It’s not that the question itself annoys me, I mean, it’s a good question, especially if you don’t know anything about birds of prey. What DOES annoy me is that I give people the answer and they will try to find a way around it. Owls can’t eat veggies or fruit, they can’t eat bread and NO, they ALSO CAN’T eat chicken breast that you can buy at the regular grocery store! NO! NOT EVEN IF IT’S ORGANIC! Every year, owls die because people want an owl as a pet but they can’t handle its natural diet. They try to feed it chicken breast or even “lean beef” and then contact me in a panic asking why their owl is laying flat on its belly, wings spread wide open on the floor and barely breathing. Unfortunately, most of those owls can’t be saved anymore. If the owl has ingested too much of the “human food”, the stomach simply can’t handle it resulting in a painful death. Sometimes, the owl is able to survive for several months on a diet consisting of chicken breast but it eventually dies anyway because chicken breast doesn’t contain the essential vitamins and minerals owls need.
So, first let’s be clear about what owls DON’T eat. They don’t eat human food. ANY human food.
What DO they eat? Well, that depends on the species. Most owls eat a diet that consists of one day old chicks, mice, rats and other small rodents. Owls in captivity are usually given mainly one day old chicks and some mice and rats in addition, especially during the winter.
There are also species that eat insects. Now I hear you coming: “oh, so if I don’t have the stomach to give my owl one day old chicks, I’ll just choose an owl species that eats insects!” Unfortunately, that’s also not a very wise decision. There are only few owl species that can survive on ONLY insects. A lot of the species that eat insects, also catch small mammals in the wild in addition to their diet. If you aren’t willing or capable to give your owl a small mammal in addition to the insects from time to time, you’re basically denying it to stay healthy and strong. It might become underfed or sick and die.
What DO they eat? Well, that depends on the species. Most owls eat a diet that consists of one day old chicks, mice, rats and other small rodents. Owls in captivity are usually given mainly one day old chicks and some mice and rats in addition, especially during the winter.
There are also species that eat insects. Now I hear you coming: “oh, so if I don’t have the stomach to give my owl one day old chicks, I’ll just choose an owl species that eats insects!” Unfortunately, that’s also not a very wise decision. There are only few owl species that can survive on ONLY insects. A lot of the species that eat insects, also catch small mammals in the wild in addition to their diet. If you aren’t willing or capable to give your owl a small mammal in addition to the insects from time to time, you’re basically denying it to stay healthy and strong. It might become underfed or sick and die.
I’ll give you the example of a Little Owl I once owned called Yoshi. Little Owls eat small mammals AND insects such as mealworms. Here’s a picture of her.
See how small she was? Well, that tiny owl easily devoured up to THREE one day old chicks in ONE day! Obviously, I never gave her that many chicks all of the time because I would have end up with an obese owl but can you imagine what would have happened if I would have given her only mealworms? That’s just not sustainable long term.
What about fish?
Yes, there are species that eat a diet consisting of mainly fish. Even though the Osprey is not an owl, I would like to take this species as an example. Even though fish make up 99 % of the Osprey’s diet in the wild, falconers still give it mainly one day old chicks and other small mammals in captivity. It’s simply not sustainable to provide your Osprey with enough fish every day for it to thrive. There are also owl species that eat fish in the wild, but in captivity you will most likely be obliged to give it small mammals.
Making an owl eat fish that doesn’t normally eat fish in the wild, is basically giving it a death sentence because the stomach will either not be able to handle it or the owl will die from a nutrient deficiency.
What about fish?
Yes, there are species that eat a diet consisting of mainly fish. Even though the Osprey is not an owl, I would like to take this species as an example. Even though fish make up 99 % of the Osprey’s diet in the wild, falconers still give it mainly one day old chicks and other small mammals in captivity. It’s simply not sustainable to provide your Osprey with enough fish every day for it to thrive. There are also owl species that eat fish in the wild, but in captivity you will most likely be obliged to give it small mammals.
Making an owl eat fish that doesn’t normally eat fish in the wild, is basically giving it a death sentence because the stomach will either not be able to handle it or the owl will die from a nutrient deficiency.
Long story short, if you don’t have the stomach for it, don’t buy an owl.
In later articles, I’ll talk more about different owl species and their natural diets.
In later articles, I’ll talk more about different owl species and their natural diets.
If owl can't eat chicken breast does that mean owls also can't eat chiken leg ?
ReplyDeleteOr do we have anything else that can replace one day old chick or mice ?
Those food are hard to get in my country so if you have anything that can replace those food pls tell me i don't want to buy an owls and can't even take care of it
Elke, do you still give info about barn owls ?
ReplyDeleteI have a barred owl that got stuck in the front of my car it's wing is hurt I tried catching frogs for it but it won't eat them am I supposed to kill the frog or what I'm just trying to take care of it long enough for his wing to heal
ReplyDelete