Owl finches

Heather · Post by **Heather** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 9:42 am

I am new to keeping finches. In December 2006 I purchased a pair of owl finches, plus their only offspring from a previous breeding. They have since produced a family of four. I have done a lot of reading and research because I really want to take good care of these little birds.

vetbridge · Post by **vetbridge** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 12:35 pm

Hi Heather. They are cool birds. If you can, a picture would be nice.

Post by **Hilary** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 7:59 pm

Welcome! I'm so jealous! I have 4 pairs of owls, and can't seem to get chicks beyond hatching.

You must be doing it right for the little guys!

debbyloo · Post by **debbyloo** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 8:21 pm

I have a pair of owls nesting right now. The hen is sitting tight on her nest and I have not dared check or peek to see how many eggs for fear of disturbing her and causing her to abandon her attempt. However, I am getting nervous (first time raising these) about what the parents need to feed them when they hatch. Please tell me what you offered and any tips you could share. Thanks so much!

Heather · Post by **Heather** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 9:51 am

When my owl finches started to sit on their eggs I changed their seed to Kaytee Eggcite to increase the protein in their diet. After the babies hatched I also fed the parents 1/4 of a hard boiled egg each day. Since the parents feed their offspring by regurgitating what they have eaten, their diet needs to be very nutritious so that the baby birds will thrive. I also feed my owls green about three times a week and a little fruit, but the only fruit they seem to like is grapes. My owls laid four eggs and they all hatched. The babies are weaned now and doing extremely well. I have a nice little family!
Heather in Ohio.

Heather · Post by **Heather** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 2:17 pm

vetbridge wrote:Hi Heather. They are cool birds. If you can, a picture would be nice.

I am trying to figure out how to post a photo.

debbyloo · Post by **debbyloo** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:01 am

I would love to see pictures of your owl family. I am hoping my owl eggs will hatch some time this week. The hen is sitting tight and usually doesn't leave even when I put my hand in the cage to change food and water. I think that's supposed to be a good sign. The little male will squat on the perch just outside and below the nest and seems to just gaze up at her adoringly - like a dad cheering a delivering mom on with encouraging words. Ha! They trade off incubating now and then, but it is mostly the hen doing all the work. I will add the chopped boiled egg w/shell as you suggested, and be sure to continue to offer all the grated fresh veggies. I have been giving them everything I could think of all along - I figure if I set out a buffet, they can pick and choose what they want. I have not tried the grapes, but till - none of my other finches seem to like fruit. How do you offer them? Split in half, stuck through the bar of the cage, or what? Any particular color grapes?

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 11:26 am

I keep thinking this tread is in the wrong place. It should be on the species forum, but I don't think there's a way to move it.

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 9:31 pm

Moderator Tammie: I think if you scroll all the way to the bottom of the page of a thread, you should see 4 small circular buttons; they are located just below the "NEWtopic" "POSTreply" buttons, the text that says "Page x of xx," and finally the link that says "Watch this topic for replies."

The buttons will allow you to (in order from left to right): delete the topic, move the topic [this is the one you are looking for right now, I believe], lock the topic, and split the topic.

I'm pretty sure they are visible to moderators and not just admin. Let me know if you see them and are able to move the topic to the Species forum; if you don't see them, I'll move the topic.

albert · Post by **albert** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 3:22 am

For some reason Hawaii does not allow to keep and to import Owl finch into Hawaii
I'm so jealous with your guys

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:59 am

Crystal wrote:Moderator Tammie: I think if you scroll all the way to the bottom of the page of a thread, you should see 4 small circular buttons; they are located just below the "NEWtopic" "POSTreply" buttons, the text that says "Page x of xx," and finally the link that says "Watch this topic for replies."

The buttons will allow you to (in order from left to right): delete the topic, move the topic [this is the one you are looking for right now, I believe], lock the topic, and split the topic.

I'm pretty sure they are visible to moderators and not just admin. Let me know if you see them and are able to move the topic to the Species forum; if you don't see them, I'll move the topic.

Yes, I see them... now.

Wasn't looking hard enough I guess.

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 1:24 pm

tammieb wrote:Wasn't looking hard enough I guess. :oops:

Nonsense. :) They are practically hidden (tiny buttons which don't stand out, nestled way down at the bottom of the page). I'm surprised I noticed them, to be honest, and I'm pretty sure I had to refer to the user manual that came with this software to be sure they even existed before I found them for the first time. But now we know!

Heather · Post by **Heather** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 9:35 am

I usually give them green grapes. I cut them in half and put them in a small, shallow dish. Good luck with the babies.

Carmen · Post by **Carmen** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 12:57 pm

I'm having also a pair of Owls, but I have trouble with breeding them.
The first clutch was infertile, they abandoned their second one and the third one the hen didn't want to sit on the nest.
Previous year it went better, they had 3 chicks.
I gave them not a nest box but a bowl, is the hen feeling too uncomfortable?
What kind of nest occasion do you provide to the Owls?

Heather · Post by **Heather** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 1:16 pm

I use nesting pockets. I use a fairly large one so there is room for both parents and the babies when they hatch. When mine were incubating, both male and female took turns on the eggs (but mostly the female). I believe that both parents fed the babies.

P.S. The only way I know which one is the male is because he is banded!

FINCHforum

Owl finches

Owl finches

Any Tips?

thanks

Grapes for owl finches

Nests for owl finches