Weee, had a grand ol' day, pics+vids inside!

Mayden

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Merlin & Charlie (Senegals)
Internet is being super super slow so I'll upload videos tomorrow :)

Ok, so today I had to travel out of town for a medical assessment and as per usual I always check if there's a pet store around about nearby when ever I visit anywhere - but only if they have live animals (ahem, birdies).

I got to meet yet again another bird of Prey, an African Barn Owl. He was just the sweetest, he'd bow his head for scritches and do this cute little wobble when sitting around. So so so sweet.

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Then I met the sweetest little Grey (they breed them there) and he had come to be boarded for a short while whilst his owners went away.
Meet Frankie, he says 'hewwo' and a whistle, that's the most I got out of him! He'd only been there a little over an hour before I arrived and I didn't notice him at first, the shop people said he'd just be sat on the bottom of his cage taking everything in, so I go and sit on the floor by his cage and start chatting to him for a good half hour or so. He soon perked up :p
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Then the Macaw, he was pretty intimidating, I've met macaws before but I've never had the pleasure of meeting a nice one who offers his head for scritches! He was such a sweetie, a little scary when he had my finger in his mouth through the cage bars and tried pulling himself up onto my finger and squarking! But all was forgiven after a head scritch. I think he wanted lots of help with his feathers, he seemed like he's moulting atm. ^^

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I was impressed by this store on how well they test and look after the babies that come through. Little bit disappointed on how clean the bird cages were, but meh. :/

Overall lovely experience, I felt no pressure to buy anything (so poor *sob*) and just basically hung around with the birds for a while, yey me.

They also do a payment plan on a 'Grey package' which includes grey, hatch cert, pbfd cert, dna sexing, cage, toys, food all for a grand total of... £1050 I believe it was he said.

It's a lot but I think it's reasonable - especially after I met that chick, he kept biting my fingers, but not biting, just... mouthing, giving me a good once over with that beak! Absolutely smitten and he was gorgeous. Me and my other half are considerrrrrrrrrrring the payment plan, but we don't know. Andy's had his heart set on a Grey for quite a while now, so we'll see how it goes. No money at the moment, so obviously that's gonna be a long way down the line. :)
 
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roxynoodle

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Thanks for sharing your adventure with us:) The owl is quite similar to the barn owls around here. I had one in my barn for awhile.
 
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Mayden

Mayden

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Arn't they so strange looking?

He just watched everything, staring, slowly moving his head. I was worried he was going to lunge at me at any moment. So beautiful though and his feathers were SO soft! I could have used him for a pillow. He was very very sweet.
 

ann

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thats so cool the macaw and grey looked so sweet, i loved the macaws little fluffy head! i think my favorite was the barn owl, ive heard of tame ones but never at a pet store, thats just too cool!
 

roxynoodle

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It's illegal here to keep owls or kill them. The only one I've ever held was at the zoo during a teacher inservice day where we could go behind the scenes and talk one on one withe the zoo keepers.

I wouldn't worry about one attacking you, Mayden. We are a tad too large for them to see us as prey. I'm sure they might defend themselves though if they felt cornered or trapped. But, one got into my parent's fireplace and they were able to get a blanket around it and get it out.
 
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Mayden

Mayden

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He just had a menacing look about him roxy!

I think you need a license here for some prey birds, I'm not sure. Either way he was just so sweet, he had a little stand and a water tray (like a bath for him?) out too, but he just stood there and wiggled. :D

The macaw was just... fluffy and loved his head scritches. I loved helping him out! + that african grey? Oh I could have just stolen him, so sweet and just an absolute charmer!
 
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Mayden

Mayden

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[ame=http://youtu.be/m2XgUcIIZwg]video 2012 03 15 16 17 04 - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://youtu.be/xN1NyMcLEhU]video 2012 03 15 16 19 09 - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://youtu.be/9s9l4nvWqxE]video 2012 03 15 16 20 32 - YouTube[/ame]
 
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Mayden

Mayden

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Anyway, thats me for the night, otherhalfs super ill and can't sleep so I'm gonna try and get some rest so I can put up with the grumbling tomorrow (and be his slave)

Hope you like the pics+vid!
x
 

roxynoodle

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Oh, how could anything with such a big "nose" be menacing? I think he's a doll. Now mind you he can eat cats and rabbits, so he's perhaps not as lovey dovey as he looks, lol! But, you said he was sweet. He looks sweet!
 

kc_y0

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They pictures are so cute! Ah I always get so sad when I visit pet shops, I want to buy all the birds lol but greys and macaws are my soft spot!!
 

Wulfgeist

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Oh goodness..the difference in cultures perhaps? I totally respect owls for what they are and seeing one in a pet shop triggers in me the same reaction as seeing a cat in an asian meat market. I love and respect them for the raptors they are and can forgive the the ones that killed and decapitated my ducks. I lost ducks twice to them. I loved my ducks ><

Now that grey..I guess your video didn't show much but how he longed for your scritches..where were all his perches, food and water cups and toys? His eyes were silver so he isn't a real young baby. Please tell me he had some that just weren't visible from the video?
 

BillsBirds

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Owls are way cool! When I was younger, and fully into rescue work, I had a wildlife rehab permit, and did keep owls. Their feathers are very soft to allow them to stalk, and swoop down on, prey. When they fly, their wings make very little noise. I had a few barn owls, a little elf owl, and a disabled great horned owl that is still alive in a wildlife preserve. The others were only with me for rehab, and then let go. The elf was great, and was with me for about 6 years before he died. I kept him as a pet, and tethered him with jesses, as in your photo. Owls really are beautiful birds. And very intelligent.
 
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Mayden

Mayden

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Oh goodness..the difference in cultures perhaps? I totally respect owls for what they are and seeing one in a pet shop triggers in me the same reaction as seeing a cat in an asian meat market. I love and respect them for the raptors they are and can forgive the the ones that killed and decapitated my ducks. I lost ducks twice to them. I loved my ducks ><

Now that grey..I guess your video didn't show much but how he longed for your scritches..where were all his perches, food and water cups and toys? His eyes were silver so he isn't a real young baby. Please tell me he had some that just weren't visible from the video?

The owl is most probably used for falconry, not many people keep them as just pets. I didn't ask too much but tbh, the people who run the place seem VERY knowledgeable about all the reptiles and birds they had, so I imagine they don't neglect on that front. + Yes, he was attached to a perch which had a fake grass(?) type thing around it too, with a water bowl. No food as obviously owls eat mice etc. He had a java wood perch thing but he was just happy to sit there and accept scritches (and he got LOTS from me!)

The african Grey had only been in for an hour and he had one perch, water and the nutriberries colourful pellets? and he had one toy, more were going to be added later but they wanted him to settle first before spooking him further. I got to give him lots and lots of scritches, he was just a sweetheart. He was on the floor of the cage, so you can't see anything that he had as it was all up and to the right of where he was. He kept throwing water and pellets at me and threw the water dish on the floor a few times, which was replaced no more than 5 mins later. So, I'm happy that he's okay until his owners return. I knew he wasn't a 'baby' but he's just so cute and cuddly and so so sweet, it's like he didn't know how to bite!
 

roxynoodle

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I have to admit, I'm not exactly equipped to have an owl, and wouldn't want to have to feed it, but that owl is so cute, I just want to hug it and cuddle it. The more I look at it, the more my maternal instincts take over and I just want to hold it, lol! The way they stand upright is very interesting as well.

Yes, owls are silent when they fly. The largest bird I've ever seen in real life was a Great Horned Owl that lived somewhere near my parents' house when I was growing up. You wouldn't hear it at all, but you would suddenly see this huge bird glide over you and land at the top of a tree. We would go out every evening for years hoping to spot it. I've seen quite a few Great Horneds, but never another as big as that one was.
 

luvmytooo

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Thanks for all the pictures and video Mayden !
Sounds like you had a wonderful time at the pet store :)
Hope your other half feels better.
 

PetoftheDay

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Dec 27, 2010
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Thanks so much for sharing your day with us, how cool! I've only met Horned Owls in person here, and seen live sawhet and one barn owls in the wild, and heard others but not seen them, just castings.
 

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