I also have raised Great Horned Owls. They are great birds and fun to raise.. Mine were called- Hooter & Harry...raised on raw stew meat and barn mice..they lived for many years..then finally flew away into the wilderness...
Love ,Love it being a night owl myself , a few years back on a early spring Nebraska morning along side the Mighty Mo River I walked up on a huge Great Horned Owl (probably female due to large size) eating a bird she never missed a mouthful , speaking softly I just eased back & away snapping photos, few days later I went back gathered up the remains taking them to a Conservationists ( Game Warden) finding out that her breakfast was a Red Tailed Hawk NOTE to left of this comment is one the photos of her as my thumbnail
OMG, how cute are they!?!?!?! We recently had a baby barred owl in our backyard for about four weeks, The mom and dad owls stayed with baby and brought it food, but baby kept getting skinnier and his feathers were not growing properly, so the local wildlife rescue came and picked him up. We were very vigilant in keeping him safe, and so saddened when the rescue veterinarian made the decision to put him down. He had a previous foot fracture and other issues that would have kept him from flourishing in the wild or in captivity. It was the most exciting four weeks to have that little guy and his parents around!!
I was expecting some crying negative in comments that "" oh that's so dangerous, petting an owl and ifs that great horned, those owl will attack and so"" ..most dangerous being is human, though they are made for bite and attack but they do in a painful way...lol. Loved the video, have a dream to pet a pair of them!
Does it matter . The mom was obviously not present and he did a great job keeping them safe , fed and teaching them to take flight so they could live happy in nature . No explanation needed . Great job , this planet could use more people helping animals live when they are abandoned. My husband and I did the same thing however it was not an owl it was a baby Canada goose and they’re incredibly smart and she was so great full . I can happily say she was in great health when we released her back into the wild before she took off for the winter . She was abandoned by her flawk as a baby because she was hurt (attacked by another animal) we took her in and nurses her back to health . She was so happy with us she would sleep in our bed lol if not she would cry all night . We released her when she was grown and able to fly and eat herself . Fully healed and she left for the winter . I love hearing these stories . Great video and great job !
It depends what will be the future of that bird. e.g. if bird is physically OKand she is expected to be returned into the wild, then I do not think it is a good idea to tame it! On the other hand, if it's been damaged and uncapable to live independently, I'd starve the bird (e.g. for 2 days, depends on condition of course) and started to feed it with a titbits from hand until stop taking food and then againe no food for a day or too. Once you notice some sort of acceptance, you may TRY to switch for a smaller amount of food but every day.
Nothing weird about it, from my perspective. Spending the 2nd half of your life on a piece of paradise with your loved one, spending your retirement years being productive in a rewarding and giving capacity - not to mention having a connection with an amazing animal that in normal circumstances humans would never interact with.. Sounds like intellectual and emotional fulfillment, to me at least.
Hi - is it true what Bebe and Webster wrote, that taken as downies from the nest, GHOs not only become ridiculously tame, but they can also develop some really odd personality traits? (quoting them almost verbatim, iirc) THanks!!
+Chester Kitty Hello! If you read Beebe & Webster, you must know what is imprinting. Every raptor taken as a downy can be imprinted and become extremely tame. However, such changes in the mentality of the bird may result in certain problems within the man-bird relationship and (e.g.) in case of redtailed hawks imprinting not recommended at all.
