How do you tame an owl?

Answer 1

You cannot tame a raptor unless it is an imprint. Raptors in general, (owls included) are wild, but can be conditioned and trained to associate you as a method of getting food. This is what falconry is about. In falconry, you train a raptor to hunt with you. (well, you actually hunt for the bird.) At any time, the raptor can fly away from you and return to the wild, so you are dependent on the bird.

An imprint is an eyas (baby raptor) that has been raised with humans from the egg. Naturally, infant animals are imprinted on their parents, which helps them survive and associate with their own species. Unlike other birds, imprints think that they are one of you. Because of this, they are dependent on you- until they become adults. They are very high maintenance to raise and train, and many things can go wrong.

Many people have the wrong idea that owls can become tame. Unfortunately, Harry Potter and Hedwig have only feed to the flames. In the U.S., the mere handling of owls is illegal except for licensed zoos, vets, and rehabilitators. Beyond this, there are very few exceptions. Even experienced falconers agree that training owls for falconry is nearly impossible. Besides, owls aren't very smart; trivia from the Harry Potter movies admitted that it took 8 months to teach a barn owl to fly to someone's hand with a letter.

Update: Adult Great Horned Owls MAY be trained, but the process is extremely time consuming, rare and not always successful. For falconry, there are far faster, better ways to catch and kill prey than with an owl, imprinted or otherwise. Unlike hawks or falcons, owl brains do not operate the same by sight. Their brains are functioning on life through audible cues. The adult owl cannot be trained in the same procedure as an adult trapped hawk, which is hunger based with positive rewards for performance. Owls have extremely low metabolisms and can go several days without food, negating the use of hunger as a motivator. It will not respond and will resent the attempts, only taking a bite or two to sustain life before retreating back to it's basic instincts of survival through avoidance and non-comformity. Owls are not stupid. They are simply uninterested in anything that does not involve their immediate mission and have no reason to change. They can discriminate the tiniest scratching sounds of a mouse in a field of windblown grass and nail it. This is done by sound, not sight. Trying to walk in a field while hunting with your owl, only makes it's job harder. There have been many documented accounts of imprinted owls being very successful at falconry hunting on jacks and cottontails. Only a couple of instances have been documented where an adult owl was used with success. These were trained by Anna Amparo Sanchez in Barcelona Spain at the King's of Spain Natural'Mente raptor center. The most difficult part of training a captured adult owl is to develop the bird's recognition... and ACCEPTANCE of the human's presence and as a safe source of food. It is better to find a candidate at a rehabilitation center that has been exposed to these aspects over a long period of time, AND has fully recovered from any injuries that placed it there. That eliminates the hardest part of the equation. My newest adult owl "Edsel" originated from that same background and is progressing through his training as expected. Still... the process is painfully slow. An imprint is definitely the way to go if you wish to punish yourself with training an owl for falconry use.

Answer 2

Why would you? All wild things should be left wild! Osprey are not used by falconers, so the only reason one might need to be tamed is if it were a non-releasable bird with permanent injuries that is going to be used for education. Osprey are very high-strung birds who do not do well in wildlife hospitals. Best to leave them in the wild where they belong!

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Disagree.

Osprey have a long history of domestication, and a good breeder would operate a multi-generational industry. Generally speaking, it's hard to tame a single osprey. Moreover, it's hard to tame an osprey, you need to breed it. It takes dedication and time, but the key lies in working with their social hierarchy. So you'll need to have a flock, not tamed but bred, to make it work. If you just want to tame a single bird for a one-off occasion, it's going to be difficult.

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Disagree with your disagree!

Osprey should live wild and free and not be bred to be your hobby!

Answer 3

Steps to tame a pigeon if you want it as a pet. Remember that you can also buy doves from pet stores or breeders.

1. If you want a pet pigeon or dove, check the species. Some species of birds are protected, and you can get a hefty fine for owning one. In the U.S, the pigeon or Rock Dove is not protected.
2. Catch one. Find a nest, and get a young bird. If you get an adult bird, chances are it will be less tame. Simply go to an area with lots of pigeons, and start scattering birdseed and bread. You can easily gain their trust. Once you get them to sit in your hand, just grab it.
3. If you have a baby bird, feed it bread softened with milk. Make a little pellet. They will not open their mouths, but press their beaks in your fingers. Gently squeeze the sides of their beak until it opens, and carefully push it down partially. They will swallow it themselves.
4. For an adult, give it a large cage, and feed it standard pet dove food. It will eventually trust you.
5. Enjoy Pet!