Karla Kinstler and Alice the Great Horned Owl

Many people think it would be fun to have an owl for a pet, especially after watching the Harry Potter movies or reading the books.  Besides, doesn't this photo of Alice and me look so sweet?  How many times do you see Harry wiping up owl poop?  Gutting dead animals? Do you see Hedwig having a conniption from being in such a small cage?  Do the Weasleys take Errol to the veterinarian?  Remember--that is FANTASY, not real life.  

It is illegal to keep owls without a special permit in most countries.  Some countries issue permits to individuals to keep owls after necessary training has been received and proper facilities have been constructed.  The United States does not allow private individuals to keep native owls as pets--they may only be possessed by trained, licensed individuals while being rehabilitated, as foster parents in a rehabilitation facility,  part of a breeding program, part of an educational program, or certain species may be kept by licensed falconers in some states (although they rarely make good falconry birds.)  Even then, the licensed handler does not "own" the owl--the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service keeps the bird in their stewardship and can recall the bird at any time if any of the permit conditions are not being met (for example, an education owl not doing at least the minimum number of educational programs required per year.)

As the Director/Naturalist of the Houston Nature Center, I am licensed to use Alice the Great Horned Owl in educational programs.  Since I'm the only person who works at this small nature center, Alice lives at home with me and commutes to work.  As a result of this close relationship, I am also conducting a vocal study on Great Horned Owls.  This is a lifetime commitment of time, energy, and resources, but one I was willing to make.  Therefore, I have a very unique perspective on why most normal human beings would never want to have an owl living with them.

10.  It's not very easy to take a vacation...after all, you can't just take an owl with you!  And if you leave the owl at home, who's going to feed it and take care of it?  If it's strongly attached to you (which most human-imprinted owls will be), your absence will be hard on the bird, and it will let you know it when you return.  Owls don't like change, so don't expect that you can just give your owl to someone else if you don't like it--that would be VERY hard on the owl.

9.  Owls can be really hard on knick-knacks and woodwork.  They have a natural instinct to "kill" things and then tear them up.  This leads to shredded and broken knick-knacks, torn-up towels and socks, unstuffed stuffed animals, and just about anything else you can think of (and many things you wouldn't have ever thought of!)  Anything wooden that an owl perches on will have its finish removed bit by bit over the years just from the normal gentle pressure of the talons.  This does nothing to increase the value of your home!

One of Alice's often-used perches has very little finish left on it.        

8.  Mating season involves a lot of all-night racket!  Are you willing to put up with the all-night hooting or tooting of an owl during mating season?  If it's a human-imprinted owl, all that noise will likely be directed at YOU.  Alice the Great Horned Owl EXPECTS me to hoot with her every night during mating season.  If I don't, I REALLY get hooted at!  So what's mating season?  For Alice, the hooting goes on about nine months of every year.

7.  Owls don't like to be petted and cuddled.  You have to do things on their terms, and traditional "petting" doesn't fit into the owl scheme of things.  If you want an animal you can pet and cuddle, get a cat or a dog.

6.  Owls do like to play, but their play can be rough.  Remember, a human-imprinted owl is going to consider you one of its own kind, and will look to you for all its companionship needs, including play.  Try playing with something that has eight sharp talons and a sharp beak and you have a recipe for a lot of cuts, bruises and scratches, even though they are unintentional on the owl's part.

5.  Poop, poop, and more poop!  Owls can't be litter trained, so they just poop wherever they happen to be.  Even if you have a large amount of your house covered with floor protectors (like we do), there is still a heck of a lot of cleaning to be done on a very regular basis.  Even if you clean it up every day you're still likely to step in some poop in the middle of the night when you get up to go to the bathroom.  Whether you're wearing shoes, socks, or are barefoot, I can attest to the fact that it's gross no matter how you step in it!  Then there's ceca.  Owls have two dead-end sacs at the end of their intestines called ceca.  They empty these sacs once per day, and it comes out as a hideously smelly, brown, tarry poop that stains terribly.  I'm not exaggerating here.

4.  Feathers and pellets show up in the darndest places.  Owls molt nearly all of their feathers every year.  That's thousands of feathers.  If you think you can keep them all cleaned up, you're dreaming!  We even get feathers in our furnace filter.  If you've never stepped on a vertebra with bare feet you won't fully appreciate the pellet situation either.  Owls throw up their pellet of fur and bones once each day, wherever they happen to be.  They smell and are covered with mucous when they first come out.  Some pellets have very little fur and basically come out as an unformed pile of bones.  Try keeping those cleaned up!

3.  FOOD!  First of all, you need a steady stream of whole, adult animals to feed an owl.  Where will you get them?  How expensive will they be?  Then you have to commit part of your freezer (or a whole freezer) to storage of these dead animals.  Then you get to thaw one out every night the rest of your life (or for as long as you have an owl.)  For many owls (like Alice) you have to cut them open and remove the stomach, intestines, and liver.  If you don't you'll find yourself peeling intestines and liver off the floor and walls of your home.  Then there are the leftovers.  Owls have an instinct to cache, or hide, their leftover food.  Sometimes it's difficult to find the caches and you have to wait a few days until it starts stinking to find it.  You think I'm kidding???

 Alice's supper....and this doesn't include the gutting process!

2.  You can't just put an owl in an outdoor pen and ignore it most of the time.  Many captive owls are imprinted on humans (think they are humans), so they will want (and demand) human attention.  If they don't get it, they may sit out there and do begging calls until they get the attention they are after.  They also need to be flown regularly for exercise (if they aren't permanently injured.)  This takes time and training.

1.  You need to know a lot about owls before you get one.  You need to know things like what types of perching surfaces they need to avoid chances of foot infections, which foods to avoid feeding them, how to tell when they are sick (plus you need a veterinarian who knows how to care for owls), what type of regular maintenance needs to be done on talons and beaks, and a million other things.  There is a lot to know since you're 100% responsible for every need of a captive owl.

You need to be committed (in more ways than one!) to honestly consider yourself willing and capable of taking on such an enormous responsibility.  After all, the smaller owls can easily live over 10 years, and the larger owls can make it to 50 years or more!