European Eagle owl diary

Fri 28th December 2007

Picked up a hand reared European Eagle owl from a friend to pass the time until I get a new Harris in the summer.  I think its a male, Its 18 month old, weighed 5lb 6oz. He has never been flown so I'm probably going to struggle with his fitness. Got home and manned him for an hour, he kept trying to bite my hand. I've never trained a owl before the main differences are they don't have a crop, the food goes straight into the stomach so the more food they get the less responsive they become. Their eyesight isn't very good close up. I have also been told they aren't the cleverest of birds and you need a lot of patients to fly one. 

Sat 29th December 2007

Manned him in the house for a couple of hours. He ate 2 chicks after 30 minutes, one out of my hand and one off my glove.  

Sun 30th December 2007

His weight was 5lb 3oz. Manned him in the house for a couple of hours. Wasn't interested in the chick today. Needs his weight coming down a lot more. Still trying to bite my hand.

Tue 1st January 2008

His weight was 5lb 0oz. Tried manning him in the day time, I normally do it at around 6pm when its dark. Not sure why but he just wouldn't settle and was on edge the hole time. He ate 1 chick after I put a leg to his beak but he wouldn't take another.

Wed 2nd January 2008

His weight was 4lb 15.2oz Manned him at 7pm for 2 hours in the house. He ate 3 chicks from my hand as I put them up to his beak, he wasn't interested in taking the food off my glove. He seemed to trust my hand a bit more after it and stopped trying to bite me as much.

Thu 3rd January 2008

His weight was 4lb 15.0oz Manned him at 9pm for 3 hours in the house. He ate 2oz of rabbit  from my hand as I put it up to his beak, he wasn't interested in taking the food off my glove. He didn't trying to bite me and he didn't bate. 

Fri 4th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 15.1oz Manned him at 8pm for 2 hours in the house. He ate 2 pieces of rabbit  from my hand, not that interested though. I recon  I'll have to get him down to around 4 1/2 pound to get a good response. I'll just keep manning him so when he starts to get hungry he'll be relaxed with me.

Sat 5th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 14.9oz Manned him at night for 3 hours in the house. He ate a piece of rabbit  from my hand, he wasn't very keen so I didn't offer him any more. I find if I put my hand out in front of him so he can see it then move it slowly towards him he doesn't mind being touched. He gets startled if I just touch him.

Sun 6th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 14.0oz Manned him for 3 hours in the house. He ate a chick but wasn't that keen. He's still hissing at me when I pick him up from the perch.  His hearing is superb any little noise and he looks straight at it.

Mon 7th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 13.2oz Manned him for 3 hours in the house. I didn't offer him any food at all. 

He's free lofted in the aviary, I haven't had any real problems picking him up. He wont step on to the glove unless I take hold of his jessie's and as I go for them he moves along the perch. I found if I put my hand in front of his face he watches it and cant see my gloved hand taking hold of his jessie's.

Tue 8th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 12.4oz Manned him for 3 hours in the house. He ate 2 chicks but his response still isn't brilliant.

Thu 10th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 12.0oz Manned him for 2 hours in the house. He looked keener today as I offered him a mouse. He walked towards me the full length of the leash for a mouse and then for a chick. It took less than a minute for him to come. He was still nervous though.

Fri 11th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 12.0oz  Manned him for 3 hours in the house. Didn't give him any food today he seems to be staying the same weight with 2 chicks

Sat 12th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 11.0oz Tried to get him to fly to me. He nervously jumped on the floor and walked to me then flew up 2 foot for a chick. I put him back on the perch and tried again he flew to the glove this time but tried to snatch the chick and flew back to his perch. 3rd time we tried it he landed on the glove and ate the chick he wasn't interested doing it again. Manned him for 3 hours in the house.

Sun 13th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 11.0oz He flew to me about 3 foot then 6 foot. He wouldn't come any further than that so we finished off with another 6 foot flight. Manned him for 4 hours in the house. He ate 1 1/2 chicks

Tue 15th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 10.0oz. He flew 3ft to me in the aviary for a chicks head as soon as I put my hand up. I took him in the house and weighed him before manning him for 30mins. I put him on the perch in the living room and he came 4ft, 8ft, 16ft  then 22ft (length of the room) twice instantly. The third time he came he was a bit slow so I stopped there and manned him for another 30 minutes. He had 3 chick in total. He is sticky footed when I put him back on the perch. After he had ate the food on the glove he carried on searching the glove with his beak for ages.

Wed 16th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 10.2oz. He flew 4ft to me in the aviary for a chicks head with out the light on as soon as I put my fist up. I put him on the perch in the garden with just the light from the street lamps he came 4ft, 8ft, 16ft, 20ft then 30ft  instantly. I tried him at 40ft but he was a bit slow so we finished off with another 30ft flight then stopped. Manned him for a couple of hours in the house. He had 3 chicks in total (6 halves).

Thu 17th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 10.4oz. I put him on the perch in the garden facing into the wind with just the light from the street lamps he came 30ft, 40th 50ft then 60ft (full length of my garden) twice instantly. It was very windy, I thought I might be making a mistake doing it in the wind but it went ok.  Manned him for a couple of hours in the house. He had 3 chicks in total. Need to introduce the dummy bunny next and get him out into the fields.

Fri 18th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 10.4oz. Took him for a walk around Tomas's field with the lamp, first time away from home. It was windy with light rain. We saw a lot of rabbits, Bow looked at them but there was no difference in his behaviour. Set up the perch facing the wind and attached the creance. He came10ft, 20ft then 30ft instantly but after that he wasn't interested so we called it a night. His weight seems to  still be too high. Gave him 2 chicks.

Sat 19th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 10.6oz put him on the bow perch in the garden in the day and set up a real dummy bunny with a pocket full of tip bits and a chick as a pick up piece. As I held the creance Charlie dragged the rabbit out from a bush and Bow nailed it straight away 5ft in front of him.  As I moved in Bow tried to fly off with the rabbit, I prevented him from getting away by kneeling on the creance he wasn't very happy and started to threaten me. I took out a piece of meat and slowly moved in offering it to him. After the 6th piece he started to relax. I then made out that I was taking the bits I was feeding him off the rabbit. After all the bits had gone I put my hand in my pocket to pull out a chick to use as a pick up. He stepped off the rabbit before I had got the chick out. I let him eat it as I put the rabbit in my bag. It was easier than I thought it was going to be but I think its due to his weight being too high. I pegged him out for a couple of hours whilst I cleaned his aviary . When I went to pick him up he launched at my legs with his feet I went to the other side of the perch and he did the same so I grabbed hold of the leash and ran my gloved hand quickly up to his jessies and picked him up before he could do it again. Once on the glove he was fine and I manned him in the house for 2 hours.

Mon 21st January 2008

His weight was 4lb 9oz He took ages to come to me in the aviary for a chicks head and constantly making a wrack noise.  I wanted to try the dummy bunny again but the weather was bad, I decided to man him for a while then do jump ups instead. He was very unsettled and kept making the rack noise all the time he was with me. Did 15 jump ups for 2 chicks. He shut up after I put him back in the aviary.  He has been a bit strange over the last few days.

Tue 22nd January 2008

His weight was 4lb 9oz  Wouldn't come to my fist in the aviary again I had to take hold of his jessie's. I set up a real dummy bunny at Tomas's field I put it around a post so it wouldn't go in the same direction as it was being pulled. I then took Bow out of the car for a walk around  with the lamp, it was pouring down. We saw a couple of rabbits. When we got up to the dummy bunny Charlie pulled it and Bow caught it 25 ft away. I went in offering a bit of rabbit, he didn't try to fly away but he was nervous and chirping. After I gave him the liver and a few more bits he stepped off the rabbit. I continued to pull bits off it and feed them to him. He didn't make any attempt to feed himself. I fed him until he wouldn't take anymore then put the rabbit in the bag and went home. He sat quietly and settled on my fist for 2 hours. He bit me a lot as I changed his jessie's

Wed 23rd January 2008

His weight was 4lb 9.5oz Came to me in the aviary a bit better. We went to Tomas's field again with a dummy bunny. We had a quick walk around  first with the lamp. The wind and rain isn't as bad tonight. Lesley pulled the dummy bunny and Bow caught it 40 ft away. I went in offering a bit of rabbit, he was nervous and chirping but soon settled down. He took a couple of mouthfuls himself this time. I fed him until he was full. Didn't man him when we got home. Need to get him to fly to me a bit more so I can get rid of the creance.

Thu 24th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 10oz Wouldn't come to my fist in the aviary again I had to take hold of his jessie's he was  squawking as well. We went to Latham field for a quick walk around  with the lamp. No wind or rain tonight. Set up the creance, Bow flew to me 20ft, 30ft ,40ft, 50ft, and 60ft but he was slow and wouldn't come any further He also flew the opposite way at one point.  I put him on the perch as I wound up the creance and then offered him half a chick about 5ft away and he wasn't interested he was behaving like he does in the aviary. Definitely needs his weight coming down but I think that will make him more vocal.

Fri 25th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 10oz Went in the aviary with a chick on my fist, he came straight away.

Sat 26th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 9.3oz Pegged him out in the garden while I cleaned his aviary took him in the house for an hour later on, he wasn't aggressive at all. He was squawking a bit in the house. Tried clicker training, only gave him food after I had clicked he had 2 chicks in total.

Sun 27th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 8.6oz I want to see how he responds at a lower weight because so far its not been great.

Set up the creance in the garden, he took more notice of the noise coming from a neighbours garden. Fed him 3 chicks.

Mon 28th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 8.4oz Took him to Thomas's school field, had a walk round with the lamp first then put him on a goal post with the creance attached. Tried him 20ft, he was more interested in the noises he could hear coming from miles away. Managed to get him to come 5ft tried a bit further but he wasn't interested. Got him to come 5ft again and called it a night. He's a lot better going in and out of the travelling box now. He had 1 chick in total.

Tue 29th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 7.5oz Took him to Thomas's school field. Had a walk round with the lamp first, he was squawking a lot. Put him on a goal post with the creance attached. Tried him 20ft but he wasn't interested. Managed to get him to come 5ft tried a bit further but he wouldn't. Got him to come 5ft again and called it a night. He had 1 chick in total. I see why people say that you need patients with an owl.

Wed 30th January 2008

His weight was 4lb 7.0oz Came to me in the aviary straight away. Took him to Latham school field. Got him to come to me 10ft, 20ft, 30ft 40ft he then realised what was going on and started flying back to the perch after the food had gone. Got him to come 50ft then 60ft then we had a walk round with the lamp. When I saw a rabbit I said hoe, when Bow looked at it I clicked and gave him a chicks leg. He had 4 chick in total. He was like a different bird today. Saw a mixy rabbit over a 9 foot fence after I put Bow back in the box I went and caught it. In future I will get Bow to come to me a few times then do the dummy bunny.

Thu 31st January 2008

His weight was 4lb 7.4oz Came to me in the aviary straight away. Took him to Latham school field with Phil and Darren. It was gale force wind so we went to the all weather pitch where it was a bit sheltered. Bow was slow to respond to the bunny and spent most of the time watching Darren and Phil. When he went for the bunny he landed at the side of it, I think the noise it was making as it dragged across the floor put him off. We tried it on the grass and Bow caught it, he didn't make much effort though. Fed him up and came home.

Fri 1st February 2008

No food today. 

Because he was hand reared I think it is harder to judge his weight because he's a lot tamer than a parent reared bird, he will come to me for food at a lot higher weight if he feels like it.  I have to try him at a certain weight for a few days to judge his true response. I need to get his weight down to a level where he's consistent and the one and only thing on his mind is food.

Sat 2nd February 2008

His weight was 4lb 7.oz Came to me in the aviary straight away. Took him to Latham school field with the lamp. Its still windy. Bow was slow to respond got him to come 15, 30, 45, then 60ft but he wouldn't come any further. Had 2 chicks

Sun 3rd February 2008

His weight was 4lb 7.2oz Came to me in the aviary straight away. Took him to Latham school field in the morning. Bow came 15, 30, 45, then 60ft but he wouldn't come any further he was more interested in somebody walking along a path half a mile away. His response was quicker than Saturday night. had 2 chicks.

Mon 4th February 2008

His weight was 4lb 7.oz Came to me in the aviary straight away. Took him to Thomas's field with 

the lamp he came to me from a 7ft perch 15, 30, 45, then 60ft almost instantly. I tried to get him to come 80ft but he was looking behind towards the far end of the field, after a couple of minutes I could make out what he was looking at a man walking his dog, coming towards us. Bow got upset when they got close he hates dogs as much as Harris hawks. Had a walk round with the lamp after they had gone.

Wed 6th February 2008

His weight was 4lb 5.7.oz Took him to Thomas's field with the lamp. He was very vocal. Put him on the 7ft perch and he flew to me as I was making my way to the 30ft mark. I put him back on the perch and he came 40, 60, 80, then 100ft instantly he was a bit slow to come 120ft  but by this point he'd had 2 turkey poults and his calling had stopped. Had a walk round with the lamp for an hour and gave him tip bits as rewards when he looked down the lamp at rabbits when I said ho. His response was really good.

Fri 8th February 2008

His weight was 4lb 5.0.oz Took him to shrimp lamping, first time flying free. Got there and the transmitter I borrowed from Paul wasn't working. Decided to risk it. Bow squawked for the first 10mins then was quiet. Had about 20 good chances at rabbits but bow just watched them. He bated at two duck which got off a pond and a couple of lap wings. I had a good grip of his jessies luckily, I think I would have lost him if he had chased them. I cast him at one easy rabbit, he flew towards it then hovered for a second as it ran off then he landed. He was very camouflaged I cant risk flying him without a transmitter, if I didn't see were he landed I wouldn't find him. Gave him 3 Poults when we got back to the car getting him to fly to me.

Sat 9th February 2008

His weight was 4lb 5.5.oz Fed him 3 chicks in the garden whilst I washed out his aviary then manned him for an hour. This week I'm going to concentrate on the dummy bunny then try him again at live quarry at the weekend, I should have a new transmitter by then.

Sun 10th February 2008

His weight was 4lb 5.5.oz Took him to Thomas's field with the lamp. Set up the dummy bunny before I got him out. I got him to fly to me a couple of times before making our way towards the bunny his response wasn't that good. He nailed the bunny after watching it for a couple of seconds. He had a couple of poults on the bunny then stepped off for one. 

Tue 12th February 2008

His weight was 4lb 4.5.oz Took him to Thomas's field with the lamp. Got him to fly to me a couple of times but he wasn't that interested. We had a walk round first before doing the dummy bunny. We saw a rabbit just as it went in cover, Bow  looked keen his wings opened and his head was bobbing.  Shortly after we had a good chance at a rabbit sat out in the middle of the field but Bow didn't react to it at all. We then did the dummy bunny 40ft away. Bow went for it as soon as he saw it. Fed him up with 4 poults.

Wed 13th February 2008

His weight was 4lb 6.5.oz Took him to Thomas's field with the lamp. Got him to fly to me first but only a short distance, he took his time to come. We had a walk round the fields before doing the dummy bunny. We didn't see any rabbit probably because of the noise Bow was making. He  took off after the dummy bunny as soon as he saw it 60 ft away. Fed him up with 3 poults.

Fri 15th February 2008

His weight was 4lb 5.5.oz Took him to Thomas's field with the lamp. We had a walk round the fields before doing the dummy bunny. We didn't see any rabbit there was no wind again and Bow was Noisy. He  took off after the dummy bunny as soon as he saw it 60 ft away. Fed him up with 3 chicks.

Sat 16th February 2008

His weight was 4lb 4.5.oz Took him Shrimps lamping with Charlie. Bad night for lamping, clear bright sky with 1/2 moon, frosty and no wind hence we only saw 3 rabbits and all of them where sat next to their holes. Bow was constantly squawking which also didn't help. He bated towards every bird that got up, pity his response to rabbit isn't the same. Got him to fly 50ft for the dummy bunny when we got back to the car. Fed him up with 3 poults.

Mon 18th February 2008

His weight was 4lb 4.0.oz Took him on the school field straight after work whilst it was still light. Set up the bunny with 2 poults then got Bow out of the car. He flew at the bunny but as he got 5 foot from it he flew off and landed on the floor 30 ft away I don't know if he saw a bird. He seems more switched on to birds than rabbits. I continued to pull the bunny, he went for it again and caught it. As I wrapped up the line he managed to get both poults which were fastened with cable ties to the bunny off and flew to the other side of the field with them.  I approach him holding a chick then took hold of his jessies. He had 3 poults.

Wed 20th February 2008

His weight was 4lb 3.7.oz Took him to Thomas's field with the lamp. We had a walk round the fields before doing the dummy bunny. Bow didn't make a sound, he was having a good look around. I thought this is looking promising until we saw a rabbit and managed to get 20ft off it, bow just looked at it. When we got up to the DB I started to pull it as I lamped in a different direction Bow spotted it and nailed it without the lamp, he ate the 2 chicks on the DB him self,  he usually lets me pull bits off and feed them to him.  As I was kneeling feeding him  I could see Bows eye were following something going across the field behind me. When I put the lamp on it was a fox 40ft away. Fed him up with 4 chicks.

Fri 22nd February 2008

His weight was 4lb 3.5.oz Took him to shrimp lamping, Bow was vocal but it was a windy night so it covered the noise. Had a few good chances at rabbits but bow just watched them. Didn't stop out long couldn't see the point so I put Bow on the floor and set up the dummy bunny. He caught it but let it go. He watched it for a couple of seconds then caught it again he had 4 poults. 

Sun 24th February 2008

His weight was 4lb 3.5.oz Put him on the bow perch in the garden and gave him half a rabbit. He jumped on it straight away then sat on it for nearly 2 hours before he started to eat it. I expected him to eat it straight away if he was really hungry. 

Mon 25th February 2008

His weight was 4lb 12.oz looked keen in the aviary, came twice for tip bits.

Tue 26th February 2008

His weight was 4lb 6.oz looked keen in the aviary a good feed gets there apatite going, came twice for a chick. I'll take him out tomorrow.

Wed 27th February 2008

His weight was 4lb 5.oz Took him to Thomas's field with the lamp. We had a walk round the fields before doing the dummy bunny. Saw a couple of rabbits but we couldn't get close, it was a quiet night . Fed him  3 Poults.

Fri 29th February 2008

Poured down all day, cant fly him on Saturday. Gave him 4 chicks

Sun 2nd March 2008

His weight was 4lb 4.2.oz Took him to Thomas's field with the lamp. We had a walk round the fields. I put him on a post a couple of time and got him to fly to me his response was rubbish. Got 20ft off 2 rabbits in the middle of a field. Bow just watches. Only gave him one poults 

Wed 5th March 2008

His weight was 4lb 3oz Took him to Thomas's field with the lamp. Pointless travelling a long way to where there's a lot of rabbits until his response to them changes. Saw a couple of rabbit but he wasn't interested. Flew him to me a couple of times but he was slow. Ended with the dummy bunny which he got straight away. Had 3 Poults

Fri 7th March 2008

His weight was 4lb 2.5oz Took him to Thomas's field lamping with Charlie. Got 6ft off a rabbit with mixy in thin brambles. Bow wasn't even looking at it as ran off into the wood. Did the dummy bunny which he nailed straight away. He would only come short distances to me. Had 3 Poults 

Sun 9th March 2008

His weight was 4lb 2.0oz Took him to Thomas's field with the lamp. Got 35ft off a rabbit in the middle of the field and Bow just watched it as it ran into cover. Did the dummy bunny, I pulled it hard just as he was going to grab it causing him to miss and he re-chased it. He would only come short distances to me again and his response was slow. Had 3 poults

Tue 11th March 2008

80 mph winds . Gave him 3 poults.

Fri 14th March 2008

His weight was 4lb 1.0oz Took him to Thomas's field with the lamp. Didn't see any rabbits. Got him to fly to me a few time his response still isn't what I want he does what he wants when he wants. My patients are starting to get thin. Finished off with the dummy bunny. He had 3 poults

Sun 16th March 2008

His weight was 4lb 0.8oz Took him to Thomas's school field. Had a walk round with the lamp first, he was squawking a lot. Only saw one rabbit a good way off I think mixy has wiped them out. Going to give it till this week end then put him away for moult. Fed him 3 poults and a mouse.

Wed 19th March 2008

His weight was 4lb 0.2oz Took him to Thomas's field. Had a walk round with the lamp first, didn't see anything so put him on a post and tried to get him to fly to me a few times. He came but only when he felt like it

Fri 21st March 2008

His weight was 4lb 0oz Took him to Thomas's school field with Daniel very strong cold wind. Had a walk round with the lamp first, saw a couple of rabbits one was a half grown, but we couldn't get close to them. He was squawking constantly. Put him on a goal post and did the dummy bunny. He caught it straight away, after he had stepped off it I called him up to my fist, he flew up and tried to snatch the food from my fist then landed on the floor again. He did the same thing again so I took hold of his jessies and just picked him up. Fed him 3 poults 

Sun 23rd March 2008

His weight was 3lb 15.2oz Took him to Thomas's field. Put him on a post, called him 30ft off. He wasn't even looking at me as I called. A bird that is hungry and knows you have the food wouldn't take its eyes off you.

Its very frustrating, he will respond great at a certain weight, next time you try him at the same weight his response is terrible. 

Mon 24th March 2008

Put him away for the moult. I have dropped 1lb.7oz off his weight and he still acts like he's too high. Its either that or he's just stupid. I have a sound proof aviary so I'm going to feed him up until he stops squawking then give him back to his owner. Fed him 2 Quail