage. But do not forget that such a method is a lot of stress for an owl, therefore it is better not to resort to it.

Main inconvenience

The main disadvantage of keeping a predator at home is the smell from its toilet. It is impossible to teach a bird to the tray, it will walk where it is convenient. The litter released by the bird flies two meters, so soon the aviary will turn into a foul-smelling chicken coop. They produce fetid odors and food debris: dead rodents and birds.

The second disadvantage of keeping an owl at room temperature is that it is very difficult for her to find food. You need to buy at least a dozen hamsters at the pet store in order to feed the predator for the future. Here the question arises about the freshness of meat. You can of course leave the rodents in the aquarium and feed them gradually, or you can nail immediately and freeze in the refrigerator.

And the third drawback is poor bird adaptation. Even after several months, the individual remains half-wild. It is not known what can be expected from her at the next moment, so you should be extremely careful with an owl.

Positive content points

Along with all the shortcomings, several advantages of the content of owls can be noted. Some instances are rather playful and docile in nature. Such individuals can easily be picked up, squeezed and stroked. Their mischief amuses the audience, and beauty brings a truly aesthetic pleasure.

If you are ready to face all the difficulties, then feel free to go to the nursery and bring home a young chick. Any questions that arise during the domestication of the bird can be resolved by asking the experts, who are usually located in nurseries.

How to equip a room for an owl

Owl is very demanding at home:

she can only live in a separately equipped room;
remove all fragile, bright and small objects from the room, such as mirrors, chandeliers, telephones, flowers;
it is necessary to curtain the windows with a dark dense fabric, remove the tulle and curtains so that the bird does not get tangled in them and do not get injured;
on the walls you need to equip special wooden slats, cover them with carpet or other soft cloth so that the owl has something to hold on to;
feathered predators love to swim, so you can put a large basin or other container in the room, the water in which must be updated every morning;
take care of the artificial hollow, for this an old bedside table, cabinet or other small furniture is suitable.

Lock the predator at night so that it does not harm you. Many owners arrange separate cages, sheathed with a soft mesh, so that the bird does not beat against them. But a sly man can easily escape from such an enclosure.

Bird Diet Basics

Feeding a predator is not an easy task and far from colorful. Giving raw meat or minced meat will not work. The fact is that the bird’s stomach is designed in such a way that it can digest the whole victim: feathers, wool, claws and bones. Well-being and digestion will not be provided by more than one artificial substitute for the diet. A dead animal contains the necessary vitamins and minerals that are involved in the formation of a healthy intestinal microflora.

Watch carefully: 10 hours after eating, the individual burps up the remnants of undigested food. If this does not happen, then there is a violation in the digestive system of the bird.

Butchering is recommended only for mice, since during the struggle they can bite an owl and infect it with an infection. A domestic little owl feeds on finely chopped pieces of rodents. If you feed a bird with hands, you can quickly accustom it to them, but do not forget about precautions. Eagle owls, in turn, are most fond of fish, you can even run live in a container of water and watch the hunt. Birds of prey need an unloading bottom once a month. It is not necessary to feed, the main thing is to provide the pet with plenty of water.

Health and Disease

To date, not many veterinarians are fully aware of the diseases and ailments of owls. Therefore, it is worth taking care of your feathered companion and not letting him feel unwell. You can determine the state of his health by litter. If the owl is domestic, it doesn’t matter what type, the owl is healthy, its litter will look like a liquid white puddle with solid inclusions of dark color. If the litter smells bad, has changed color and condition - this is a cause for concern and contact a doctor.

A sick bird often loses its appetite, moves little, its feather sticks together and looks very dirty. It is also worth contacting a specialist if she sits for hours without movement with her eyes closed. A competent veterinarian along with the usual treatment should prescribe her vaccinations. These can be standard vaccines to prevent infections or vitamin-mineral complexes to enhance general immunity.

After reading the article, you certainly thought about whether you should get a domestic owl or not. Remember that you take great responsibility for your pet. So put likes and make the right decision.

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