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an orphaned Tawny Owl chick | ||||||||||||||||
Our first orphan, Owly, the day after we found him in May 2003. In this pic he's about 19 days old. That's his sister, Sophie, at top left. Same parents, same nest, but she fell two years later. | ||||||||||||||||
This guide's been run up in response to the number of people who came here looking for help in May 2007 -- and didn't find it. It's now fairly complete and has four parts: 1. Before you start (this page) Please note that the guide applies only to young Tawny Owls and not to any other owl or bird. To age a found chick refer to my First 100 days pages. (One day I'll do this in more detail as the chick's age is critical in deciding whether it should be picked up or left.)
A checklist before taking the plunge . . .
Let's kick off with an important question.
1. Should you go ahead with rearing the owl? First, should you really be keeping the owl in the first place, or would it be better to hand it over to a rehabilitator? Here are the circumstances in which you should be seriously considering contacting a rehabilitator. • If the owl is still having to be kept in a box or small (pet bird) cage. Ideally it should have space to fly. That means a flight cage or room. • If you’re having difficulty feeding the owl (unlikely), or are feeding it dog or cat food (more likely). • If you’re out most of the day and the owl is left unattended. • If the owl is exposed to any kind of physical risk. • If you won’t be able to release the owl in a suitable area some time in late June or July. • If the owl has an injury (eyes, limbs) that will affect its ability to survive in the wild. (See 9. Injuries, health, vets on next page) • If in any way you're not confident about your ability to keep and release a specialist bird. Previous experience with birds is a plus point here. A local vet is probably your best bet for tracking down owl rehabilitators in your area. If you've found a chick, so will many others in the past, and a local vet is often the first port of call. They have to know the local raptor experts or they'd be swamped! You will need to check with anyone you find or are recommended whether they will be able to release the owl properly later in the summer. Some may be unable to do this because they have too many other birds to look after, or because there is no suitable release area. But one contact should lead to another. Remember that it's only considerate to make a donation to the rehabilitator or rescue centre. The owl has to be housed, fed and looked after for about two months before it can be released, and many rescue centres are run by kind-hearted people with slender means. Think £25 rather than £5. The true cost (time, housing, food and sometimes veterinary services) is probably more like £50-£100. Here is a link to the UK Animal Rescuers Birds page. A useful link, not listed there, is the Raptor Rescue website. They have a helpline number where someone will try to put you in touch with local assistance.
Other considerations The legal situation: As far as I know, in the UK you are allowed to have an orphaned owl in your possession provided that you intend to release it when it is capable of looking after itself. If in doubt contact English Nature or other body issuing licences on behalf of Defra. For an owl found this year you’d be thinking of a release any time from mid-June. Early to mid-July is probably best. Imprinting: This is often given as a reason why members of the public should not rear orphaned tawnies and should leave the job to an experienced rehabilitator. (Imprinting is when a very young bird becomes psychologically orientated towards a human to the extent that it thinks the human is its parent or mate.) Let’s just say here that I have not found imprinting to be a problem when rearing orphaned tawny owls, and nor have others. Hand-reared tawnies can be (and are) successfully released into the wild.
2. Now let’s go straight to whether you’ll be able to release the owl later, as not being able to means you must hand it over to someone who can Think ahead: The best place for release is in or near (within a few hundred yards of) the parents’ territory, which means where you found it. You can do it elsewhere, but the area must contain a mix of woods and fields and preferably be away from main or heavily used secondary roads. Ideally you also need to be sure that the area isn’t already overpopulated by tawnies (other species don’t matter). The release itself is a simple matter (more later). If you can do this, then you’re ok. Release doesn’t need much if any subsequent work as the young owl will fly off and be very hard to find. It is unlikely to return to you! If not, the next step is to find a rehabilitator and ask them to take on the owl.
3. Next important consideration: housing -- where the owl is being kept Small cages and boxes or pet carriers are absolutely out as permanent residences. Once the owl can fly it must have a chance to develop those flying muscles and learn the whole art of taking off, flying and landing safely. So there are really only two options: a flight aviary, if you already keep birds, but for most of us it’ll be a room. A flight aviary should have a length of at least 10 ft.
Keeping an owl in a room. Perfectly ok, but the owl must be safe. That means: • Kitchens are out -- see pic at the bottom of this page. • Busy rooms are out. So, choose a nice, safe, undisturbed room and the owl should be ok. Otherwise it's a rehabilitator (a suitable cage takes too long to build!). On to the next points about a room . . • Doors are a big risk to owls’ feet and toes. If you leave the door ajar the owl will perch on top of it for sure and be at considerable risk of injury when the door closes. DON’T leave doors open! Always look at the top of a door before closing it. Put a sticky note on the door to remind people to take care when shutting it because there’s an owl in the room. Don’t allow children to go into the room unaccompanied. • Window training. Tawnies are very sensible about windows and learn quickly not to fly into them. Take the precaution of putting the owl next to the window (perched on your hand) so it can learn that glass is an obstacle. Let its beak touch the glass. If there is a big expanse of window put some strips of masking tape over, or spray the glass with something so the owl can see marks on the glass. At worst, one collision with a window is usually enough for an owl to learn. And, need I say, keep windows shut! • Unsafe objects. Obvious enough, but don’t leave an owl in a room with unsecured or heaped up items that could fall on it. • Perches. Make sure there are at least two (to fly between). Like any bird, the owl will head for the highest place in a room, like the top of a cupboard. Perches should be safe. • Open boxes and similar confined spaces. Young owls love playing in boxes, but unfortunately this can result in them breaking their primary and secondary flight feathers. This is a real risk and you should keep an eye out for broken flight feathers, whether on the bird or around the room. Try to identify the cause and remove it. When they play owls drape their wings over the sides of things (like a box) or nearby objects and that's often how feathers are broken. Breaking more than a few flight feathers, especially the primaries at the outer ends of the wings, will seriously affect the owl’s ability to survive in the wild. Damaged wing feathers may not grow back for a couple of years. Also keep a watch for damage to tail feathers, though this affects flying ability less and tail feathers are replaced more quickly. Tail feathers are damaged when the owl uses them as a brace or support when trying to cling to something it can’t land on properly. This is a problem in aviaries or cages and happens when the owl clings to the cage mesh. For the same reason it’s also a problem in mesh-fronted pet carriers.
Room safety in general Look around the room carefully and check it out for anything that might be unsafe for the owl. Watch the owl regularly to see that it isn’t doing anything that might put it at risk. For example, does it try to land on a lampshade? Where does it go when it walks around the floor? Young owls are very curious and explore everything, including down on the ground. Also remove anything -- like string or small toys -- that could cause problems if the owl tries to swallow it. Young owls are like babies -- there's a risk that things will end up in their mouths.
Your safety A young tawny is never aggressive, but these owls have pin-sharp claws that can pose a big risk of accidents to people’s eyes, especially children’s. The risky situations are when the owl flies to someone’s shoulder from the side or behind and that person turns their face towards the owl at the same time, or if someone puts their face too close to an owl that’s in a corner and can only escape by climbing up the person’s face, which it may well try to do. So don’t attempt to get familiar with an owl in a corner. Leave it room to back off. Another risky situation is when an owl is already on someone’s shoulder and they turn to look at it. The owl may decide at the same time to climb onto the top of the person’s head, which it may do by scrambling up their face. Heads are good perches. So don't turn to look at an owl on your shoulder. Always be aware of this risk to eyes. Never, never leave children unsupervised with an owl.
Owl messes Owls mess a lot, and you must be prepared to put up with it. Give up any idea of house training. Ideally the owl should be in a room with a floor (and other surfaces) that can be cleaned easily. You need sponges or kitchen wipes to do this, and it should be done before the messes dry or you’ll have a job cleaning up. Cover anything that needs protecting from owl poo with sheets -- preferably double-layered. A plus point is that the owl will often poo from a favourite perch, so the messes tend to be in certain locations. If the floor is carpeted, well, let’s hope it’s one you don’t mind being messed (steam cleaners are quite effective but don't entirely remove darker stains). Put newspaper under favourite messing places. You'll find that certain owl messes are very liquid and foul smelling -- literally like a stink bomb. This is quite normal. The owl lifts its skirts and shoots them out, and if they hit a hard surface the mess splashes and ricochets everywhere. Another black type has a consistency like tar and must be cleaned up within an hour or so or it will stain and stick hard to whatever surface it has landed on. The white messes can react chemically with some plastic surfaces and damage them. When dry they need scraping off with a paint scraper. Ready for it?
Other points Biting. A young owl may bite if you try to make it do something it doesn’t want to. These bites are rarely more than warning nips. Rinse the wound if blood is drawn. Damage. Owls of all ages like ripping things up, like they do to prey. Sponges and newspapers are favourites, but fabrics (e.g. on furniture) may also receive attention. As newspapers are cheapest make sure the owl has a supply to practise on. On the other hand damage to unsecured objects, like ornaments, is unlikely as like all birds tawnies are remarkably skilful at landing and moving around without disturbing nearby objects. But take precautions with nice things on shelves. Picking an owl up. Owls object enormously to being picked up with the hands and you could get badly scratched as a result. Always invite the owl onto your hand and it will usually oblige. To make it hop on to your hand put a little pressure on the front of its legs. Lift a foot and put your hand under. Lift your hand with the foot on it until the owl has to raise the other foot on to your hand. Say "Get on my hand". A little training may be needed. Some owl owners put their hands behind the owl’s legs and apply the pressure there to make the owl step backwards, but I find the front works fine. Many birds are averse to hands full stop. (More on picking an owl up on next page under 5.) Again, owl claws are very sharp and their toes are very strong, so best not to let a child invite it on to the hand (also because of the eye risk -- the owl may decide to take off and kick past the child’s face). An owl gripping your unprotected finger or hand can be very painful and may even draw blood. That’s why owls are usually handled with gloves on.
So, that’s general points about keeping an orphaned tawny. Next page: Feeding and care.
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KITCHEN FOLLIES Yes, this tawny chick is standing on a hob. It's actually got one foot on a gas ring. If I were a RSPCA/B person I'd whisk this fella away asapissimo for its own safety. The pic recently appeared in a forum with the caption "fried tawny any1", with the further information that it's "an 5 wk tawny i am looking afta for da weekend". It's really shocking, and it gives those of us who try to look after these birds responsibly a bad name -- we get tarred with the same brush. So no apologies to the forum member for pinching his photo to put up as a warning here. Click on the thumbnail to see the whole horrible scene. MORAL: Free-flying birds and kitchens don't mix. There are too many stories of budgies diving straight into soup pans on the web! Rings that stay hot after the kettle's off or cooking's finished are just too dangerous, and the accident to those little feet can happen before you know it. | ||||||||||||||||
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