# falconry



## grizzlymonkyboy (Jan 15, 2011)

I am wanting to get a barn owl and i have always been intrested in falconry. I was wondering if there is anyone in the milton keynes area who would be willing to mentor me so i can get the hang of the basics? i have seen a 5 day course online that i could go on but think it maybe more benifical if i could find a local mentor. 

thanks in advance


----------



## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

I certainly wouldn't start out with a Barn Owl. Their small size & light weight makes it too easy to kill them when getting their flying weight right.

If its owls your interested in, you'd be much better with a Bengal Eagle Owl or a European Eagle Owl. They are obviously larger, which makes it harder to make fatal mistakes when cutting their weight down.


----------



## grizzlymonkyboy (Jan 15, 2011)

its funny you should say that i was thinking about the Bengal Eagle Owl as i have been advised this is far easier to start with but i do love the barn owl


----------



## grizzlymonkyboy (Jan 15, 2011)

i am even thinking abput a kestral to start with


----------



## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

grizzlymonkyboy said:


> its funny you should say that i was thinking about the Bengal Eagle Owl as i have been advised this is far easier to start with but i do love the barn owl





grizzlymonkyboy said:


> i am even thinking abput a kestral to start with


Bengal Eagle Owls are fab! 

A kestrel would be an even worse choice than a Barn Owl, as they are even lighter & easier to kill by cutting their weight down.


----------



## miss_ferret (Feb 4, 2010)

for an experienced mentor your best asking on the IFF (Falconry Forum) but bear in mind most will tell you the same as you have been told on here: the barn owl is not a good beginners bird.

id also recommend you buy these books: Training Birds of Prey: Amazon.co.uk: Jemima Parry-Jones: Books

Understanding Owls: Biology, Management, Breeding, Training: Amazon.co.uk: Jemima Parry-Jones: Books

Understanding the Bird of Prey: Amazon.co.uk: Nick Fox: Books

i dont know what course your talking about, but the best course to do is the LANTRA beginning falconry award Catalogue - Falconry

as zoo man said, the barn owl is not recommended for the beginner due to their small size, get weight management wrong and you will kill it. however if approached with the right amount of patience and hands on research it can be done. my first bird (ie the first one i had sole charge of) was a barn owl. i spent 3 years reading, researching, on the LANTRA course and experience days and skivying for a local falconer before i bought him. i did weight control on everything from eagle owls to sparrowhawks (and believe me after you've done sparrowhawks barn owls are a lot less nerve racking) so i had enough knowledge built up not to put him at risk.

barn owls (infact birds of prey in general) arnt pets. they can be stroppy, a nightmare to train (mine is currently back on the creance, again, as hes taken to buggering off at the drop of a hat, which means his flying weight needs to be reassessed again) and there more than capable of inflicting injury if they want to.

im not saying the above to be negative or to put you off becoming a falconer, its just to give you a realistic idea of what your getting into. because of there low price (iv seen some as low as £40 a chick this year) barn owls are one of the most abused birds of prey in captivity. people buy them and have no idea how to correctly treat one and kill it, or worse leave it to rot in a shed for the rest of its life, which for an animal that can easily live to be 30 is not a life.

im not for a minute suggesting you'd mistreat one, the very fact that your asking for advice shows your willing to learn how to care for one properly, just take time to understand what your taking on : victory:


----------



## Sirvincent (Jul 16, 2008)

fantastic advise from Miss ferret, can't really add to it


----------



## grizzlymonkyboy (Jan 15, 2011)

thanks everyone for your advise i think i will go for the bengal, i realised a barn owl was not sutable for a novice. I have registered on the said forum and also sent an email to Northampton raptors club so hopefully i will be able to find a mentor

im not looking for a bird until im fully confident anyway which will be a year or two i fully understand this will be a slow proces but if i put the work in it will pay off (like everything in life)

thanks again to all for your help will update this thread with my progress of the coming months years :2thumb:


----------



## smithy73 (Aug 31, 2010)

grizzlymonkyboy said:


> I am wanting to get a barn owl and i have always been intrested in falconry. I was wondering if there is anyone in the milton keynes area who would be willing to mentor me so i can get the hang of the basics? i have seen a 5 day course online that i could go on but think it maybe more benifical if i could find a local mentor.
> 
> thanks in advance


hi mate im not local to you but do fly a lot of land near to you can always out with a few of us if you want at some point and show you a few basics cheers wayne


----------



## grizzlymonkyboy (Jan 15, 2011)

smithy73 said:


> hi mate im not local to you but do fly a lot of land near to you can always out with a few of us if you want at some point and show you a few basics cheers wayne


wow that would be amazing i will drop you a PM


----------



## bloodpython22 (Feb 19, 2010)

The african spotted eagle owl or bengal eagle owl would be better to staryt
With as more give on weights ect ,,I keep a lot of owls but not sure 
How fare iam from you


----------

