# Newbie help request...



## Floridianbyrd (Apr 5, 2009)

Okay so I was at Clay County Fair and Mr. Davis has offered me an amazing pair of German Owls. The cock is a blue(or silver as my memory doesn't really serve me well at the moment) and the hen is a cream-shielded of course... Now, I want very much to get the pair, but I am worried about what to do to keep them. 

If I do get them I have a cage that is really built for a rabbit, the wire spacing is (I believe) 3/4 by 1 inch and the bottom is 1/2" by 1". The total space is 2'W x 2'L x 1'H. That's the part that worries me. The wire spacing is big for a pigeon pair but the pens they are in now are much larger(1 1/2" and no crossover wire). However it is much taller. So here's my problem, I can have a cage 1' deep, 2' feet tall and 2' wide, or a cage like above. Either way would be temporary-but as far as temporary conditions go - a very long time. Eventually in the summer, I have plans for a flight pen/aviary that would have quail, and the pigeons in it. However, it wouldn't be made until summer. So that gives them about 9-12 weeks in a small cage. It just doesn't seem fair to the birds, though I have been told by quite a few that they wouldn't mind. 

Seeing as I want them really bad, I was also going to ask about the flight pen plans. So if you feel up to reading further, please do so and share your thoughts. To start out the dimensions would be about 8 feet, by 6-8 feet, with a height of perhaps 8 feet. The top would be the "almost-black" corrugated(sp?) plastic roofing. It lets through roughly 60-70% light I believe (again memory fails me... ). The wire (easy now, I realize everybody has preferences) would be 1/2" by 1/2" Vinyl Coated Welded Mesh. With the added vinyl to the wire, the actual opening is little more than the 1/4 inch stuff, and quite a bit sturdier in my opinion. The bottom of the pen would be grass, Amazoysia for it's hardiness and low upkeep. With a little concrete pond as a bath. The bottom 2 1/2'-3' of the pen would be a piece of metal tin. With a 1"x6" at the bottom and one at the top of the tin as well. This is what (usually) prevents pacing in the quail species. And that is where the pencil fell from my hand. I don't really want to encourage breeding for as long as I can, so you'll have to tell me if I need a nest box or not, and as for feeders and waterers I need ideas there as well. I was leaning towards a feeder mounted on the wall that would have only one side open with feed that I could fill from the top whenever needed. As for a waterer I am leaning towards a hanging automatic fount (which would require piping-ugh!) about an inch above a little platform in a corner. To prevent digging with the other pens, we've always put a substrate around the bottom of the pen. I could run wire about a foot down, or I could place river rock around the edge about 4 inches in depth perhaps. 

Also, I am wondering if this pen should be built with a safety catch. Should I have two doors? I am leaning towards yes because of the quail possibility, but again, your thoughts are asked of. Another thing I wonder, is that of perches. Because this is so large (and because of only one pair of pigeons), I am wondering about the possibility of realistic perches (hanging branches, fiberglass limbs...) rather than the more traditional perches. Another question is that of planting in the pen. Would plants like palms/palmettos, fountain grasses, smaller clumping-bamboos, and perhaps dwarf shrubs be okay in the pen? I ask because they are sometimes "spikey" and could theoretically hurt a bird. 

And the question of a nest-box... I have many questions on this factor. How many should I plan for if I really don't even want to breed but for about 3 times in this pair's life? Also what type of box do the German Owl's prefer? Can I make this box like a chicken nest box-as in me having access to it from the back/top as well as the front. I ask this because, if I have the boxes inside the safety area with the front being up to the wire of the inside, I could then access it from my area rather than go inside the pen. Not laziness so much as curiousness,. 

Other questions are these:
-As a general rule, how much time can I expect them to spend on the floor/ground area?
-How well do these birds fly? 
-How well do these birds home?
-What type of breeding should I expect from them, much or hardly any?
-Purina Mills Green/Gold pellet is okay for them, what else is there?
-What fresh or dried foods do they like?
-Do these birds like toys?
-How well can I tame an adult pair of these birds?
-Will being cooped up in a small area be okay for the time they'll be caged?

And there's more I'm sure... But I'll give your eyes a break for now, thanks for reading...

**I should probably note-I was offered to buy the pair. I say offered because the pair wasn't (I'm guessing here) intended to be sold at the show... sorry for the confusion...


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

George? LOL! I am thinking the first sentence says it all.. Dave


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## Floridianbyrd (Apr 5, 2009)

I actually believe it was Ron Davis. Out of Keystone Heights...


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## risingstarfans (Sep 13, 2008)

I will try to answer a few of your concerns. To do them all would fill a book.

Basics: For a single pair of a small breed, 2'x2'x18" hi is the minimum. Optimum is 2x4x24". Wire floors: good, but wire should be 1/2" mesh hardwaqre cloth. Nest box: a 10x10x4" cardboard box will do fine. Shavings about 1" deep and provide with oine needles or alfalfa for nesting material. Do not let them breed until you have additional space to house young. 9-12 weeks=at least two or likely more young.
Better to have your facility built before you get any birds. See the loft construction forum here for suggestions.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

just to add, probably do not want to keep quail with pigeons, mixing species is not reccomended......I would just try to learn a step at a time, too much info can get all mixed up and confusing.


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

LOL! Lots of questions at once! Dave


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## Floridianbyrd (Apr 5, 2009)

Thanks to all who've read and helped out... I am going to get the pair. The pen they'll be in is the minimum size for a pair-not my (or their) ideal I'm sure, but if it comes to it, I'll improvise a way for more room. I have old rabbit hutches that are 1/2" wire, in good shape and clean still. I completely understand that the best way to buy any animal is to have a place ready beforehand, of course that's what I do with most animals I get such as the goats, chickens, dogs, pigs, whatever. However, I don't think of this as "impulse buying" as I was pretty much set-up for doves before-just no doves... But what should I expect as far as personality wise from the birds? They seem very laid back. Will this last? And to prevent breeding what exactly do I do? Dummy eggs? Or should I separate the birds?


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## risingstarfans (Sep 13, 2008)

Dummy eggs? Or should I separate the birds?
__________________
Either will work. OGO's tend to be quite calm and docile birds, but there is a large difference in personality between individuals in any breed.


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## Guest (Apr 8, 2009)

to prevent mutiplying all you do is switch their eggs with dummy eggs as they are layed and you will be set ,pigeons like company so would hate to see you split them up being you only will be having the two


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## Floridianbyrd (Apr 5, 2009)

thanks a ton! I hate to split them up as well, they seem to get along great for the little while I spent watching them... So dummy eggs it is then.


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