Owls

Post by **Hilary** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 9:32 pm

Oh, help me. I set my owl pair up again and they promptly laid 6-7 eggs. Last time I gave their eggs to fosters (they weren't sitting), and one hatched that promptly died and a couple were DIS. This time they sat tightly, and one hatched which I found dead on the bottom of the cage and 3 were DIS (the others were infertile). ARGH!!! So how do I respond to the disappointment? I buy two more pairs......

Hilary

tina · Post by **tina** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 8:14 am

Maybe they are too young? I really have no clue, but it would seem that inexperience may cause a lot of the problems, that I do know. I hope things work out for you soon.

Sally H · Post by **Sally H** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 8:35 pm

I had to chuckle as I did the same thing. My original pair lay infertile eggs. For my birthday last month I was given a female Owl so I had to find her a mate and while we were at it, another pair.

So four separate cages (one pair of zebras, too) while I wait for quarantines to be over and then I can finally put all of them in the cage I built months ago. I was worried about the 2 or more than 6 rule for bigger flight cages so now I have it covered no matter how its interpreted. (same spieces or mixed)

zookeeper · Post by **zookeeper** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 10:57 pm

Wow Sally, when it rains finches, it pours finches! I bet you can hardly wait to be done with the extra work of quarantine!

Beep · Post by **Beep** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 1:02 pm

I agree, sounds like a mess while you sort them all out. Can you expand on the rule of thumb that you mentioned regarding 2 or 6 or more. I'm new to all of this and haven't heard of that yet.

Sally H · Post by **Sally H** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 7:13 pm

Sure, Beep. Usually when reading about adding birds together, mixed or same species, the authors mention that with just 2 pairs of birds there is a probability of one being singled out to be picked on. With more birds in the enclosure and some foilage for cover somehow the aggression lessens.

I'm not a breeder but when it was just my zebra pair and their two male offspring in the 36 x 18" cage, they picked on the father. They were weaned but slow to color up fully and I hadn't found homes for them when I noticed Kiwi missing some feathers on the back of his head. The female had done a molt right after the babies weaned so I wasn't too concerned but by the time they got adopted two weeks later poor Kiwi looked like a vulture. No permanent damage, the feathers filled right back in but it scared me to put just the zebra pair and owl pair in together. The new cage is 6 x 3 x 3' which should be just about right for the 6 or 8 (can't decide if the zebras get to live in there yet) birds.

Beep · Post by **Beep** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 7:43 pm

I see, as I expected, but wanted to hear to be sure. It's much like tropical fish. How you can add more, what kinds you can add, when to add them, changing the environment to avoid them being territorial etc.

Post by **Hilary** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 11:55 pm

Ah, man..... I got home last night to find a dead owl hen (one of the new ones). She looked perfectly fine when I went to work, hanging out with her mate. No cleaning, no fumes, and she didn't have a mark on her. This morning I did find a little pool of blood in the cage, though, so it was obviously some kind of accident. I have no idea what it could have been, though, and she didn't have any blood on her.

I had already arranged to pick up a new pair on Saturday (can't help myself) - now I also have an unattached cock who keeps calling for his mate......

Hilary

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:19 am

Sorry for your loss Hilary.

Don't you just hate when one dies suddenly and you have no idea why? Very frustrating to say the least. Can you return the bird to the breeder? The blood in the cage may have nothing to do with the dead hen, especially if you found none on her.

Post by **Hilary** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:44 am

Thanks Tammie. If I hadn't found the blood I probably would have called the breeder, but as it is I really can't say it wasn't an accident and he's not responsible for that. I had another bird that just went feet up the day after I brought her home, and that one was definitely replaced by the breeder (different breeder). When I first saw the blood I thought it was one of the others, but they all appear to be fine as well. There was enough blood that I would think she very well could have bled to death - they're so small. It was in a tight little pool, so she wasn't moving around the cage after being injured. I just don't know.

Hilary

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:49 am

Oh I see. That is very bizarre.

tina · Post by **tina** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 8:25 am

Sorry for your loss

Beep · Post by **Beep** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 9:51 am

Sorry to hear that Hilary. And I feel sorry for the male also. I know also how frustrating it is not to find an obvious cause of death. With no other birds being wounded, and no sign of blood on the dead hen, it may have been blood loss through the beak, after some internal hemorrhage.