My parents and I had pet owls. AMA

[ElizabethMainwaring]

I've always fancied doing an AMA, but couldn't think of anything that would be of interest.
Following on from a thread last night about owls in London.
So, yes, when I was young, my family had two tawny owls.

I would love an owl in an aviary. Is it hard to get permission? Can you get training in their care? Should they come in pairs? X

What a fantastic thread. Come back @ElizabethMainwaring, we need to know how Blodwyn and Reg were introduced!

I'm here!
@noodlezoodle
I will ask my dad tomorrow about their 'courtship' and get back to you!

Excellent, thank you!

@oviennna you can google it; it's not so simple, there are different licenses required and rules about releasing captive owls back into the wild.
Owls as pets are generally not recommended at all these days - owls as falconry birds are more common. But yes lots of training, a good aviary and research should be in place first. You could
Visit your local falconry centre to find out more. It's a huge undertaking x

This is something I would be willing to take on, taking on all the responsibilities and training. What I wasn't sure about is whether that's even really possible as a private individual.

No. Unless you come across some owls it won't happen
They are not up for adoption.

We regularly go (went) to an owl and bird of prey sanctuary where you can fly the birds. I have gone from being too frightened to be near one, to having them land on my head. There is one barn owl there who quite often refuses to fly from one person to another, because the first person is stroking his head and he loves it!

Is it true that owlets sleep facedown on floor as their heads are too heavy?
This is a lovely thread btw

How did you get the tree to grow into the bedroom????

@Ostagazuzulum
I've seen that somewhere too.
It doesn't sound right to me at all. Surely the owlets would sleep in a nest? They wouldn't be on the floor, they wouldn't be safe and how would they get back in the nest? Perhaps owls in captivity have been observed sleeping face down, but I don't think that it is natural behaviour.

@JanewaysBun
The tree wasn't growing, it was just a few very large dead branches. The owls lived in the bedroom for a couple of weeks while my dad built and landscaped the aviary.

Apologies, I still haven't asked him about Blodwyn and Reg's courtship.

@MrDarcysMa
Tell us about your eagle owl please!
Blodwyn is a fantastic name for a pig btw

@ElizabethMainwaring He used to live in an aviary/ shed in our garden too. It usually had canaries/ Cockatiels etc but we used it for the owl. He was my brother's really - I was fairly young, I remember him being too heavy to hold on my arm but my brother used to sit in the garden for hours with him on his.He used to hiss and snap his beak at strangers.

We had a freezer in the garage full of little chicks for him to eat. Not sure where they came from, I was too young to ask but my dad was very well connected - animal and wildlife wise!

Did you get them when they were owlets.
Also did they have any babies of their own.
I remember in the Main library where I’m from they had a Harry Potter day going back about 15 yeArs ago now.
They had little baby owls there. They were adorable. They felt like candy floss.

@Awwlookatmybabyspider
If you read the thread you will find the answers to your questions.

Thanks Elizabeth.