# just wondering....



## randomcookiemonsta (Mar 5, 2009)

i've always been interested in birds of prey and owls, and i've recently been looking at little owls. now i've never kept birds or anything before and cant seem to find much information on how this species should be kept, any laws that need following or even how much or where to find these for sale. so really i'm asking for some general information on this species and how i should start to think about getting one. 

cheers 
cookie : victory:


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## SilverSky (Oct 2, 2010)

if you're looking for an owl to fly,,due to their tiny size and weight little owls are not really suitable for a beginner, as keeping a safe flying weight is a lot harder than with larger owls, any mistakes could quicky prove lethal.


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## miss_ferret (Feb 4, 2010)

if you've never kept BOPs before then id strongly reccomened you look into the LANTRA beginning falconry award, even if its only owls your interested in: Catalogue - Falconry id also reccomened you buy and read this book: Understanding Owls: Biology Management Breeding Training: Amazon.co.uk: Jemima Parry-Jones: Books

if you want a bird to fly then, for the time being, leave little owls well alone. the weight control alone has reduced some fantastic falconers i know to near heart attacks before now so there not the best for a beginner :lol2: they do make pretty good aviary birds though, but as they wont be being flown they would need a large avairy in order to make sure they can get all the excercise they need. be aware that a lot of 'reccomended aviary sizes' you find in books or on the internet are based on the bird being flown regularly.

regarding the birds themselves, based on the ones iv met they can be summed up by one word: attitude. there a big bird trapped in a small body lol. generally the smaller the owl the more of an attitude problem they have unfortunatly :devil: price wise, its been a while since i saw any for sale but i *think* they where around £100-150 each. have a look on here Bird Mart and here: Birds For Sale - Falconry Forum (IFF) bear in mind however that no responsible breeder will sell to anyone who cant prove they know there stuff and/or have experience of the species. regarding laws little owls need article 10s (captive breeding document) to be legally sold, if theres no a10 dont buy : victory: other than that its highly reccomended to get one thats IBR (independent bird register) rung incase it goes walk about :whistling2:


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## cloggers (Mar 13, 2010)

I don't own one but I've been told Little Owls suffer from the owl version of small dog syndrome. :whistling2:
I want a Bengal Eagle Owl myself :flrt:


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## randomcookiemonsta (Mar 5, 2009)

thanks for the reply's guys. 
first off, i dont think i would be flying it, it would be more of an aivary bird that would be allowed to fly around to it's heart's content in the house. 
now, please excuse my lack of knowlage (dont worry, it'll be a good while before i actually get a bird. i dont care if i have to wait 10 years untill i know enough to care for one properly, just so long as i get it right) but is it possible to have a kind of 'indoor' aivary for a bird like this. something so that it could be free to fly around the room when it chose, but also have an open, but still enclosed 'cage' for when it wants. (i hope that makes sense) :blush:

again, please dont slate me if i'm talking complete rubbish, i'm just trying to do some research.

cheers
cookie : victory:


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## miss_ferret (Feb 4, 2010)

personally speaking, i dont think BOPs should ever be kept in, or allowed to fly around, a house unless reccomended by a vet. being kept in a large outdoor aviary is far far better for them. they dont do well with the temperature and humidity issues inside houses, plus they need somewhere to hide when they want to be left alone and quiet, in an outdoor aviary this is simple: give them a nest box. i cant see how you could realisticly provide that in a house. from the point of view of other inhabitants in the house (ie people and other pets) owls are very messy, can be very noisy (either at certain times of the year or, if your unlucky, all year round) and will not like to be around other animals at all. mine goes balistic if he sees any animal bigger than him (which as hes a barn owl is quite a lot), hes fine when hes out but when hes in his aviary he thinks hes rambo. and my god, the screetching when one of the local wild tawneys is in the garden...

to put it bluntly (and im not trying to come accross as a know it all so i appologise if thats how it seems): owls and other BOPs arnt pets, they will adapt to how you want them to be to a certain extent (through training and so on) but your going to spend the majority of your time doing things on there terms, you can get a certain degree of tameness (some will even get soppy tame) but the vast majority will never be dog tame, cuddly or anything like that. those talons and that beak hurts, dosent matter how big the bird is, the smaller ones can still seriously hurt you if they want to.

if little owls are what you really want, and your willing to wait as long as it takes to put the work in, then go for it. just remember that you adapt to the birds, they dont adapt to you : victory:


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## randomcookiemonsta (Mar 5, 2009)

miss_ferret said:


> personally speaking, i dont think BOPs should ever be kept in, or allowed to fly around, a house unless reccomended by a vet. being kept in a large outdoor aviary is far far better for them. they dont do well with the temperature and humidity issues inside houses, plus they need somewhere to hide when they want to be left alone and quiet, in an outdoor aviary this is simple: give them a nest box. i cant see how you could realisticly provide that in a house. from the point of view of other inhabitants in the house (ie people and other pets) owls are very messy, can be very noisy (either at certain times of the year or, if your unlucky, all year round) and will not like to be around other animals at all. mine goes balistic if he sees any animal bigger than him (which as hes a barn owl is quite a lot), hes fine when hes out but when hes in his aviary he thinks hes rambo. and my god, the screetching when one of the local wild tawneys is in the garden...
> 
> to put it bluntly (and im not trying to come accross as a know it all so i appologise if thats how it seems): owls and other BOPs arnt pets, they will adapt to how you want them to be to a certain extent (through training and so on) but your going to spend the majority of your time doing things on there terms, you can get a certain degree of tameness (some will even get soppy tame) but the vast majority will never be dog tame, cuddly or anything like that. those talons and that beak hurts, dosent matter how big the bird is, the smaller ones can still seriously hurt you if they want to.
> 
> if little owls are what you really want, and your willing to wait as long as it takes to put the work in, then go for it. just remember that you adapt to the birds, they dont adapt to you : victory:


thanks for the advice, i really appreciate it. i think i'll be waiting a good few years and just make sure i can give it what it needs. (not going to be feisable to build a large outdoor aivary any time soon)

thanks alot for your help 
cookie : victory:


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