Are owls who have a dirty appearance young?

[Domenic]

I recently obtained two owls. One has a cleaner appearance than the other, it's chest has more white feathers. The other has some brown feathers that give it a dirty appearance. They both have a few stray brown feathers that give them the dirty look, and I was wondering if they will molt that away the older they get? I always kind of considered that a juvenile thing, to look a little dirty. Is it? Or is it just genes?

[Finch Fry]

So tough to say without pictures... and even with pictures tough to say.

Yes, young owls are "dirtier" so to speak. Do a search for owl finches on the breeding forum, take a look at some juvenile owls to get an idea. Also, the female owl is typically dirtier in the chest and face area as opposed to the male. Usually the difference is very subtle between male/female, sometimes its not.

[Sally]

I don't think you can use appearance to determine the age of an Owl, as they vary by how bright or dirty or clean their breasts may look. So a dirty breast could be a juvenile, but it could also be an older hen. The only way to positively tell the age on a finch is when they wear a coded closed band on their leg, with the year marked. Next best way is to deal with someone you trust to be honest.

You could have a male/female pair. Separate them and see if one or both will sing. I DNA my youngsters, as I sell them and don't want to take a chance on selling a female to someone who wants a male, etc.