tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389421550592866269.post1664656107667600979..comments2024-03-21T00:31:29.186-07:00Comments on Stacey O'Brien : Wesley the Owl: A Barn Owl Question: Will they kill rats?Stacey O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03821047137548565006noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389421550592866269.post-7375362948643003562012-05-16T13:07:10.947-07:002012-05-16T13:07:10.947-07:00Oh, and forgot this one here:
http://www.youtube....Oh, and forgot this one here:<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WVbwDHUfgg<br /><br />IMHO very funny to watch, although Dee looks quite miserable inbetween. This just like watching a human child having bigger eyes than stomach and overfeeding on candy.W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00991677087142609539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389421550592866269.post-5222922266674126192012-05-16T13:02:51.044-07:002012-05-16T13:02:51.044-07:00Hi Stacy,
talk about rats... How about rabbits?
...Hi Stacy,<br /><br />talk about rats... How about rabbits?<br /><br />This year I got to watch a pair of owls raising their second clutch in a box called "The Hideout", to be found at http://owlchannel.com<br /><br />A very good box, if I may say so: The guy who operates it has a big interest in his privacy, it's all about the owls and keeping them healthy. The box comes with a <i>teriffic</i> <b>branching system</b> and even has a waterhose running up, with a mister attached to keep the box cool on hot days. So far the box has seen three successfull rising of clutches to adulthood, and the only "loss" of an owlet was an egg, that just didn't hatch.<br /><br />Anyway: This spring the larger part of the owlets' diet consisted of… rabbits. It's not that this was some kind of desparate measure and watchers were quite surprised, too. As of now the delivered on camera rabbit count stands at 296! And also a huge number of mice, voles, gophers and yes, rats. Actually food was so plenty, that oftenly the father, Roy he got named, could usually rest at already 03:00AM sometimes 04:00AM but always well before sunrise. And usually there was quite a pile of leftovers, the owlets, Ellie, Clark and Dee snacked on during the day. One of the most funny moments was, when Roy appeared with a fat gopher in beak, landed behind Dee, who's quite the "bottomless owl" but was not getting rid of the gopher, because Dee was so full. He was waiting paitently there for well over 2 minutes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=108EsDcjg-4<br /><br />BTW, the mother, Dale, joined hunting with Roy when the owls were at about 30 days old.<br /><br />So some owls really go for the BIG game.W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00991677087142609539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389421550592866269.post-66609106548070237592010-05-15T10:04:09.762-07:002010-05-15T10:04:09.762-07:00Stacey,
After you wrote this post when did you fi...Stacey,<br /><br />After you wrote this post when did you first discover that barn owls do, indeed, catch rats? It has been amazing to me, watching M&M, the huge prey those little owls bring in. It looks like the pray can almost be as big as they are. How to they kill the prey? Do they use their talons to stab them or what?Daduhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00290244750760003778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389421550592866269.post-84069998991493851382009-02-25T09:57:00.000-08:002009-02-25T09:57:00.000-08:00Stacey, I just finished your book, and I had to le...Stacey, I just finished your book, and I had to let you know how wonderful it was! I felt like an owl, waiting 'til sundown to crack open Wesley's story. The part where he hugs you brought tears to my eyes. It was also good to read because it revealed how much knowledge, patience and dedication it takes to keep a wild animal as a pet, and that this is something only professionals such as yourself should undertake. Thank you, thank you, thank you!jackiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06383409231074892850noreply@blogger.com