# barn owl



## steveo1983 (Dec 5, 2012)

hi im wonting to get a barn owl latter on next year but trying to find out as much info as i can if you know of any good sites please let me know and it would be good if i can become friends with people who keep them or train them or breed them to obtain as much info as possibal befor i get one many thanks for taken your time to read this


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## tincan (Aug 30, 2012)

There is a Moderator on here called Hawksport , as you can tell by his name he keeps/works raptors , perhaps give him a shout he is very very knowledgable in the field . He is also a plain speaking guy.


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## AlexArt (Apr 25, 2010)

Agree with the above, I do know that they can be hard to keep if you want to fly them as they are so small the changes in weight between hunting and starving are tiny and can kill them if you don't get it right. There is a good book by Gemma Parry-Jones on falconry and she does have a bit on owls I think - maybe join your local falconry club and get a more hands on approach so you know what you are letting yourself in for and how expensive they are to keep! 
I don't think many people fly them but more often keep them in large aviarys just to look at. Beautiful birds though - we had a pair that nested in our annex attic this year - very noisy and very smelly but so beautiful when the 2 babies finally fledged!


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## steveo1983 (Dec 5, 2012)

thanks for the advice people i will look that bloke up thanks again and any info is good info


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## hawksport (Dec 27, 2009)

What do you want to do with it?
You can forget hunting
Breeding, there is no market for them
Flying to the fist from trees. That's ok for a demo bird being flown for different people every day but day in day out it becomes very boring. 
In a bird that small the difference between being fat and sitting in a tree all day while you try and get it down, a flying weight and dangerously under weight is very small. They are just to small to absorb mistakes a beginer can make if they don't understand how changes in weather, exercise ect, ect affect weight and required food intake.
Every corvid in the area will mob it and try to move it from the area, without £600 worth of telemetry it will most likely be dead before you find it.
Probably not what you want to hear but that's the reality. Even flying my hybrid gets boring sometimes and I would like to fly a Sparrow hawk but the weight issue is too much trouble
The book mentioned earlier is Training Birds of Prey by Jemima Parry Jones


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## Paul Dunham (Apr 1, 2010)

hawksport said:


> What do you want to do with it?
> You can forget hunting
> Breeding, there is no market for them
> Flying to the fist from trees. That's ok for a demo bird being flown for different people every day but day in day out it becomes very boring.
> ...


Hiya, Hawksport,
I think you were laying it on a thick, a bit heavy putting him off making out he's guaranteed to lose the bird because of mobbing by corvids.. I've flown more Barn owls than I can remember, and although at times they have been mobbed, they tend to be driven to ground or into cover rather than flying any great distance.. People were flying them for many many years before telemetry was invented.. Telemetry's a modern device.. As far as being boring is concerned.. Its depends on your yardstick, your expectations.. Some people would be very happy simply to have a bird fly free most days.. Its only boring if your expectations are high..
Some people find Budgies boring, while others love them.. I think the best advice is to find a mentor.. Someone to teach him.. show him what to do.. Beginners with small birds of prey are more likely to kill their birds or lose them with or without telemetry..

Another book worth mentioning is Ronald Stevens, Observations of Modern Falconry.. It's an old book but very few books cover manning and condition your bird as well as Ronald Stevens.. He's a Falconer's falconer's.. I was told in the US they consider him a god in the falconry world.. I can well believe it.. He taught me a thing or to many years ago..


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