How to keep an owl at home. Character, habits and training of owls as pets. Owl - windy little head

Here we will stop on birds of prey.
Mostly they breed owls. It is very difficult to pass by a cute fluffy creature with huge eyes. People buy owls at the infamous "Bird Market" or bring owls from the forest, believing that they are "lost", "fell out of the nest." You can talk about the "Bird Market" endlessly. Obsessed with a thirst for profit, sellers recklessly lie to buyers in the hope of bargain sale. Naturally. After all, few people want to keep a bird at home, which spoils a lot, yells at night and eats only mice. Moreover, it has all the "charms" of a wild animal - as a rule, sellers assure that owls are grown in nurseries, but in reality - all birds are caught by poachers. So people buy a pet, literally “stuffed” with helminths and various infections. And in birds, most diseases are asymptomatic and rapidly - yesterday the bird ate well and was active, and today it lies at the bottom of the cage.

Photo 1. Owl

Therefore, before acquiring an owl, think carefully, weigh your capabilities - do they match your desires?
So, owls. The owl is a nocturnal predator. This already says a lot - the main activity of the bird is precisely in the late evening, at night and in the early morning. At this time, owls hunt in nature. So in captivity it will be the same - from evening to morning the owl will rattle something, shout (especially during the mating season) preventing you from resting. So it is best to start an owl for people who lead a predominantly “nightly” lifestyle. Now let's deal with the concept of "predator". It is clear that such a bird cannot be fed with cereals, predators eat meat. But even here there is a difficulty - the owl's digestion is arranged in such a way that it needs to eat the whole carcass of a rodent or bird as a whole - with feathers, fur, bones. Accordingly, feeding chicken or beef disappears - get ready for the purchase of mice, day old chickens, quails. And they cost a lot and getting in the right amount is a problem.

Photo 2

But, let's say that the nightly screams and the specifics of the diet of owls do not scare you and you still want to get an owl. Then, first of all, you need to decide what kind of owl you can keep. The fact is that there are many and different owls - from small-sized owls (photo) to a huge owl (photo). Medium-sized owls are the gray owl (photo) and the Ural owl (photo). But still, for an ordinary city apartment, the owls are too big, they will need a lot of space for flights, and even if you have spacious rooms, the owl will still upholster the feather. Therefore, it is optimal to keep long-eared owls (photo), short-eared owls (photo) barn owls (photo) or the aforementioned owls.

Photo 3. Barn owl

Before you buy an owl, arrange an apartment for her in a suitable way. Yes Yes. Your apartment, not a cage in the apartment, because You can't keep owls in cages. An owl will certainly beat a feather on the bars, injure the wax (a soft place above the beak), and earn namin on its paws.

How to prepare a room for an owl.
First of all, you should remove all objects that an owl can knock over, tear, and stain. Owls love to play, so keep in mind that you will have to strictly monitor the location of your belongings, especially socks and documents. Leave unattended - the owl will certainly pick up the "toy" and goodbye passport! The tulle on the windows needs to be replaced with thick curtains, because. in tulle, an owl can easily get tangled and, while it fights, it will break its paws or wings, or simply die, hanging upside down for several hours. Large mirrors should be removed or curtained (windows too), otherwise the owl may be seriously injured trying to fly through the glass.

Photo 4. Owls

It is necessary to nail "perches" on the walls - wooden or iron "sticks", always upholstered with something soft - for example, artificial grass "astroturf" or, at worst, carpet. Also, think over a place for a bathing place in advance - owls love to wash, for this they are given shallow wide containers with water (trays for cat litter boxes with high sides are perfect).

So the place is ready. Now you need to think about food for the owl. As I wrote above, owls must be fed with the carcasses of rodents and birds, and freshly slaughtered. Of course, you can also give thawed carcasses, but “live” food must be present in the diet, because. frozen meat loses some essential trace elements.

Photo 5. Long-eared owl

You can buy rodents at a pet store, but the prices there “bite” and most often there is not the right amount. After all, even a small long-eared owl eats at least two mice per day. So it is better to buy mice in bulk at the Bird Market. You can also buy day old chicks and quails there. Keep in mind that if mice and chickens can be given to an owl without carcass preparation, then the quail must be opened and the insides carefully removed and the head and legs cut off. The fact is that these birds often have various diseases that can be transmitted to your owl during a meal.

Photo 6. Long-eared owl chick

Do you still want to have an owl at home? Then about buying:
Owls must be purchased in official nurseries, making sure that when you buy you have all the documents for an owl and the number on the document matches the number stamped on the ring (birds are ringed in nurseries). Thus, you will be insured against the removal of birds (catching and keeping wild birds is prohibited by law), moreover, birds from nurseries are more tame and healthy. Although immediately after acquiring an owl, it is necessary to show the owl to a veterinarian, pass necessary tests Get x-rays just in case. Incidentally, not every veterinary clinic there is a veterinarian who understands birds. In Moscow, there is a veterinarian-ornithologist at the White Fang clinic and at the Moscow Zoo, in the Moscow region, birds are taken at the Cobra clinic, which is located in Krasnogorsk.

As a rule, in the nursery you will be offered a choice of the most common species - this is a long-eared owl, a short-eared owl, a gray owl, an owl (there is also a gray owl (photo), but it is large for an apartment) and various owls. When choosing the type of owl, you should remember that even a small eared owl needs a lot of space (at least a room), so I strongly do not recommend purchasing long-tailed, bearded, and even more so eagle owl. Small owls are no worse than larger species, they are just as sociable and playful, and they are not inferior in beauty to plumage. It is better to buy a very young owlet, he will quickly get used to his hands, and like all cubs, owlets are very funny. Distinguish a chick from adult quite easily - the owls are covered with delicate fluff, older owls are already beginning to grow with an “adult” feather, but their tails are noticeably shorter than those of adults, and in some places the fluff is still preserved. It is necessary to transport an owl in a closed spacious box (a cat carrier is not the best option, because the owl will see through the carrying grate, accordingly, out of habit, it will be frightened and begin to fight). At the bottom of the box you need to lay a soft diaper, cut a few very small holes in the walls of the box for air access. If an owl is purchased in winter, then the time spent on the street should be limited as much as possible, otherwise there is a risk of catching a cold.

When you arrive home, do not scare the owl, let it look around. To do this, simply open the box and leave the bird alone for a while.
After a couple of hours, you can offer the owlet food and water. Sometimes the owls cannot yet tear apart the carcasses, so the carcass must be finely chopped. Place the water so that the owlet sees it perfectly - when he pays attention to the bathing suit - chat in the water with your hand, thus showing the presence of water in the container. Over time, the owlet itself will determine whether there is water, but while it is small and in an unusual environment, you should pay much more attention to it, without disturbing or frightening it - try not to pick it up, do not make excessively sudden movements, do not shout.

Always offer food from your hands - so the owl will get used to you faster.
Take care of your digestion and appearance pet. After each meal, the owl should discard the pellet. The pellet is the undigested bones, wool and feathers that the birds regurgitate about 10 hours after feeding. If there is no pellet, this is a reason to worry about the health of the pet. You should also inspect the pellets - they should not have blood on them, the pellet should not smell bad. Pay attention to the droppings - normal owl droppings are a white "puddle" with a little bit of darker, harder droppings. If the droppings become foul-smelling, yellow or brown, or thinner, contact your veterinarian.
The normal behavior of a healthy owl is very different from the behavior of a diseased owl. A sick bird loses its appetite, becomes apathetic, sits for hours with its eyes closed, squints, half covering its eyes with its lower eyelid, the feather, especially under the tail, sticks together and becomes dirty. All of the above are signs of a disease. Therefore, in such cases, the owl should be shown to the veterinarian as soon as possible. Diseases in birds proceed rapidly, there is not a minute to lose.

Yulia Mikhailina,
experienced owl owner

A person who decides to have a feathered predator at home has a lot of questions: how to feed an owl, how to equip a home for it, what diseases a bird can get, and what disadvantages it will have to face. Breeding fashion exotic birds and pets in the home is growing steadily, but without knowledge, some difficulties may arise. Our article will introduce you to the habits and lifestyle of the night guard, help you understand the intricacies of its content.

Do not forget that an owl, even a domestic one, is a bird of prey that has a sharp beak and claws. This cute fluffy, under the cover of night, pierces its victim with its claws and tears it apart with its beak.

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

You can’t go unnoticed in the room, the owl can turn its head 270 degrees around itself and tilt it 180 degrees to the side. Such an anatomical feature allowed her to see always and everything around her.

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 content. In many countries, growing a predator in a cage is considered illegal. Unless they are planted 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 get sick and does not yearn for freedom.

The average lifespan of an owl is 50 years or more. Therefore, if you are already over forty, think about who the bird will stay with if it outlasts you. She will quickly get used to the cage, regular feeding and, releasing her into the wild, you will doom her to inevitable death. Carefully study the rest of the article in order to conclude whether it is worth getting an owl at home or not.

Types of decorative owl

Ornithologists distinguish 3 subfamilies, thirty genera and seven times more species in the owl family. One common species is the 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 a white chest makes it very recognizable. The bird got its name because of the ear tufts with six feathers.

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

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

The pygmy owl or pygmy owl got its name from the relatively short body length and the characteristic “spit” sound that it makes while hunting. The size of an individual does not exceed 20 cm, so its maintenance at home does not require huge aviaries.

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

Where and at what price can you buy a domestic owl

It is best to purchase a domestic (decorative) owl in specialized nurseries. Such institutions must ring the predator and attach documents to it. A number is stamped 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 that much 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 does not fly well. It is enough to carefully approach it, transplant it onto a strong stick, and then you can cover it with a net or transplant it into a cage. But do not forget that such a method is a lot of stress for an owl, so it is better not to resort to it.

Main inconveniences

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

The second disadvantage of keeping an owl indoors is that it is very difficult for her to find food. You need to buy at least a dozen hamsters in a pet store in order to feed the predator for the future. This is where the question of meat freshness comes into play. Of course, you can leave the rodents in the aquarium and feed them gradually, or you can kill them right away and freeze them in the refrigerator.

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

Positive points of content

Along with all the shortcomings, several advantages of keeping owls can be noted. Some specimens are quite playful and docile in nature. Such individuals can be easily 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 have arisen during the domestication of a bird can be resolved by asking the experts, who are usually located in nurseries.

How to furnish an owl room

The owl is very demanding at home:

• she will be able to live only in a separately equipped room;
• it is worth removing all fragile, bright and small objects from the room, such as mirrors, chandeliers, telephones, flowers;
• windows must be curtained with a dark dense fabric, tulle and curtains must be removed so that the bird does not get entangled in them and is not injured;
• on the walls you need to equip special wooden slats, upholster them with carpet or other soft fabric so that the owl has something to hold on to;
• feathered predators are very fond of swimming, so you can put a large basin or other container in the room, the water in which must be renewed every morning;
• take care of an artificial hollow, an old nightstand, cabinet or other small furniture is suitable for this.

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

Fundamentals of the bird diet

Feeding a predator is not easy 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 entire victim: feathers, wool, claws and bones. Good health and digestion will not provide more than one artificial diet substitute. 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 the remnants of undigested food. If this does not happen, then there is a violation in the digestive system of the bird.

It is recommended to butcher only mice, as in the process of fighting they can bite an owl and infect it with an infection. The domestic little owl feeds on finely chopped pieces of rodents. If you feed a bird from your hands, you can quickly accustom it to them, but do not forget about the precautions. Eagle owls, in turn, love fish most of all, you can even put a live one into a container of water and watch the hunt. Birds of prey need a fasting day once a month. You do not need to feed, the main thing is to provide your 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 comrade and preventing him from feeling unwell. You can determine the state of his health by the litter. If a domestic owl, no matter what kind, is healthy, its droppings will look like a liquid white puddle with dark-colored solid inclusions. If the litter smells bad, changed color and condition - this is a cause for concern and contact the 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 moving 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 and mineral complexes to increase general immunity.

After reading the article, you certainly thought about whether you should start a domestic owl or not. Remember that you are taking on a lot of responsibility for your pet. Therefore, put likes and make the right decision.

Many of us wanted to have a puppy or a cat as children. For various reasons, not everyone was able to do this. Cramped living conditions, allergies, parents' concern about the dirt at home, that there would be no one to walk the dog, and many other various arguments became an insurmountable obstacle on the way to the cherished dream.

We have matured, and some of us have not forgotten our childhood aspirations. Fortunately, now you can make decisions on your own, based only on personal preferences. Only the dog does not cause such delight as in childhood, I want something more original.

For example, an owl. Friends came to visit, and here such a miracle with huge eyes sits on a perch, and hoots. Here is the effect! Let's try to figure out whether it is possible to keep an owlet at home.

Is it possible to keep an owl at home

AT wild nature owls feed on small rodents or birds. Very often her food is a source of infections. Most of the diseases in birds are almost asymptomatic and very fast. In the evening, the feathered one is still full of strength and energy, and in the morning he has the most acute form of some kind of ailment.

In this situation, everyone who was in the immediate vicinity of the pet is at risk. Many bird diseases dangerous for humans, and often more dangerous than for the most feathered.

Did you know? The Owl-like order includes more than two hundred species of owls. The largest of all, the eagle owl, can reach 3 kg in weight and have a wingspan of up to 2 m. The weight of the smallest, Peruvian owl, does not exceed 30 g.

If you still decide to take such a serious step, how to get an owl as a pet, then it is better to do it in a nursery. There the birds are under observation. If you bought a feathered bird from your hands or caught it yourself, you should show it to the veterinarian.

It should be remembered that an owl is a nocturnal predator. This implies a number of features of the lifestyle of your potential pet. During the day, he will doze quietly and peacefully, calmly digesting food. With the approach of night, he has a period of activity. This quality is laid down at the gene level, it is almost impossible to wean.

The owl will make sounds, move around and terrify others. If you live in apartment building, rest assured, not only you will hear the bird.

You will have to feed the bird at home. While the owlet is small, 2-3 mice daily will be enough for him, while an adult owl needs much more. If you plan to forage this much in the city on your own, you will have to quit your job and only hunt rodents. So think carefully before you become a thunderstorm of mice and rats throughout the area.

An alternative and more acceptable option is to buy such food at a pet store. It's not cheap, mind you.

Another nuance regarding feeding. A bird intended for food by a feathered predator requires pre-treatment. An owl does not eat the digestive organs of its prey. You will have to gut the birds.

So the feeding factor in this case is quite important. You should pay close attention to it when choosing a pet. And if you have not changed your mind, take a look at the small varieties:

It is highly undesirable to keep a bird in an aviary, and absolutely not in a cage. She can get injured on the net and rods, get psychological trauma in addition to physical.

Important!If the owl flies away, most likely it will die. She has lived all her life with a man, completely depends on him and absolutely does not know how to get food on her own.

From this follows the conclusion: to keep the owlets at home, you need an appropriate room. The room should be separate, with perches prepared in it - special crossbars, vertically attached to the wall. If there is nowhere to equip such a room, it is better to opt for a canary or a parrot.

Often people get pets because of a lack of communication or an unfulfilled desire to take care of someone. An owl for these purposes is not the best candidate. Predators have poor contact not only with people, but in general with everyone.

The owl is a typical predator. Even those owls who see a person from birth are reluctant to bring representatives of another species closer to themselves. It is not worth talking about adult birds.

A bird can cause serious injury to a person, not wanting it. An adult owl hunts a wild boar. A little owl with its claws and beak, having played, is able to cripple a person.

Character and habits

An owl is a monogamous bird, it creates a couple once. Leads mainly a sedentary lifestyle, but some individuals probably fly south during the cold season.

The activity of the birds is different at night, then they hunt. Only White Owl, living in the polar regions, hunts around the clock. Birds without much trepidation relate to the arrangement of their own homes, they do not like to build nests. They can take someone else's, or lay their eggs in a small hole or niche.

The normal number of eggs in one clutch is 3–10. Older chicks sometimes eat those that hatch later. This happens when there is a lack of protein foods. A month after hatching, the chicks begin to live an independent life.

One of the varieties of owls, the barn owl, when hunting, uses only its own hearing.

Owl selection

From that moment on, according to the law of natural selection, the strongest survive, and the weaker become someone's food. The owls, not prepared for independent existence in the natural environment, are happy to feast on the first enemies of the owl - eagles hunting during the day, golden eagles, etc.

During the day, an owl can be active only in case of danger. Then you can see a nocturnal predator changing its location. If she is disturbed, she will find a new place to hide and wait until dark.

All representatives of the owl family eat only animal food. Small birds, rodents, reptiles - the main diet of the owl family, sometimes eat fish.

Large eagle owls hunt big game and from hunger can even rush to a wild boar. Carrion owls despise, but they love to stock up. They can go without water for a long time, as the balance of fluid in the body is maintained by the blood of their prey. They breed once a year. A very large number of owls die due to lack of food. When rodent populations decline, approximately 25% of owlets do not survive. Another reason for mass death is the constant attacks from diurnal birds of prey. During the day, the nocturnal predator is practically defenseless.

If you want to get a good healthy bird, you should not do it in the bird market. Most often in the markets they sell birds caught in their natural habitat.

Important! Owl poaching is prohibited. An administrative fine may be issued for it.

The cattery will provide you with documents on the health status of your potential pet. Specialists will answer all questions, and you, in turn, do not hesitate to ask them. You will be told in detail how to care for the owlet at home, what to feed, where to start training.
Another important circumstance in favor of the nursery is that the owls born and raised there are much better adapted to the human environment than their counterparts from the forest.

Content Features

As already mentioned, you should not start a bird of prey in the house if your living conditions do not allow you to do this. A separate room is a must.

It is necessary to remove from it all things that your pet can turn over. Remove openwork curtains from the windows, the bird can get tangled in them. Hang thick curtains instead, which can create the illusion of twilight in the room. With such images, you can try to deceive the owl's instincts by shifting the bird's activity schedule to the daytime.

Remove mirrors from the room, and if this is not possible, curtain them well. Make perches or buy ready-made ones. Don't forget to make a feeding roost. Take care of access to water.

Care

All owls bathe with pleasure and a lot. They can do this in a shallow basin, which you should put in the room and regularly change the water in it.

Did you know? In flight, an owl can reach speeds of up to 24 m / s.

Regular cleaning will also need to be carried out. Dirt provokes the spread of various infections, so do not be lazy. In addition, the litter has a sharp unpleasant odor. Do not use chemical or strong-smelling detergents when cleaning owl living space.

Predator by nature - a very smart bird, she sees and understands everything. Your concern, which is expressed in cleaning her home, will not go unnoticed by her. This circumstance, in turn, will help you make better and faster friends.

The nutrition of an owl at home should be as close as possible to what it eats in its natural habitat. Owlets, while they are small, should be given finely chopped meat soaked in saline. They eat it with pleasure, because such a marinade imitates the saliva of the mother, helps intestinal motility and the work of the stomach. Do not forget that birds constantly need fresh water.

diet

As already said, the main diet is small rodents and birds. It is unlikely that you will be able to get the required amount of them yourself, so contact the pet store, they will help you there. An excellent option is quail, but it is necessary that the owlet starts eating them from a very early age, you need to get used to them.

Important! Watch carefully when the bird drops the pellet. Once she's done, pick her up, examine her, and throw her away. Otherwise, the bird may eat it.

Technique and feeding rules

The digestive organs of birds that will be fed to your pet must be removed, he will not eat them. Watch the riddle carefully. These are the undigested remains of a bird, consisting of feathers and claws. It forms in the stomach and is shed a few hours after feeding. Until the riddle is reset, the next feeding is not necessary.

Check the riddle regularly. It should be without bloody inclusions, not have a bad smell. If there are signs of blood or a foul odor, seek the advice of a veterinarian.

A medium-sized bird needs at least 2-3 mice daily. It is believed that the younger the chick, the more often it needs to be fed. With age, the number of daily feedings decreases, and the amount of food increases. If a 2-week-old owlet needs to be fed 5-6 times a day, then a six-month-old bird needs 2 meals a day.

Health and longevity

Cleanliness and more cleanliness! As already mentioned, the main cause of owl mortality in their natural habitat is hunger and diurnal predators. At home, these dangers do not threaten your pet.

But another risk factor appears - infectious diseases, the main cause of which is dirt. Clean the area where your pet lives often. stick proper nutrition and at the slightest threat to health, immediately contact a veterinarian.

Did you know? On the $1 bill, a horned owl is depicted at the top right, symbolizing the goddess Astarte, who brings pain, suffering and war.

You will immediately understand that something is wrong with your owl. She becomes lethargic and lethargic. Appetite disappears, the bird can sit all day with narrowed eyes. This behavior of a feathered one is a sure sign for contacting a veterinarian.
How many owls live in the wild is not known for certain, but it is generally accepted that an average of 5-10 years. In zoos and at home, cases of the life expectancy of a nocturnal predator up to half a century have been recorded.

Training and taming to hands

After you bring your owlet home, it will most likely be stressed for the first few days. This is expressed in the refusal of food, the chick can hide in a corner and not get out of there for some time.

Don't worry, this is normal. You have to be patient and persevere. Soon the feeling of hunger will take its toll - be careful, do not miss this moment.

Important! Owls are representatives of the owl family of a small size, have a more docile and playful disposition than those of large relatives. If you certainly decide to take an owl into the house for education, pay attention to the furry-legged, or sparrow owl.

As soon as you feed the chick, his attitude towards you will change, and after a couple more feedings, he will get used to you and will trust you. The instinct will tell the baby that there is a creature that cares, when hungry - feed. By this time, the chick will already know that you have no bad intentions towards him.
Now you can start taming your pet:

1. Use a glove to protect yourself from claws.
2. No need to rush. Don't make sudden movements. If something does not work out, you should not shout, by doing this you can create an insurmountable wall of misunderstanding.
3. As already mentioned, predators prefer to keep their distance with everyone. At first - even with his master. The owl has an independent disposition, and she will try to demonstrate this to you. Be prepared for this.
4. Hissing, beak clicks are signs of discontent. A feathered one can express them if you are trying to impose something on him. This is a signal that you should stop communicating.
5. Your communication should include an element of play and encouragement.
6. You can walk with your pet after full contact is established, not earlier. By that time, he should be used to the harnesses, which have to be put on little by little from the first days.

Now you know what an owl is, whether it is worth keeping it at home, and what difficulties you can expect in this case. But if you still have not abandoned the idea of ​​​​acquiring an owlet, do not let the stories about their unsociable disposition scare you too much. Remember, every living being has its own individuality, and love sometimes works wonders.

After watching videos about owls and films about Harry Potter on the Internet, many people think - why not have an owl in your house? Owls are so funny and cute, they sit so obediently and calmly on their hands, they allow themselves to be stroked ... If large parrots are kept in houses, then why is an owl worse?

If you were the owner of a large parrot, then I am sure that you will have the good sense not to take an owl into the apartment.

For everyone else, those who have not dealt with large birds, but really want to have an owl as a pet, everything that is written below is addressed. Maybe somewhere I exaggerate, but basically, everything that will be written further is very far from the truth.

You see, the whole point is that, unlike parrots, owls are birds of prey. They are not omnivorous like crows and not "fruit-eaters" like parrots, owls are hunters, accustomed to getting their own game. It's a very, very bad idea to keep an owl as a pet. But, nevertheless, if you are one of those who would sacrifice the happiness of a poor animal or bird for your own personal satisfaction, let me give you some details so that you know what you will have to deal with if you suddenly decide to get yourself an owl. . I hope that after reading this article, you will change your mind.

General information about owls

Once again, I emphasize that owls are birds of prey. These cute "fluffies" sharp beaks and claws designed to kill and tear prey. Owls are very cunning and dodgy, and their flight is silent, which allows them to attack and kill the prey even before it notices them.

Owls feed on all kinds of small mammals. The size of their prey is limited only by the size of the owl itself. The larger the owl, the larger the animal it can kill and eat. You can be sure that if you have a hamster, cat or small dog in your house, their death from the blow of powerful claws is only a matter of time. Of course, there are exceptional cases of "friendship", owls and cats, for example. But, that's why they are exceptions, to once again emphasize the rules.

The immobility of the owl's eyes is fully compensated by the ability to turn its head 270 degrees in the horizontal plane and 180 degrees in the vertical plane. This gives a perfect all-round view, and the owl will never miss anything that is happening around her.

Owls are monogamous. They mate for life and are very attached to their families and nests.

If after learning all this, you still want to have an owl in your house, read on.

Owls as pets

Keeping an owl in the home is illegal in most countries. Keeping owls is allowed only to those who breed them to replenish the population or for use in educational programs. Some groups individuals may temporarily keep an owl for treatment and rehabilitation, but not as a pet. You can get permission to keep an owl if you are a professional falconry(you have a license) and use the owl as a bird of prey. But this permission is granted only because the bird is actually free and retains its natural abilities and behavior exactly as it does in the wild.

When considering an owl as a pet, you should take into account that large owls can live up to 50 years or more, while smaller ones can easily live up to 20 years. This means that you will have to make, in fact, a lifelong commitment to love, courtship, time, energy and money.

If you have not given up on your intention to take the owl into the house, I will continue.

And now a little more about the reasons why I strongly oppose keeping an owl at home and what you will face when you take home an owl 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 a stranger. Moreover, everyone will be “strangers” for an owl, except for the one who feeds and cares for her all the time. And if the owl chooses you as this someone, then your long absence can not only inflict severe moral trauma on the owl, but literally kill it.
• Caring for an owl through trial and error is a very poor option. Even with the usual pets - dogs and cats, which we know about since childhood, there are problems. And in the case of an owl, you will have to learn everything you need to properly keep it, because only you will be responsible for this bird. Absolutely everything, from feeding, food selection, diseases, possible infections, to normal daily care, you will have to know and do only by yourself. The owl won't let anyone in.
• You can't just put an owl on a perch and go about your business. This bird is used to living in pairs, and in this case, its “mate” 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 her, including to give her the opportunity to fly. The bird is in dire need of flight exercise, so it will demand it from you (literally).
• A lot of dirty work awaits you. An owl sheds every year, so get ready to scoop up feathers and owl pellets from a variety of places. Owl pellets (pellets) are a mixture of fluff, feathers and everything that the bird's stomach has not digested. Oh, and one more thing, you have to be careful and watch where you step, because if you keep an owl at home, you never know what you will step into, I mean a riddle or droppings. 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 your owl food. Do not think that a bird will be able to eat for a long time store-bought or even bazaar meat of pigs, large cattle or hatchery hens. She needs game. You will have to get the game somewhere and pay for it. Can you imagine having a freezer filled with dead animals in your apartment? But that's not all the "charms". When an owl eats, she does not hold a piece of pineapple neatly in her paw (as a parrot does). Pressing the prey against a branch, pole or any other surface, the owl mercilessly tears it apart. Entrails, intestines, stomach, kidneys, etc. fly around. Therefore, in order to protect yourself from the terrible stench emanating from the insides 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 not smell very good somewhere behind a cupboard, but the insides smell even worse. But even such precautions will not save you from the need to clean rotten and smelly mucus from walls, cabinets, ceilings and floors.
• Let me remind you one last time that owls are wild birds of prey. A bird of prey can suddenly attack during fun and play without any warning and announcement of its intentions. Keeping an owl is 24 hours of constant work and attention, including deep and small scratches from her claws on your body with pain and screams.
• Despite the fact that you make an owl a pet, it will never become a pet. You won't get the joy of being with an owl that you can get with a dog or a cat. You will never be able to hold her close to you, cuddle her, and really pet her. She won't let you do it, but even if she does, trust me, she smells just awful.
• The mating season is a real hell for the owner of an owl that does not find its partner. You will have to put up with her mating cries day and night. It is possible that the owl will consider you his partner (partner) (more likely, this will happen if you take her into the house as a chick). At the same time, 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 and her” territory.
• Forget about expensive furniture if you have an owl at home. Anything that can be scratched will be scratched by her claws. Pillows torn to shreds Stuffed Toys, crumbled bedspreads, tablecloths and bed linen - will be commonplace for you.

After reading all this, think about why keep this majestic animal in the house, depriving it of the right to live in freedom or even ... the right to die (but also in freedom), worthy of such a beautiful bird?

2011-11-09

Pet lovers are not always limited to banal cats, dogs or fish, and often choose more exotic representatives of the fauna. These include snakes, crocodiles, spiders and even owls - birds that are familiar to every person from biology lessons and Harry Potter films. At first glance, it seems that caring for a feathered friend is no more difficult than caring for an ordinary parrot, but in reality, people who decide to take such a step face a lot of difficulties. Can an owl be kept at home and what do those who want to get such a pet need to know?

Owls are birds of prey that belong to the owl family, and live mainly in Europe, Asia and North America. They have dense feathers of light, gray and brown shades, but some members of the family are completely white. In nature, these birds play an important role - they destroy small rodents that cause serious harm to plants and humans.

All owls have similar structural features of the body and head, but differ from each other in size and wingspan. Their head is large, with lush plumage, and the face looks like a large disk formed by spherical plumage. Feature birds - large eyes that allow them to hunt at any time of the day or night. Owls also have ears, but in their structure they differ from the hearing aid of mammals - they do not have an outer shell and are arranged asymmetrically, thanks to which the birds hear perfectly. To hunt small birds and rodents, owls use strong paws with sharp claws, with which they instantly grab and kill prey.

The eagle owl is the largest member of the owl family.

Tawny owls, eagle owls and snowy owls are considered the largest owls - their wingspan is 1.2-1.5 m. It is extremely dangerous to keep such birds in an apartment due to their large size - in captivity they most often live in zoos. For home keeping, small representatives of the family are more suitable - an eared owl, a passerine and house owl, and splyushka.

Table. Owl varieties

Variety of owls	Peculiarities	A photo
	Outwardly, the long-eared owl resembles an eagle owl, but much smaller - the size is 37-39 cm. It has small bunches of feathers on its head that surround the auricles and improve hearing. This species of birds is the least aggressive towards its relatives, and has a fairly friendly disposition.
	A miniature representative of the owl family - body length is 20 cm, wingspan 40 cm, and weight 60-80 g. It lives almost throughout the European continent and is most often used as a pet. Feeds mainly on small insects
	The body length of the little owl is 25 cm, weight is about 170 g. The habitat is the southern and central part of the European continent, North Africa and Asia. Prey on insects, small rodents and lizards
	A miniature variety of owls, body length is 14-20 cm, weight ranges from 55-135 g. Scops have a grayish-brown plumage and large eyes with a yellow or orange iris

Interesting fact! Owls are able to freely turn their heads 180-270 degrees, which allowed them to earn a reputation as one of the best hunters in the animal world, so it will not be possible to get close to the bird unnoticed - it sees everything and always. This feature is explained by the special structure of the carotid arteries, which have bridges and branches of small vessels, which prevents clamping and deterioration of blood circulation.

Video - Types of owls

Is it worth it to have an owl in an apartment

An owl is a difficult pet to keep, so before you get this cute fluffy creature, you need to carefully weigh the pros and cons.

Advice! Owls have very powerful, sharp claws, and it will be difficult to do without scratches and minor wounds even if the pet is in a good mood. For this reason, all household members should pay special attention to the choice of clothing - it is better to cover arms and shoulders with dense material that the bird cannot penetrate.

Where to buy an owl

If the future owner of an owl is not afraid of the difficulties associated with keeping, you can move on to buying an owl, but acquiring a bird of prey is more difficult than a dog or cat. It is strongly not recommended to buy pets in spontaneous markets - even if the sellers claim that the bird was raised in a nursery, most likely it was caught by poachers. It is impossible to keep such an animal in an apartment, as it can be a carrier of various infectious diseases. In addition, hand-bought owls often turn out to be sick and die immediately after they get to new owners.

Another problem is that the capture and keeping of wild birds in Russia is prohibited by law, and an owl for which there are no relevant documents can be seized and the owner fined.

You need to purchase domestic owls in special nurseries, where the buyer will draw up all the documents. The cost of a bird may vary, but is approximately 8-60 thousand rubles, depending on the species. When buying an owl, you need to ensure that the number engraved on the ring (in nurseries all birds are ringed without fail) matches the numbers indicated in the documents.

The birds that are sold in nurseries are more tame and healthy than wild birds, but it is still better to show the purchased individual to an ornithologist veterinarian and take tests. You need to transport an owl in a closed box or box - a cat carrier or an ordinary cage will not work for this purpose, as the pet will start to beat and rods and can cause serious harm to itself.

Attention! Wild owls can be carriers of a number of zoonotic diseases - these include ornithosis, salmonellosis, trichomoniasis, chlamydia and many other infections. Accordingly, the content of an owl grown in wild environment, can be extremely dangerous for the health of all family members. You can read more about salmonellosis in.

Conditions for a domestic owl

Owls need space and freedom, so it is impossible to keep such birds in cages, otherwise they will get sick, injure themselves and die quickly. The best option- allocate an entire room for the pet, which should be properly prepared. The window should be closed with thick curtains, otherwise the owl will see freedom and try to fly out the window. Only small individuals can be kept in spacious cages, regularly releasing them to fly.

It is recommended to remove all breakable, fragile and valuable things from the room, as sooner or later they will be destroyed. A few sticks should be nailed to the walls, which will serve as a resting place for the bird. Owls love to swim, so it is recommended to put a shallow, but wide enough container of water indoors.

Attention! The owl sees well in the distance, but these birds have serious problems with near vision. There are frequent cases when birds crashed into walls on the fly and were seriously injured, so the owner will need to make sure that the pet does not crash.

What to feed a domestic owl

Under natural conditions, owls eat small insects, rodents, fish and amphibians, and sometimes plant foods. The best option for these birds is mice, rats, rabbits and chickens (depending on the size of the pet), about two individuals per week. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the age and characteristics of the pet - adult owls who know how to hunt can be offered live rodents, and it is better to feed young ones with the carcasses of freshly slaughtered animals, in extreme cases, frozen ones.

Not all pet lovers are ready to watch hunting and real killing that take place in their apartment, or to kill living creatures on their own, but it will be extremely difficult to find an alternative. The digestive system of owls is arranged in a special way - they swallow small animals whole, along with bones and hair. After digestion of food, all inedible remains form into a dense lump, which the bird burps. It is called a riddle and is important element digestion of owls, as it allows the inner lining of the stomach to be updated. If you exclude this stage from the process of digesting food, the entire work of the gastrointestinal tract will be disrupted.

In case of interruptions in live food, you can replace it with pieces of meat with bones, rolling them in wool, feathers, crushed shrimp shells, with the addition of grated carrots and other vegetables. If an owl constantly lives in an apartment, you need to feed it with low-fat food, otherwise there is a high probability of obesity and health problems. For birds with which they are engaged in training and education, the fat content of the feed does not matter.

Another important aspect lies in the fact that owls often stock up on food and eat rodent carcasses that are already thoroughly rotten. Birds that live in apartments also have this feature - they scatter half-eaten food leftovers, and eat them up only after a few days. It is not worth fighting this habit, as it is an important factor in maintaining normal digestion and fermentation in owls.

Live insects are a healthy addition to an owl's diet

To diversify the food of a domestic owl and provide it with all the substances necessary for health, you can give it fruits, vegetables, berries, sour-milk products, as well as live insects. These include crickets, locusts, any cockroaches, mealworms, larvae of tobacco hawk moth and wax moth. Before giving insects to birds, they can be fed with natural products to increase the nutritional value of live food.

Advice! You can collect insects for domestic owls on your own, but this should be done only in environmentally friendly areas away from major highways. Do not feed birds with insects collected from plants treated with pesticides and other chemicals.

How to care for a house owl

On the first day after the purchase, you should not scare the owl or immediately pick it up - the bird should get used to the new place. To do this, you need to open the box and leave the new pet alone so that he looks around. You can offer water and food to the owl after 1-2 hours - if it is still small and cannot tear the carcass with its claws, you need to cut the meat along with the bones.

Food can be offered to the bird from the hands so that it quickly gets used to the new owner, but do not make sudden movements and do not scream. In the room where the bird is located, there should always be a container with fresh water. In the future, you will need to carefully monitor the condition of the owl - the behavior of a sick pet is significantly different from the behavior of a healthy one.

Diseases in owls develop rapidly - in the morning the bird can be cheerful and active, and die from the disease in a few hours. For this reason, you should always keep the phone number of an ornithologist veterinarian on hand, and when the first symptoms of the disease appear, immediately take your pet to the veterinarian.

Owls are funny and interesting, but extremely difficult birds to keep and care for, and as a pet they are suitable only for those owners who are willing to spend time and money on them. Before buying an owl, you need to carefully weigh the pros and cons so as not to turn the bird's life and your own existence into real torment.

Video - How to keep an owl at home