View Full Version : kadabra
right, after all this time waiting, i can finally start my first page here. The day i actually left to pick her up was really terribly foggy and expected my hubby to say we werent going. But he didnt and we were off. The day had finally come. :D It took forever to get to where my kadabra was and my hubby was getting stressed out cos of the weather. To make matters worse he asked me which road to take :shock: i cant even direct someone that only lives five mins from me to my house. Anyway, after getting into a lot of trouble he got us back onto the right road and we made it to the destination point. I tried to keep my excitment under control and not bolt from the car as soon as it stopped. I succeeded in this mission but failed miserably in the next. As soon as we met the breeder i just blurted out 'where is she'. It came out all by itself, i could no longer contend myself. I WANTED MY OWL :lol: he just laughed and showed me where she was hehehehe i melted just at the sight of this bundle of candy floss. She was gorgeous. We got through the chitchat and headed off home. I couldnt get home quick enough. got in, hubby sorted the kids out whilst i sorted my baby out. she was fantastic. I cuddled her for hours until i realised that i had three children and a hubby to feed :lol: so i begrugingly put her away for a while, fed everyone, skipped dinner and was off to man my new bird hehehehe. She was settling in just fine. I put her on the sofa and my daughter dropped a bauble on the sofa, kadabra was well intrigued. She was up for a game. then along came feeding time. she took a bit then dozed off again. I just spent the rest of the evening ignoring everyone else and sitting with my babs. she had a last feed at 10 and then i went to bed. All the excitment of the day just tired me out. (actually i think it was the lack of sleep the week prior to getting her). She screeched at 2 am so i plodded off to get a chick and she scoffed the lot so i sat with her till about 4 then decided to go to bed. A pretty fab day me thinks. I just kept thinking to myself, i cant believe she is actually here.
Everything is going really well but she is finicky about her food. She is very alert and loves to sit on my hand. She will even look for it if she feels unsettled. i had her out on the blanket playing and she just loved to look around at everything. Then whilst sitting on the sofa with her, she noticed shadows and that go her head spinning and bobbing. She is fantastic with the children and doesnt seemed to be too fussed but will stand upright and walk backwards to me if they head towards her to fast or noisily. I just spent the whole day holding her, playing with her on the floor and sofa and then a feed. The breeder told me to feed her at 7, 12, 16 and 22pm but today i just fed when she let me know she was hungry and noted the times. Even though she is still only picking she did eat a little more than the day i got her. I decided to give her mouse that evening as i wondered if it was because she doesnt like chick. Apparently that seemed to be the case. She ate a whole mouse cut into bits. I again woke at 2 am just to check and she was screeching so i offered her a little more grub and she took a tiny bit. Her tum was tight so I could have even left her (but being a mother hen i gave it to her just in case). But she is still very alert and seems quite healthy.
This is going to be a big one so get a good strong coffee.
I was still worried about kadabra's intake of food. Even though her stomach was tight, i was not satisfied about the amount she was eating. so i bugged quite a few people on the forum who kindly reassured me (am i'm grateful to you all). But yesterday evening, i phoned the breeder to ask just how much food she took with him to make sure she is getting enough. Kadabra was taking just two mice a day and for a growing bird i figured that couldnt be right. But her tum felt tight and she does look healthy and alert. Even though i have only had her for four days now, i can see remarkable changes in her. So last night when the kids went to bed, i put her blanket down and had a good play with her. I wiggled her jesses and she loved to catch and nibble on them. Then she was looking for my hand as she loves to sit in it. She nibbles my fingers and entices me to preen her facial feathers and give a little tickle under her chin. I think the quills are irritating a little as they are pushing through and the face is a little hard for her to sort out. She enjoys me doing it and she comes over do my hair too hehehe. She is lovely. Once she is comfy in my hand, she grabs my fingers and gives a little nibble and closes her eyes. she rests for about 10 mins then off again alert and taking in her surrounding. I rolled a ball for her and she seemed to be very inquisitive and the head was bobbing everywhere. She just toddled around looking at new things and then screeching at me. She looks at everything from many angles it is quite funny and always makes me smile. Round about 10.30pm i gave her her last meal but she only took about 3/4 mouse and just wasnt hungry so i left it at that we had another little play with the jesses but this time she did something very new. Once she had the jess well in sight she jumped and grabbed her blanket in her talons and held tight. Looks like the stimulus is really doing her good and is responding with good reflexes. I put my hand in different places and rustled some tissue and she found that really fun and went bobbing and turned her head to pinpoint the sound. Her hearing is perfect and she enjoys the stimulus. I cuddled her till 11.45 just to make sure she did not want any last bit of mouse and that she was completely settled and put her to bed. I then put myself to bed I was shattered and my cold had really stuck in. This time i did not do my two o clock check when she screeched (well i did but i didnt feed her) I figured that it would be a good idea to space the feeding time.
7th December 2004
This morning she was screeching and i could tell she was well ready for brekkie, the wings were flapping and gob was open hehehe. She wolfed down two mice no problem. I was over the moon as that meant that we are now getting on tracks and i know she will eat at least one or two more mice this evening. She will be having a pretty good intake today. So i was all smiles this morning. I checked for her pellet before feeding but couldnt find one. I sorted her little nest box out and found that she had chewed the pellet to bits. But i was well chuffed she ate two mice. Not giving her night titbits seems to work for her. After feeding, she settled on my hand and rubbed to clean her beak on my fingers then started preening her feathers pulling out some down and making way for the feathers. They are becoming more and more visible. In only four days there is a remarkable change in her feather growth. The colour is also showing under her down. Got the blanket out again (as the tiles are pretty cold) and we had a good play (with the jesses again) and she also likes to bite the poop out of a little toy dog. After that she looked for my hand again so that meant cuddle time and a little rest. It was now time to sort kiddies for school. But I was so happy she ate two mice this morning.
Came back from school and checked on my baby and she was dozing quite happily. So i actually managed to do a bit of tidying. I heard a screech so dropped everthing and went to spend some time with her. Believe it or not she was hungry again so down went another 3/4 of a mouse. After that she felt rather full and dozy so i put her in her little box and she fell asleep. After about 1/2 hour she was awake and up for a play. I put my hand behind her feet and she steps up already no problem so that is one task covered already hehehe. And we just cuddle and play. At the time of writing she is sitting next to me watching what i'm doing and having fun watching my barn owl cursor moving around. She flicks herself up and bobs her head around staring at it. Whilst reading posts, kadabra kept eating the keys on the keyboard and turned now and again to jump on her jesses to kill them yet again. She looked as if she was tiring and i was right, she was looking for my hand and stepped onto it herself and snuggled in. She just puts her legs in the crease of my hand and grabs my fingers. she rests her beak on the tips of the fingers and off she goes to the land of nod. But before she dozed off, she preened herself and making a general mess with her down and stuff and decided that i obviously needed a preen. She got to it, in my hair, on my cheek and chin then she stuck her head up and closed one eyes. I couldnt really miss the hint!!! it was my turn to do her hehehehe. I started on her facial feathers and the ecstasy was visible in her eyes. I is a hard place for her to get and appreciated the help. With no word of a lie she sat there for 10 mins letting me rummage through. She turned her head to where she needed done. it was pretty neat. I put her in her box and she dozed off.
She didnt wake until gone five and was really out for the count. I came into check on her and my heart jumped out of my throat. She was on her side motionless. I went over to her but she was fine, she was just sleeping on her side. what a panic. It took me ages to get my emotions settled. She had yet another mouse around 4 pm and had a good play with me and the kids. I put out her blanket (which she seems to feel very secure with) and she walked around the playroom. She enjoyed the huge fire engine and had a good mooch around and a good nibble on everything. After i showed her off to me mates with the cam. She is a little star. She started whistling and the beak was opening so a pellet was obviously on its way out. Indeed it was a huge thing. The size of a decent size mouse. she felt a little relieved and was ready from some grub. A yummy mouse went down a treat, first the stomach, then the bum and tail, the head then the torso. yum it all went. then she started to walk backwards, i whipped the keyboard out of the way cos a squirt was imminent. phew, that would have been difficult to clean out of the keys.
she is now in bed zzzzzzzing and i'm just about to join her. so goodnight all but before i go here is a shot of her keeping me company earlier on the pc.
Debbie
07-12-2004, 10:58 PM
Ahh Bubo,
She is so so cute :D
I love the way she curls up in your hand and goes to sleep.
Looking forward to watching her grow :D
Gonna show all the girls at work tomorrow so they can all go all gooey over her :roll:
Debbs
Jester
07-12-2004, 11:20 PM
Nice one Bubo :D :D :D
looking forward to reading more :D
Darren
08-12-2004, 11:17 AM
good ready.......keep up the diary
hi guys i'm glad you didnt get bored. Here is a littlt update. Kadabra coming on in leaps and bounds literally. But she only ate one mouse this morning and one chick this afternoon. She still has another feed to go so she is doing well. This is so much fun. She is a cracker. We had loads of fun today. She was running around the living room and she could hear the sound of her talons tapping on the tiles. She kept jumping around tightening her talons so she was obivously trying to kill the noise hehehe. She is not fussed with mice tails so i cut them off and play with her with em. She loves it. she bobs her head and goes for an attack on the tail. It is hilarious.
Yesterday she was in the play room with me and the kiddies and she was playing and nibbling all the toys. Hiding in little dark places. then all of a sudden nicolas said, oh look kadabra has just shown me how to open my truck door. He had spent ages trying to get his little men in his lorries and kadabra, whilst playing with one of the lorried lifted the top with her beak thus showing nicolas where to open it up. He was really chuffed hehehehe.
Yesterday evening whilst on here kadabra was keeping me company. I gave her a little mirror and she found that fascinating. She wasnt at all scared but very inquisitive and the head was bobbing everywhere. She really is a love. then she started making her frilly noise as i call it (rather like a little whistling noise) so i expected a pellet was on the way. I thought right. It was huge (not surprising as she ate 4 1/2 mice that day hehehehe). She enjoys sitting on my hand and wrist. She is also starting to flap her wings and using them to make little jumps now. She still loves to preen my fingers to entice them to preen her hehehehehe.
she is just the greatest!!! she is not at all noisy or vocal.
any one reading this diary will think i do nothing all day long except spend my time with kadabra. Well just to set the records straight, I dont do anything except spend my time with kadabra :P 8)
This evening i took her into the living room with me and sat snuggled in my hand with her beak resting on my thumb. Her grasp is starting to get stronger now and is really holding onto my fingers now. Her balance is excellent and keeps it whilst i move around (I still keep a hand behind her i dont want anything going wrong now). Then without any warning such as her usual little whistle she dropped a pellet in the middle of my hand :shock: yum!!!!
She hopped onto the sofa. I gave her one of my daughters rubber bracelets with letter beads on it and also a cheshire cat soft toy (which is basically just a head on a soft cloth spring with a tail on the end. kadabra spent at least half an hour jumping on it, holding it, trying to pull the tail off. It was hilarious then she ran off with the bracelet in her beak and just stood there with it as she had no idea what to do with it.
She is very settled in now and has a bite and nibble at everything in her reach. Feeding is going really well too. Up to now, she has eaten two mice, one chick and at 11 will probably eat another mouse, may be a half more too. So yet another sucessful and extremely happy day :P :lol:
shen she saw her reflexion and went to grab it
who killed the cheshire cat?....... Kadabra did
I am sure you lot are going to pick up on this but the breeder put the anklets on. Not only did he do it without asking me first but he put it under the ring!!! that jess is now off of her leg. Just thought i'd mention it.
bubo
Grand Master Falconer
09-12-2004, 07:22 PM
You havin fun!!!
Wightwings
09-12-2004, 09:17 PM
dont know whos he happier the bird or you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
CastleFalconry
09-12-2004, 10:05 PM
She looks lovely. MORE PICCIES THOUGH!!!!!
dont know whos he happier the bird or you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
well i cant speak for her but i'm still in the clouds. She is soooooooooooo much fun and what a character. T
Today we had loads of fun. She plays with a little rubber bracelet. Now she can keep her balance and used her feet and wings really well i let her play on the tiles. I was always worried she would slip and splay her legs. But she is fine. I took her bracelet and tapped it on the floor making a scurrying noise. She was really interested. I slid it so it just went past her. Her eyes were fixed on the bracelet and she pounced and killed it hehehehehe. We played this game for ages until she ran into her box with it hehehehe. Yesterday, i offered her food on my hand and she came over to it and hopped on my hand for it!! i was well pleased. She was really interested in my golden retriever (in whom i have 100% trust) so i took her over to see her. Suzy just couldnt care less and kadabra just eyed her up. i could see mischief written all over her face hehehe.
Debbie
13-12-2004, 01:44 PM
Poor Poor Suzy, she thought the kids were bad enough :lol:
But Kadabra well thats another story, which will come laters :lol: :shock: :wink:
And your slacking with the photo's hunny - more please :D
Debbs xx
ok peeps, i havent updated for ages so this is gonna be a long one.
Kadabra is doing really well nearly all the feathers are fully settled and only has a little down under the chin and the back of the head to go. all the body is now fully feathered (as looks soooooooooooooo beautiful). She is using her wings more now and can manage hops with a little flight onto higher places now. (only 20cm higher but it is a start). when she is on my sofa, she hops up onto the cusion or the arm rests. She found my dogs water dish (which is a very old saucepan) and she can now hop up to the handle and sit on it. She is very intrigued by shiny light and shadows. They seem to interest her more than things with colours. But the reflect in the water seems to attract her. She only has access to this water pot whilst i'm there though. I gave her a shallow dish but she much prefered the old saucepan.
Her feed is still the same, three chicks plus two mice. Yesterday, she was pretty hungry and i had quite a small mouse, so i put it on my hand and wiggled it a bit, scratched the floor to make a sound and she was well interested. She pounced over, landed on my hand(which was on the floor) and she grabbed the mouse. I was happy because she came over for it. She didnt eat it in one go, she took morsels and took her time ripping it up.
Yesterday we had a slight mishap. Because i am surrounded by fields, farms and riding stables the amount of flies i get here in the summer is disgusting. I think i get the whole of the belgian fly population in my house. They are the only insects i really loath and will go to any lengths at anytime to splat one. So i put up sticky fly catchers (the type that just hang down from the ceiling) they catch more in a day than i would a month. But, i still had one left up (basically cos i forgot about it, yeah i know pretty disgusting. I suppose if i sprayed it will a glittery spray i could have used it as a crimbo decoration ).
Getting back to the story, this fly paper decided it would take itself down as i was too lazy to do so and it fell on the floor. Kadabra spotted it and pounced on it and yes it was still rather sticky. I managed to put my hand down just in time in front of her wing and and facial disc to prevent the paper reaching her brand new feathers. It just caught the tips of the downy ones. So after manoeuvering quickly with extreme caution we managed to get it off without any damage (but she did screech a bit ). That was scary. I may be rubbish and lousy at a load of things but one thing i do manage to get right is to act efficiently in any emergency, (then poop in my pants an hour after the situation is dealt with )
When i left Kadabra on her own, i put her in a play pen i built her just for extra peace of mind but now she enjoys running around the rooms watching all the comotion of the coming and going. I dont really have to look too hard for her, she screeches in reply to my whistle.
Kadabra has this fascination with sparkly objects, be it metal, sweet wrappers anything that makes a noise. She had real good fun when she found a huge sheet of bubble wrap. She was pouncing and grabbing the wrap with all her might. So much that she ate her dinner and nodded off for three hours. The piece of tinsel that came off of the tree stood no chance she was having a wail of a time with it.
I particularly enjoy it when the kids are in bed, and we can spend time .......... just playing :P . She sits on the sofa jumping at shadows, or her toys. Now when she grabs her toys she makes a little squealy noise (i think just to let me know it is hers so mits off!!) but if one of my kids come in she will run over to me and sit close by.
My children were just putting the swingball post away and my littlest daughter came in with the tennis ball attached to the rope. kadabra spotted it and was running all around the kitchen table after it. It was hilarious. When my daughter stopped, she gave a huge pounce and grabbed the ball. It was fun to watch.
Some one let the cat in today but now Kadabra is slightly bigger i was curious to see how she would react. the cat walked over very unsure of this rather large bird and all of a sudden Kadabra opened her wings and ran straigt over to the cat and bit the nose good show. no more cat My golden retriever is just as unlucky. She has this wonderful invention called a tail, made just for kadabra's benefit. It was put there for her to pounce on and pull out those hairs Being a lovable dog she is, suzy just hummppfffss and sits there hoping the little sod will soon find some other intelligent pastime
right i shall give you all a rest now and bore you no more (until the next update). So 'til then, see ya
bubo and kadabs
here are a couple of photos taken friday. Sorry guys you will have to put up with seeing my ugly mush too.
hmmmmm i'm being a clever missy i have just found out how to up more than one piccy in one go :P
another one.
kadabra has the nack of digging her talon right in between two fingers :shock: and it's pretty sore. so now and again, i use the little glove.
Helen_Aldred-Jones
20-12-2004, 11:34 AM
lmao, awww kadabra is so fluffy! afro owl! :lol: aww I love the top photo! :D :D
thank you. Even though i try hard not to keep saying it, 'she is lovely' hehehehehehe
Shaun Byrne
20-12-2004, 11:51 AM
That birds got one funny hair do! Kadabras is quite amusing as well! LMAO!
Sorry Bubo couldn't resist. Nice pics of the cute little bird, whens her playmate coming?
Carol
20-12-2004, 11:57 AM
what a brilliant diary and the pictures are really good so keep writing and taking those photos :lol:
Hawkmaster
20-12-2004, 12:28 PM
Well done!
kadabra just out of bed ready for a cuppa :lol:
maybe one day i will be able to leave her alone and actually do some work :P
Wightwings
20-12-2004, 07:05 PM
wicked photos bubo, have to say shes growing up and i love the toast rack photo on the table.
Carol (my missus) says shes looks like a little punk with that hairdo lmao.
gotta agree wih you on the talons thing inbetween the fingers.......like little needles arnt they lmao.
keep em coming :D
this was supposed to be a quick update but as usual i'm a windbag and i go on a bit :lol:
Weighed her today, 348g, pretty good going for an 8 wk old :D
Yesterday i got my knickers in a twist. Kadabra was sleepier than usual, and eating just a bit less than usual too. Alarm bells were ringing already and my stomach was on the turn. So I kept a closer eye on her than i usually do (gustavo's avatar comes to mind here hehehe). She played and pounced around as normal but not for very long and went to sleep. She did keep putting the same foot to rest though so i checked it over just to make sure all was a ok. That evening i got myself so psyched up that i was in a panic mode. Just as well alan came to my rescue. He brought me to my senses. I put her in her room to rest and i checked on her about an hour later and she hopped up onto my big plant pot (which is the first time she hopped up and perched on something like that) when i whistled, she answered in a way i knew she was hungry and she wolfed down a whole chick I decided to just go to bed and check on her in the morning. If I still felt that uneasy feeling then i would just take her to the vet anyway (even if it only to pay to look silly). But this morning as soon as i whistled she let me know where she was. She came running out from behind the sofa. So she is ok. Not only is she ok but............. we got a first flight today
After I ran into see her first thing this morning, i picked her up (check for the pellet) then had a good chat and she will just look at me (probably thinking what a sad person i am ) then it was play time. She wasnt particularly hungry but ate a morsel just the same but she loves to play on the sofa first thing in the morning. She was pouncing everywhere and looked just like a flea. She loves her sofa there are shadows and holes that she makes bigger. Or I hide a finger down it and scratch the leather. That always deserves a huge pounce
She is standing on my fist just perfectly now and instead of me putting my hand behind her she just steps on now, she is definately confident on my fist and hand. She was looking at the sofa and the head was going one to a dozen so i pulled back about 50 cm keeping my hand a good 30 cm above the sofa. She looked, aimed and flew!!! yippppeeeeeeeeeeee.
It was fantastic. Now the training has really just started.
when i got back from picking up the kiddies from school i found her on the arm of her sofa. she flew up there herself (obviously). and this evening she flew from my hand to my shoulder then from my knee to the floor. she is becoming a clever little missy!!
Hello everyone,
it's been ages since i have been on here so you know what that means yup an hour long post!!
kadabra has now been cutting her food intake down herself and is now flying pretty well (around the house). when i go into her room in the morning she will have a stretch a screech and then fly down to my shoulder. She sits there for quite a while (meaning i cant do much with her there - not that i do anything anyway hehehe). then once she is wide awake she flies around to different bits of furniture sometimes flying as much as five meters. Yesterday morning she was at 318g and was not interested at all in flying to the glove nor was she interested in her food. I hate that cos i'm not saying i panic but i do wonder if she is ok. my hubby says the only thing she has wrong with her is me stuck to her all the time but this time i decided that training does have to get underway and that if she doesnt want her food then i'm gonna leave it til the night feed. Which is exactly what i did. (though i did give in and check to see if she wanted something at midday ) she didn't seem at all interested, she just wanted to fly around the house and play with her toys. when she tires of that she either flies to my shoulder or to her log to have a doze i love it when she flies to me. Shame she doesnt aim at my glove never mind she will get there. Yesterday evening we spent a lot of time playing hunting games, pouncing games and her just preening my fingers in hope of preen in return she then flew to my husband (on his shin as he had his feet up - typical bloke hehehe) then she flew to his head. That is when i got the AAAAAAAAAAAAAAndrea your bird is on my head ) i ran in and took her off but she wasnt having it he was far too interesting she flew right back to him. She gave up in the end and came and played with me. i thought whilst she is pretty active i would give her her food on the glove. She was obvioulsy ready cos she flew straight to the food on the glove i was really chuffed. I let her feed off of the glove with the rest of the stuff and turned into bed.
Today, i went into say good morning as usual and she flew to my shoulder i always love that welcome and then she wanted to fly from chair to chair for an exercise. Once she had finished flying around the place she ran into the playroom and spotted my husband. He knew she was going to fly at him. He was sitting on the couch in the playroom and she jumped right up he is really getting to like her a lot. i picked her up and weighed her. She weighed in at 309g. I must admit i do worry that she loses so much weight in one night. But i'm not far off her flying weight that is for sure. This morning she flew to the glove for each morcel. The first couple were only biddy jumps then i got a good 1m flight. i was really chuffed with that. As it is the first time outside with no wind, lovely and sunny i decided to take her out. It wasgreat, she just held onto the glove and looked around. She did startle a little when someone appraoched her but she shuffled backwards and went to hide closer to me. but we stayed out for a good half hour then went in. It was great.
I can feel things are going just great.
i tried putting piccies in my album but it didnt want to take them for some reason
just a few to show what mischief she gets up to
just gotta remember to check who's in the box before i throw em out
Wightwings
29-12-2004, 05:10 PM
pmsl as did the wife...some great shots there bubo i especially liked the "trainee fish eagle" shot and the one in the box.
brilliant :lol:
Shaun Byrne
29-12-2004, 05:43 PM
Great pics Bubo, thats going to be one serious imprinted owl!! lol!!!
thanks guys, she is one great bird!!!! She did well with the flights tonight too. she flew to my glove no problem and better still, i gave my daugher a little glove and some meat and kadabra did a little hop onto the glove. I was really chuffed cos that meant i got a bigger flight back to me :D . She is really getting the hang of this.
Albie
30-12-2004, 01:20 AM
Hi Bubo,
Great pictures of Kadabra, they remind me so much of Ollie my owl I had until 1999.
Enjoy!
Albie.. :wink:
Debbie
30-12-2004, 01:22 AM
And people say Owls are not smart - what do they know :wink: hee hee hee hee
She's adorable and I still can't get over how quickly she has grown literally before our very eyes :shock: :D
Lovely pics.
Debbs xxx
Shaun Byrne
30-12-2004, 09:49 AM
Bubo, just one thing, have you weighed her yet? If you're going to fly her free outdoors, how are you planning to gauge her response?
hi hawka, yes i have been weighing her first thing in the morning before the morning feed. I'm waiting for the freeze to be over then i'm gonna put her in her aviary boo hoo.
bubo
hi debbie, i was just saying to a friend, it is amazing the rate at which they grow. She has just transformed from candy floss to a barn owl in no time at all. It is truly amazing.
bubo
just a quick message to say that kadabra comes to the fist quite quickly at 300g and is doing really well. She flew a couple of times at 2 meters then gave a longer ones at 3 meters. She quite happily flew to a perch where i put the piece of meat to re do more flights. After a good work out today we went out for a walk in the nice ray of sunshine here. It was a great morning.
After many days attacking the star on the tree she finally got it off and took it's place on the tree.
Shaun Byrne
02-01-2005, 03:44 PM
Lovely pictures Bubo, she looks like a proper Barn Owl now.
Happy New Year
Shaun
Carol
02-01-2005, 06:21 PM
She makes a good tree decoration bubo she is coming on really well, Her feathers are really looking good
carol :D
cheers guys and a happy new year to you all. I gonna be a real big head and agree with ya, she is a stunner hehehehee. She didnt look to great today tho cos she flew right up on top on one of my units and the tips of her feathers were disgusting, covered with dust (the shame of it hehehehe). She flew into the bathroom today and sat on my sink unit and either noticed her reflection in the mirror (or my reflection and went to fly to my shoulder through the mirror). Fortunately it was only a bump as she hopped but still, i think it surprised her more than anything else. bless her.
I have a question and i'll try and ask it without too much waffling. With an owl being in an aviary, one can gauge the weight cos the owl is in the same conditions all the time. Where kadabra is concerned, she was also raised in the same conditions so would it not be the same thing finding out the right weight being in the house than in the aviary? (does anyone understand what i mean?) or is there a big difference? I'm only asking cos of the question hawka raised earlier.
cheers bubo
hello everyone, here is the latest.
kadabra was flying around the house. He is now getting to know all the places he likes to perch (which makes my life easier cos i dont have to go around looking for him). But he is considerate enough to answer when i call so it makes the hide and seek game a little easier on me. The temperatures here are maniac at the moment. one day it can be +8 the next it can be -7. I am weathering kadabra everyday but he is still kept with me until the temperatures stable a little more. Now he is going outside he just loves to watch what is going on through the windows. But the time is nearing when he will be out in his pen :(
after weighing kadabra for over a month now i have established a good weight to fly him is at 285g - 10oz.
You may be asking why am i calling kadabra a he??? well, after closely studying kadabra i have noticed the markings are more like a males than of a female. His facial disk is pure white, the breast is pure white with only around 10 spots just by the wing but not a spot in sight else where on the breast. the toes are also very spindly and the tanny colour only goes down as far as eye level. (which to me indicates a male). time shall tell. but i am almost sure. The annoying thing about the weight is that i have read and learnt that male barnies fly at 8-9 oz and females at 11-12 oz so i can not really tell by the weight hehehe. but he is a very very light colour and a lot of tan.
anyway, back to what he is up to. I saw my dog running out of the room where we all were and i noticed she was not alone. kadabra hitched a ride.
kadabra was clinging to the thigh of my poor goldie (the claws did not touch the dog cos of the thick coating) and my dog is very trust worthy (just thought i'd mention this).
the weather was pretty nasty yesterday so i couldnt take kadabra out :( but around 10pm there was no wind at all. I have already taken kadabra on a nocturnal walk around in the garden so we did another yesterday. it went ok. Instead of flying kadabra just from a perch to me i decided to let my children join in the fun. Kadabra flew from me to my eldest daughter, then to my son, over to my youngest daughter then back to me!!! we got some great flights from him. It was very comforting as i now know he understands what he has to do and doesnt see me just as his food source.
today was going to be the day that i was going to try little hops outside. I got everything prepared then got kadabra ready. He weighed 285 (10oz) spot on and put on the jesses and leash. we were ready. We spent around 10 mins just walking around so he could get used to watching the goings on around him and then felt he was ready to do some training. i put a piece of wing on the perch and he hopped straight to it. I was so thrilled i had trouble keeping my excitement undercontrol. I put some more meat on my glove and moved back just a couple of cms so it was a rather large hop. I called him and he came no problem. He was really focussing on the glove and not the surroundings. I left this first outside session on that good note and let him feed on the glove outside. :cool: we finished the morning outside in the garden he hopped in the kiddies sandpit and on the lawn for a walk about then came back to me. His expression told me it was time to go and have a doze. We got in, gave him a bit more feed and he is now snoring his head off :D :D :D i just love it when things go so right!!!
bubo and kadabra
Sparrow Hawker
09-01-2005, 03:00 PM
Hi Bubo,
Great read sounds like your having a fantastic time with him.
All The Best,
HH
Hi everyone,
my mister handsome is coming on in leaps and bounds, if i can see through this huge smile i have on my mush i'll let you know how it went this morning :lol: . I weighed him this morning, he was 294g (10 1/4oz). I took him outside but as i knew a pellet needed to come up we just spent the time walking around. He hopped onto the lawn and picked at the tiniest of insects (a little ant that he killed but it got lost in his feathers :shock: ). He enjoyed watching little bugs crawl up a wall :shock: and pouncing on the little leaves that blew along the ground. The pellet came up after about 20 mins then we walked and played 10 mins more then decided it was time to work a little. As he was on the ground mooching for bugs and stuff i called him up to the glove and he came no problem (that was about a 1m jump up, he was about 0.50m from me). I put a piece of meat on a perch about .50m away from me and he went immediately. i moved back and he flew 1m towards me i was well pleased. I left it at that, he did really well. now he is off snoozing :D
Shaun Byrne
11-01-2005, 12:53 PM
Great to hear Bubo, thats the good thing about imprints, they train so quickly as they don't have that natural fear. Creance next maybe? By the sounds of it I think he'd come a good few metres now. Wait until the first free flight, better get the valium ready!! lol!!
Carol
11-01-2005, 12:59 PM
Kads is doing so well and you are to bubo keep up the good work.
love Carol :D
Even though i cant wait to see him fly free i really deep down dont wish to think about it right now hehehe!! i had my panties in the bin when jester went i hate to think what i'm gonna be like with my own babes. I really think he is ready for creance work now he really seems to be enjoying himself!! It just gets more and more exciting by the day. i do have one question, his weight is 294g and is keen, do i try and up his weight until i find he lacks interest or shall i keep it at that?
bubo
Isaac
13-01-2005, 12:40 AM
Since we don't deal with Owls much in the U.S. I'm just curious as to what people do with them in the U.K. Are you training her to hunt? Or is an owl just more of a pet that you can let fly free?
-Isaac
Hello Isaac,
I have spent a long time doing personal studies on owls and after reading up in books, posts, talking to people who do have owls and getting a bit of experience i decided now was the time to have a little owl companionship. I wont be hunting with my barn owl but i do plan on taking him out so he can fly free. there is not much quarry he could hunt that would be any interest to me. What ever he hunts on his own he can keep :D Even if he did catch something whilst out i would replace it with farmed food and take the wild one away there are too many farm fields here and i dont know what they use, so just to be on the safe side. Hopefully when he is flying free with no problems i will take him to my mates pasture fields where he can have some fun!
I cant wait for the summer to roll on so we can do some good nocturnal hikes or get out flying at unearthly hours of the morning!!! that will be great fun.
bubo
Isaac
13-01-2005, 12:56 PM
Sounds fun, good luck! I look forward to reading more about it.
-Isaac
Hi everyone,
kadabra weighed in a bit too high today. Instead of doing anything new i just thought i would take him for a walk and maybe do a little jump. He was up at 294g 10 3/8 oz today :shock: After a little walk around the garden i tried a little hop and he seemed to respond quite quickly. I moved further back and he jumped but it took a bit longer. I tried once more but he was just not interested so i left it there. There was no point in carrying on so i just picked him up and took him in. I decided now was the time to be a little mean even if it was agaist what i really wanted to do. but no flight, no food., i stuck with this till 9pm when i offered him some a chick for the night he just picked at it intead of gulping it down.
This morning the alarm clock went and he screeched cos he heard the clock from the other room. He knew i was on the way and waited for me outside my door. He flew to me as soon as i came in to see him. he was hungry so i weighed him and he was at 274g 9 3/8 oz i couldnt believe that loss (and I almost fell to the floor) so i gave him a tiny mouse which he gobbled in one go. I got back after taking the kiddies to school and doing other bits. It was freezing outside, -6 this morning so whilst i waited for the sun to come out a little bit i did my washing up :x .
The sun still never appeared but at least there was no wind at all and it was dry. Kadabra was two rooms away from me, i called for him to get his jesses and equipment on. he looked for me and came through the two rooms and found me, It doesnt matter how many times he does this i still get a feeling of excitement when he looks, finds and lands on me. I could tell he was still a little hungry so i used this opportunity to get some good flights. We went out and just walked about the garden but he spotted his post and looked keen to get there (but did not attempt to fly off to it fortunately). So I took it he wanted to skip the walk and get flying for his food. I popped him on his perch and he was looking at me constantly so i moved back 2m to see his reaction and called him. He came straight away. It is very hard not to jump around with excitment but put him on the post again and tried it once more and he performed brilliantly. Instead of just putting him on the post this time i put a piece of meat on there and let him go back himself and he did. Tried one more still at 2m which he did just as good as the first but decided that was good enough for me. i gave him the rest of the chick on the glove and he was happy too. So a pretty good morning for both of us :D :D
do i just keep him at this distance for a day or two then move back or do i up it tomorrow?
bubo
Shaun Byrne
14-01-2005, 01:39 PM
If I were you Bubo I'd start making him work now. From the weights you've posted I would try and keep him around 9 1/2 oz for a few days and start increasing the flight distance by metres at a time. If he come 2m instantly give him a small reward and try 4m, then maybe 10m. Try and find out his limit each time and increase it the next time. If he will fly 10m one day, the following day start at 5m with a small reward then go straight to 15m. Once he is coming say 20m, hold him there for a couple of days to steady him, then start increasing again.
Soon be flying free!!!!
thanks hawka i appreciate your advice. I have just been chatting to ken who advised exactly the same weight too. Cheers guys!! it is much appreciated. I really cant believe how quick this is all happening. It was only a couple of days ago he was a ball of fluff (that is what it seems like).
bubo
Shaun Byrne
14-01-2005, 03:02 PM
what you've got to try and remember is that no matter how comical and cuddley he is, he is still a bird and he will be at his happiest whilst flying free. This is what motivates me to get through training as quickly and smoothly as possible, so i can allow my bird to do what nature intended; fly.
Wightwings
14-01-2005, 04:45 PM
absolutey.
youve done a great job Bubo and obviuosly loved every minute of it. Cant wait to see pics of him going free.
Afshimo
14-01-2005, 04:53 PM
wow, sounds like someone's having fun! all the best with Kadabra, and deffo some pics of him flying free please!
At the rate kadabra is learning we should be there in no time at all. And i really cant wait to see my baby fly free. I'll have stomach cramps and poop myself but it has to be done :D thanks guys and i'll get more piccies up shortly.
bubo
Ok guy's it's time for another update so sit back comfy like cos you know just how much i can go on. :P
Yesterday i went in to see mr wonderful and was up and ready to go. That was a good sign because today was the day we were going to do a longer distance. I finished busy bodying around the house, getting kids and dogs sorted then i went to get my equipment and food ready. I could tell he was ready and with the amount of food he had the day before he should be well on track. i was just about to get Kadabra then i heard vroOOOOm and saw my next door neighbour had his huge tractor mower out. So I couldnt possibly get kadabs out with that noise. He cant even concentrate for two mins on a quiet day. I waited and decided to go and get a bit of shopping in the mean time.
Everything looked good when i got back and the sun was even shining making the frosty grass glitter and it was nice and quiet. I grabbed my stuff together and called Kadabra who just didnt seem bothered anymore. I thought it a little strange because he usually comes when i call him. I got him and weighed him and the scales showed 10oz :shock: :shock: i re- weighed him because that couldnt be right he was far too keen this morning and he didnt have full rations the day before. I couldnt possibly try anything new now and i so desperately wanted to try 5m.
I took him out anyway for a nice walk and to soak up some vit D from the sun rays. He saw his post and looked up for a bit of flying so i tried him anyway but only a 2m flight. He was just about to take off and a huge blue bottled buzzed in front of him and landed on the wall not far from him. Woaaah that was far too much fun and interesting to watch so much better than flying to mum. He almost got it but landed on the floor. then the grass looked extremely exciting and spent five mins jumping around like a flea grabbing at the grass. After his silly five mins i called him up to the glove and he came i was pretty surprised but happy all the same. We just spent time walking and hopping around the garden (well he did i just watched :lol: ) I brought him in and he only had one chick that evening. Whist telling my dear hubby about this strange weight gain he just looked at me and said that whilst i was out he was screetching and flapping around so he gave him a mouse :shock: :shock: :shock:
Hmmmmmmmm i was well chuffed i tell ya. He never bothers with kadabra (not that he really has the chance to either :wink: ) but why of all days did he have to start today :? never mind, it would have to be for another time.
this morning kadabra was waiting for me and i knew that he should be bang on weight now. I weighed him and he was 9 3/8 so we should get some good training done today!! As i was up early i took him out at 7.30. It was frosty but only a little light and lovely and quiet, no one to bother us. We walked over to the other fence post and noticed it was all frosty so i cleared the frost away (couldnt have his lordship placing his little toes on there :wink: ) and he happily stepped up. he looked around listening to all that was going on. got set up (3m) and ready and called him. He dipped down, openened the wings slightly, was staring at my glove and ......... a bloody blackbird swept right between us. ohhhhhhhhhhhhh poop he was just about to jump. I got him back to concentrating a little and he came :P the time now came to do the five meters. He stepped up onto the post and i moved back. He just watched around and put his little foot in his feathers awwwww he was getting comfy or his tootsies were getting cold :wink: got him looking at me and my heart was pumping. it felt a little strange being this far from him. Would he do it or would he just find something more interesting and fly the other way??? I stared at him, lifted my hand and he stared right at me, i knew i had him concentrating, put the meat on the glove....and he looked away aaaaaaagggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, started again but this time i felt he was gonna do it. I called him and he came over. It was sensational. He had to work a little too and it was great seeing him fly. I left it at that. Tomorrow i will do one more 5m and go for the 10 yipppeeeeeeeeeee i love good days :D
he is now snoring
bubo
UKJay74
16-01-2005, 08:55 AM
thats great bubo it is good to see kadabra coming on leaps and bounds Heres hoping things keep going so well for you :D
Hello everyone, just a quickie
the weather has and is still pretty grotty so that does mean we have not been out yesterday or today :( I did use this time to do some good quality training though inside. i used to fly kadabra to chicks but i know just how much he loves his mice so i spent a lot of time sorting out my mouse stock into big ones and teeny ones. the teeny ones are for training as i'm gonna use mice from now on. the result is amazing. Even though the weight is the same 9 1/2 oz the reaction is quicker and he is much more keener. he is with mice how i am with cadbury's just so you get the piccy hehehehehehe. As we couldnt go out i made him work a bit harder than usual. we went up to the floor above the garage which is big place and has nice beams for him to perch (it was the part of the barn where the straw and hay was stored, it is useful when we have stinky weather like now). He gave 10 - 15m flights straight away and was keen to get hold of them mice!!
today we worked in the house but instead of from one side of the room to the other he had to find me and that meant coming through no less than three rooms. I could hear him screeching, answering to my calls and he could hear me tapping on the glove (which actually works better than my call or whistle). i saw him coming to me but what was really cool was that as he got up to the corridor (which is the junction of four different rooms, he turned his head to in order to spot which room i was in!!! He WAS looking for me!!!! and he found me :lol: we did this three times and i hid in three different rooms. He found me twice no problem and the third time he had to think a little harder or my call was not getting to him clearly enough!! so that was a good training session me thinks :lol: it must have made him work harder than usual cos once those mice were gone he was out for the count :P
so from now on, we're training with mice not chicks!! yum
bubo and a very tired kadabs
Shaun Byrne
18-01-2005, 01:35 PM
He sounds like a perfect little imprint Bubo. Was he flying down the corridor or walking?
Any more of those pics and we'll end up as smitten as you are! Keep 'em coming, and thanks for sharing, I love your posts!
yep he was flying all the way hawka that is what was so fantastic. I could see him coming but i he hadnt spotted me and he was turning his head in flight. it was amazingly quick and i was in the room perpendicular so he had to make the quick jugement of finding me then turning in flight!!
and he did it!! wot a luv!! now every time i look at him he shuts his eyes. should i take that as 'if i make out i'm asleep she'll go away' hehehehe
Hi will thanks for the kind words. Im getting more piccies sorted out !!
bubo
got up early this morning as the weather forecast said it would rain later in the day so i wanted to get kadabra out before the nasty weather set in. And getting out early means no one around to make noises and distract out session. So got equipment on and out we went. kadabra was looking eager even though he was 9 5/8. I put him on his post and he kept his beady eyes on me so i just kept going back and i could see him still watching. I realised that i must have been about 10m and called him. He was off like a shot and got that mouse!! brilliant!! we tried it again, and he came just as well but dropped the mouse :shock: so he had a weeny foot and made him try again (that way i felt i got a freebie 10m in :D ) and he did it just perfectly. He managed 4 10m flights so i guessed that was good going and let him feed up on the glove. I just love the puffin face he does when eating, it goes all very round revealing more of the beak. :D Today tho the weather was ghastly and mister wonderful pigged out a bit too much on the mice so he was 1/4 oz over weight and i could tell we were'nt gonna be doing much. He did one good flight and i left it at that.
bubo
the training is getting more and more exciting by the day. Yesterday was awful weather, gales and rain so we didnt do much apart from a bit of hide and seek. His weight needed dropping just by 1/4 oz so i didnt give him his mouse for the night. This morning he was spot on 9 1/2 and was keen to get out. whilst sorting my stuff out i called for him and he came from the other side of the house so i got his swivel and stuff on.
The break of dawn is a good time to fly him as he is keen and it is quiet outside. I fly him from different posts now in different areas of the garden as he is more confident and knows what he has to do. I feel it is less boring for him. He had his beady eyes on me all the time but stayed on his fence post. I moved back and he did the 10m no problem. I upped it immediately to 15 to see his reaction and he came. we did this twice more and he did really well. Whilst he was digesting we just walked around the garden admiring the lovely gleaming frost on the grass and the peace and quiet. After 20 mins i was feeling the cold so decided it was time to go in. (i'm not a wimp it's just i have a bit of a cold). Tomorrow we are flying in the field as he is getting too confident and if i give anymore lead he may just go over the wall :lol: So off for an early start tomorrow in the field.
phew made it. The forum was down and i was feeling very lost :(
I jumped out of bed bright and early today cos i wanted to take kadabra out in the field before peeps got up. I weighed him and he was 1/4 down which was perfect and got him kitted out and off we went. i was excited but a little stressed at the same time. I could feel he was too but not sure if it was because he was still not too familiar or if he could feel me a little uneasy.
We reached the middle of the fields and i could see and feel kadabra settling ok and i was feeling good too. He had his mind focused on his tum. I was looking for a good place to settle his bum and i saw three dogs come bounding down the lane :shock: I really didnt want to turn back as i knew he was going to perform today i could feel it. We just backed off into a perpendicular lane to keep out of the way and the guys saw we were trying to work so they kindly turned back and the dogs left. kadabra watched just to make sure they did. I did wave to say thank you but was well pleased that the alsation ******ed off. so, back to business.
Kadabra enjoyed spinning his head watching EVERYTHING. He spotted something in the grass and i encouraged him to go for it. He hopped to the ground and starting pouncing around it is fun watching him do that. He now nose dives down (rather like the penguin at the 200 point mark) then flings his talons out. pretty cool :wink:
He was happy with me just watching but i thought as he was there i might as well just move back and use this opportunity to get him flying. He heard me move and stood upright all skinny. I could see the mummy? muuum? muuuuuuuuummy?? i was not more than 5m away and he was on to me. :D bless him. Not sure he appreciated that. I put him on a post and let him watch me move back and i managed to get to 10m away and he came no worries. Did it again but he decided he wanted to go off in another direction :shock: hmmm that is not so good. I put him back on the post and moved back 10-12m and he flew straight to me. Best leave it at that on a good note. I was happy and he was now full as i let him feed up. we got back, he shook himself and preened and I checked to make sure feet were nice and squeaky clean :) and he went off to sleep. About two hours on, i called for him just to make sure he was ok but i got no reply i called again and not even a titchy screech to say leave me alone. I tried to keep some self control and just hunted around, checked to make sure toilet lids were down and doors leading to outside were locked (kids are well drilled for this). Every think was cushty but still no kadabs. I hunted for what seemed hours until i found him :shock: he sneaked in one of the wardrobes and settled himself down hehehehe.
http://img176.exs.cx/img176/488/dsc007101mp.jpg
Last night we had a terrific gales and even snow. This morning was gleaming white everywhere. kadabs was waiting on his log to go out and fly but i had to get the kiddies sorted for school. I wasnt going anywhere cos i couldnt get the car out of the garage. the bus was skidding around every where and it was a mess on the roads out here. I'm not a keen driver but i wasnt going out on that ice.
So, kadabra was in luck we were out after all but only in the garden no field trips. Got him weighed and he was at 9 5/8 a little up but is was ok for the garden excercise. got him out and he was looking around at the snow. I did wonder if he would react differently with the snow. I cleared the snow off of his post (dont want his tootsies going cold) and placed his little feathery bum on it. I gave him the 15 m lead and he came wonderfully :wink: we just spent time flying like that in the garden and for the last mouse he dropped onto the ground and ate it. he sunk down in the snow a bit but i'm glad he did cos he aint had a bath since he's been here :shock: :shock: the snow got all the grot off. :lol: he's a lovely proper little tyto alba alba :lol: but he is now snoring.
The door bell rang and it was a very wet and dripping postman, he slipped on the ice :lol: I did ask if he managed not to brake anything, and i sincerely meant him but he handed my parcel and said rather grumpily that it is still in one peice :shock:
i was glad to hear it was!! cos it was from my buddies Ken and Carol :P :P :P He kindly made some anklets for me cos i couldnt get the right sized eyelets. They are fantastic hun thanks a lot!! i'll take some piccies and show you all with his super dooper new kit!! :lol: and i got a great hood made by yours truely!! dont worry it is not for kadabs but just for me to hang in my car :P great stuff ken your a star!!!!
bubo
yet another page in my diary.
i was eager to get kadabs kitted with his new stuff and got my better half to hold kadabra whilst i got the other grubby stuff off!! I placed kadabra on the sofa so i could just check the anklets were just right and he just sat there and let me get on with things
:D they were just a wee bit too wide for his little dinky legs. So i just trimmed a little and now they are just perfect!! He sat whilst i tried and fitted them probably wishing i would hurry up and go away :P but he got a mouse for being such a good boy :P and he looked real smart.
yesterday i got him out bright and early as he was waiting for me impatiently on his log by my kitchen window. It was extremely icy outside so i had to go careful i didnt slip with him on my fist. I put him on his post and he just sat and looked around whilst i sorted myself out. i gave him around 10m lead and he came just wonderfully. I saw he was keen so i moved back the 20m he was very interested in the sparrows in my pine hedge but still kept a beady eye on me. I kept seeing him bobbing and the wings just starting to open, he wanted to jump to fly to me but decided to stay put. He was waiting for the call. I tapped on the glove and didnt have much time to call as he was onto me already hehehe yipppeeeee. At the week end we are off to the fields and i'm gonna try and get some long flights out of him. He is clever and learning so fast it really is all going very quickly. After 5 -6 good flights we just spent a little time dawdling in the garden. I placed him in my tiny plum tree (which only gives one plum a year) and he wasnt too sure what to make of it.
http://img176.exs.cx/img176/3637/dsc007340oy.jpg
he made an attempt to sit in the fir trees cos there were sparrows making interesting fluttery sounds but he messed up :P he looked around for me to bail him out, of course i wasnt far behind him. I decided to choose another game and put a mouse on a piece of string. now that was a game and half hehehe. he nabbed the mouse in no time. He took his time looking around to make sure no one was gonna pinch his mouse and down it went. By this time i was pretty frozen and needed to be defrosted, so back inside and got kadabra settled and gave him the rest of his food and off he went. He preened, sorted himself out and nodded off. I got myself a brew, jam tarts and onto the iff hehehehe great day!!
Today was far too windy and the icy gales made it impossible for him to stay on track. poor luv had his feathers blown everywhere. so just one flight and it was back inside. We did a little training inside :P
second time round, i had just finished a long bit, read it in preview then forgot to submit and closed it down, how annoying :?
Monday 31 Jan
Bad start to the day!! Kadabra was not waiting for me and I couldnt find him anywhere. I looked in the usual places but I couldnt even hear him so that was worrying. I checked upstairs but still didnt get a reply. I was fearing the worst. The thing is i'm renovating upstairs (litterally building a second floor) It is almost finished but i still have 1/4 of the ceiling to finish so if kadabra does go up there he still has access to what could be the third floor or worse, if he found a hole in the brick work he was outside somewhere. So stomach in my throat tears almost on the brink of my eyes I called and heard tapping noises. I think every bird nesting under my roof tiles answered except my kadabra :cry: I called once more and heard more feet and it was him oh the joy!!! he hid himself in the tiniest little spot but he came out and jumped down to me :P all happy again (well i was he was probably annoyed i bothered him). Cleaned him up a bit as he had cobwebs everywhere on his face and weighed him. He was 1/4 oz over weight. He still flies ok in the garden at this weight and as the weather was pretty grotty it was the only time I would be able to take him out today. Got him ready and we went out.
There was such a comotion going on outside it just was not possible to get anything done so i put him in the car and took him for a ride down to the fields. He loved it, he sat on the passenger seat and just looked out :P it was only on a little road that no one uses so it was just fine. We had a walk around the fields and i placed him on a post and he gave two good flights. I went to try one last time, placed him on the post and moved back. Instead of coming to me he flew straight up into the tree directly behind him :? Not good!! I just let him sit there for a while looking around then called him down but no luck this was far too interesting. He sat there for over an hour :evil: and even had the cheek to pull up his tootsies into his feathers and doze off aaaaaaaaagggggghhhhhhh. I had to get back as I had an important chore to do so the only option I had to was to go up there and get him. Getting up was easy because I had two hands but getting down was another matter. I held onto him tight and protected him with the other hand and just dropped down. He didnt even ruffle a feather. We headed off home. But one important lesson learned, flying weights are there for a reason and even if he is just 1/4 over he isnt going to the fields :?
i dont believe half my text is missing :evil: right third and last try!! :roll:
Tuesday 1st feb
Yesterday evening I checked for holes or any think/where kadabra could get up to mischief upstairs but all is kadabs proof. So he spent the night upstairs. I went upstairs rather early just to make sure he was ok and I didnt even have to look for him. He called me as soon as he saw me. He was about 7-8m high sitting perched on one of the beams looking down at me with those beautiful round brown eyes :heart: :P I held my arm out and he just glided down WOW what a start to the day. I took him downstairs and cleaned him up a bit because he had cobwebs everywhere and weighed him. He was a good 9 3/4. the only bummer was the weather, it just never stopped pouring with rain. So indoor tflying and some hunting the soft toys :twisted: He had his mice and sat on my shoulder the whole time I was in the house then flew onto my grandmother clock and slept till way past 17h.
wednesday 2nd feb
great day, it was raining but at least we had some dry spells. Weighed him and he was still 9 3/4 goody!! got my jacket on and kadabra saw it!! he knows what this coat means! got him sorted and out we went. He was keen this morning and settled himself on one of the posts. I pulled off a mouse leg and showed it to him and he was over in less than a blink. We did a few more that went really well then he flew up to the swing set. what a great post to fly him from. I moved well back, I may well have been at the 30m and called him he just glided all the way. What a sensation!! He got the rest of the mouse for that. Then it was playtime in the grass and hopping on dead leaves. Great fun, it always makes me smile the way he pounces on the grass and grasps it so tight. Then he just grabs and lets go, grabs and lets go then he twists it all. violent but extremely funny. He was waddling around the lawn for about 15 mins then i noticed it started raining and called him up. He was just about to hit my glove then decided to head off home himself :shock: he went straight to the door :P
right i'm gonna hit the submit button before anything else goes wrong
Shaun Byrne
03-02-2005, 09:51 AM
Good read Bubo, have I missed something, is he free now?
guess who :P
it's been a while so I just thought i'd give you an update.
Sunday 6th feb
I took him out really early as that is the time he prefers most. I placed him on his post and then my two dogs decided to quarrel. He is used to them now so he just watched them. Got him concentrating back on me and did a 20m flight really well. I placed him on a different post just to make it less boringfor him, moved back he got ready to jump and ........ my neighbour whistled at my bird :evil:http://yelims.free.fr/Grrrrrrrrrrrr/Grrrr09.gif ooooh that is so annoying he just kept whistling to get my bird's attention http://yelims.free.fr/Grrrrrrrrrrrr/Grrrr03.gif I really wanted to tell him what this smiley is shouting out but as he is really a dear 80 year old guy, deaf as a post, I just said hello and waited til he went http://yelims.free.fr/Grrrrrrrrrrrr/Grrrr23.gif. Got kadabra focussing again and decided to go full length of the garden (+/- 36 m) and he did it no worries.
Mon 7th
I was up early and kadabra was qizzing around everywhere so I took it he needed to get out. At 6.30 it was still dark but turned the outside light on. I popped him up on the post and he was looking around even more so than during the day but this is a fantastic time to get him working well. He gave great flights and we had a real good work out. We played a couple of hunting games just to keep him on his toes. I dragged a mouse in the crispy frosty grass. His little head was bobbing everywhere. It is really amazing to watch. He lifts off, gains just a bit of height then drops down, head first then swings the talons out and smack! "kills" the mouse. the day was just breaking now but what a beautiful sight! and owl sitting on my post in the glistening white morning aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh Just how lucky i am. I took kadabs in, checked him over and he flew to one of his cosy spots, preened and dozed off. He flew upstairs a couple of hours later so i checked on him round 17.30 and I could find him anywhere GULP. Checked all his usual places but nothing http://yelims.free.fr/Groumph/Triste14.gif, heart pumping rather fast, i searched high and low. I looked up and the cheeky bum poked his head out of a tiny hole he found and just watched me!! didnt even have the consideration to answer back!!
tuesday 8th
kadabra flew to me this morning then wizzed upstairs, he didnt seem hungry so i just left him up there to fly around and get on with his business. It was -5 this morning so I decided to take him out a bit later when it warmed up a bit. I had work to do on his aviary anyway as he will shortly be outside now I feel he needs it now, but I will still bring him in of a night time until the temperature keeps to the + side of the thermometer. I checked a couple of times on kadabra and one time he flew right behind me but i didnt hear a thing, i was walking around searching for him and he was following me around!! hehehe
At lunch time, I put the kids in the car then called for kadabs, he came swooping down obviously well ready for lunch. (I take him in the car cos i hate walking by the main road to get to the fields with him) it is good to get him used to the car too. For short distances like this he just sits on my passenger seat looking around, the kiddies thought it was hilarious. this is the first time i have taken Kadabra out with my children aswell. So it will be interesting to see how he reacts. Some of you know that kadabra has been a bit complicated outside. He flies well in the garden but as soon as we are out in the fields he just wants to head for the trees and that is it. So with good advice from forum members we changed training techniques for a while! We just did some tree work. I placed him in the tree and called him to the glove. it is now working really well and he has got the idea. So, i think it was very much a confidence thing.
He was just sitting on my glove looking around so i gave him a bit of mouse. I presented him a great branch and he hopped on. He sat there looking around enjoying the view then i called him down, and he came http://yelims2.free.fr/Fete/Banane05.gif this is what i had hoping for. I certainly feel more relaxed and he more confident so things are working out just fine. I tried more hops but the last ones, instead of flying straight in front of him i tried moving down a bit and he still came. I hope this will lead to following on training.
We did some hunting games in the dead leaves and he chased a blue bottle which was funny. The kids were covered from head to toe in mud so it was time to get everyone home, washed and changed and then i made some nice pancakes to munch on. Kadabra just went upstairs to nod off, his tum was pretty full.
I went upstairs to check on him. He heard me coming but couldnt be bothered to let me know where he was.
Shaun Byrne
09-02-2005, 07:30 AM
Good read Bubo, have I missed something, is he free now?
Well :?: :D
I'm sorry hawka, i did actually post a reply to your question but it is not there!! no not yet, but the reason he went to the tree is because the tree was directly behind the post. He is not far off though, i would say one or maybe two more weeks of training out in the fields and he is off.
I feel confident and he is listening too so he is almost ready. Now he has the trees sorted he will be fine.
oops i need to delete this post andi dont know how to?? i put up the same piccy could one of you mods remove this useless post please. (and i mean just this one not my whole diary :wink:
bubo
Colohen
11-02-2005, 10:06 AM
I'll have to read tis one when I have more time right know I have some one on my messanger. :wink:
Carol
11-02-2005, 12:02 PM
Well done Bubo and Kadabra for mastering those trees.
I can't wait for you to fly him free and don't forget the photo's (as if you would lmao ) :lol:
Another good read as always
Hugs to both of you
Carol
thurdsay 10 feb
good mates from the forum did advise to bring kadabra's weight down just a little more. I really thought this was drastic action as he is already at 276g. I know they are experts but I really felt nervous about doing this. I kept imagining him with squinty eyes, famished, feeble and week :shock: but kadabra did not want anything that evening so instead of leaving it for him to eat round 2 am i left him with nothing. Talk about feeling guilty and mean but I did it. I got up rather quick in the morning to make sure he hadnt died of hunger during the night :wink: and i didnt have time to get up the stairs he flew straight down to me. Hmmmmm someone was hungry. It was raining badly outside so i couldnt get him out but i could see an amazing difference. I weighed him and he was 272g. I waited a little longer but the weather was just not lifting so indoor training again. Wow this little bundle was just too keen i didnt have time to get the food up and he was over. Hawka, jester, everyone, you were all right!!!! my owl didnt die of starvation and he is just so damn keen now. It is amazing what just 4 - 6g can do. If he performs like this in the field i'm letting him off at the week end.
friday
I went to my mother in law's house and just before we left to come home i spotted a titchy little beany bag that she was going to throw out. I asked if i could have it cos i knew someone who would love it. I checked the hems and made sure it was sealed ok and it was perfect. Got home, tied it to his favourite string (a string that was threaded in one of my hubby's anoracks) this was amazing. he was pouncing, diving, giving this beany hell hehehe. i swung it just slightly (as we were in the house) and he was on it like lightning what a sight. My son wanted to join in the fun so he dragged it around and swung it for him. Then all of a sudden kadabra hovered for a couple of seconds. I was just stood there with my gob wide open. EXELLENT. of course it was intended HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA only joking.
This morning kadabs was at the same weight and still just as amazingly keen but the weather would just not let us out. The fir trees were really bending. My poor kadabs would be blown right over to the uk :( so indoor flying again. Everyone got their glove and he flew to us all (me and my kids!! excellent he just wants that grub. I cant wait for the weather to pick up i want him out flying. I even have the confidence of letting him go!!
He chilled out this morning playing with the kiddies in the playroom. He pinched my youngest's doll hat and stored it somewhere. they had fun looking for it. then he joined my eldest cuting and pasting with her activity set. what a great team i have here.
We can now start the count down the D day!!! but in the mean time enjoy the piccies
kadabra and my daughter elodie
UKJay74
12-02-2005, 06:52 PM
BUBO that is so great :D those pictures are great i have to say you have got tracie thinking about a barny and imprinting
go for it hun you wont regret it!!!! kadabra loves my kiddies just as much as they love him!! he just wants to be a part of everything (so do i) hehhehehe.
go on nursey!!! get one hehehe
bubo
we have had nothing but rain, sleet and snow for four days solid so it has only been indoor training with tiny trips outside just for a titchy fly. the weather really had been ghastly. But today, i managed to get kadabra out during an hour dry spell and he did really well. He just gave me the time to move back and he was coming. From tomorrow til friday we will be working the 45-50m and if that goes ok, saturday is the big day!! oooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh panic panic hehehe
bubo
where are all the piccies and the reply button gone?
Shaun Byrne
15-02-2005, 12:09 PM
Go for it Bubo!!!!
after your big word of advice hawka and jesters' too, i am going to do it. I feel he can do it and if he gives me the 50m flight like i think he will, it will be fine. i think, i hope .... i pray.
so my next post will be on saturday hopefully. if you dont see me on sat it has gone dreadfully wrong.
bubo
what do kiddies do to kill the time on a rainy day? they play snakes & ladders or even hide and seek. What do barnies do? they go hunt them cats :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: kadabra saw my female cat hiding and the very tempting tail sticking out and swishing around was just too good not to grab!! Yes the cat did get nailed and no it wasn't hurt. Better luck next time hehehehehehe.
Funny thing, don't see much of our cat since we got the eagle owl. Oh, and he saw the mother-in-law off too, what a star! :D
Good luck for friday, I'm sure you'll be fine. Got someone taking pictures for you? You know we'll expect them!
hopefull i will get piccies if we are not all running off or climbing up trees to retrieve a barny
hehehehhe
Right just a quick update. Kadabra must have been hungry because he came down stairs pretty quick this morning. As expected he was at 272 which means I was in for some good flights.
I asked my neighbour if i could fly kadabra in their garden as they have a longer stretch and good flying posts :P I get on really well with my neighbours so they didnt mind. They enjoyed watching. thank god he more or less behaved himself. We did have one major hiccup though :roll: I just let him look around and gave him a chick wing just to let him know it was dinner time. I placed him on the post and he was looking every where it was very exciting even for me. I moved back 15m and he came to me. I moved back about 15-30m and he was just about to land and he obviously just realised where he was!!! he knew on the otherside of the fence was home and he lifted his head and went straight over to my fir trees! oooh the sod. the danger was not the fact that he was on the other side of the fence but as i was working with kadabra in my neighbour's garden i didnt bother putting my dogs in their enclosure. If kadabs came down one of the dogs may have jumped on him.
I really dont know how i did it and probably couldnt if i tried but i took a good run up placed my hand on top of the fence post and threw my legs over the 1.80 m fence. adrenaline can make you do anything!!!!! i rushed and called my dogs in the house. Kadabra just watched whilst i was busting a gut. I didnt bother getting him out of the tree, i knew he was hungry and he had plenty of tree training so now was a good opportunity to test it. I called him down, he fumbled around (he's not to nimble on the branches i must say) and came right down. I didnt want to leave things on that bad note so got him on my fist and off we went again. I put him on the same post and did it again. He didnt make the same mistake and came right to me!! I did feel like leaving it at this but at the same time i knew i had to push him harder. he was hungry so we worked hard for each morcel. He gave some pretty good flights and i felt i could have let him go there and then. So why didnt I ?????????? cos i'm a coward. I said saturday so it will be saturday :D I set out the 40m stretch and looked rather anxiously at him, his head was bobbing everywhere and a chicken came up in the next garden. Fortunately he just looked, i hissed at him (as he seems to be more responsive than a whistle - i also find the sound carries further) and he came just gliding over. WOW he did it. I did leave it at that and gave him one extra mouse!! this is amazing. I'm training in the same place tomorrow!! i shall probably let him free there too. If anything goes wrong at least he should end up in my trees hehehe. but nothing will go wrong hopefully.
I will just say one thing, during a very interesting chat with hawka, he did say that i could let kadabra go in the garden and i realised that he is right. After seeing him fly straight to my trees (and i know it was because he knew it was home not just hiding) i felt he could find his way home no probs.
well for those who wondered if owls were good play mates or not!! they certainly replace dogs and cats here!!!
fighting off all these playmobile men on the battleground we have only just started to build and create, hard morning flying it was time to have a chick for the night and off to bed in his little room well big room cos he has a bedroom five times the size of mine
Carol
17-02-2005, 07:33 PM
Brilliant photos as usual Bubo.
Fingers crossed for Saturday, and hope the weather holds up for you and Kadabra.
Hugs Caz :D
All set for tomorrow!!! it will be our big day!!!
I went upstairs and he was waiting for me in the hallway on the beams. I only put out my hand and i flopped down with a thump.
Even with out weighing him i knew he was 276-279g and i was right, 277g. today was good! he sat on top of the door as usual whilst i got him jessed and kitted out. He is getting good really cos he holds the other jess whilst i'm fitting the first one hehehhe.
held out my glove and he jumped down. He WANTED food. got him outside and gave him a mouse foot and he hopped straight down to his spot. i had to move back quick or else he would be over in no time. did the 40m stretch and he glided all the way but incredibly low it is surprising his tum dont touch the floor hehe. I flew him from another angle and put him on the window sill. this only gave him about a 25m but i wanted to see his reaction. I left him to look around for a bit as there was some comotion going on. He still does not like people around but we are working hard on that. he saw the sheets outside flapping around and my neighbour washing her windows but inspite all of that he came and what flight.
I was so tempted to take off the creance but i chickened out,!! sorry guys!! i know what am i like. I am geared up for tomorrow though.
He just kept coming and coming and we hit the 50m mark!!! so tomorrow is the day! cross fingers the weather will hold out cos i'm ready and so is he.
Hawka, varmint, jester, carol, ken, baywinghawker, ukjay and all my other buddies thanks for all the good advice and tomorrow we'll prove that we have been listening.
see ya all tomorrow
bubo
KenHawker1970
18-02-2005, 01:51 PM
:yawinkle: Go on Bubo!!!.
As long as your ready aswell tho.
Good luck mate.
Luv Ken
ok guys, what i need you lot to do is get the 'kick up the butt' message up before i go out tomorrow hehehehe so if i get cold feet i'll read your messages telling me to GET OUT THERE AND DO IT FOR GOODNESS SAKE hehehehehehehehe.
bubs
Adam Barrett
18-02-2005, 03:55 PM
Go for it bubo! :D
You know that the two of you are ready
Its always the worst time letting your first bird go free but after youv done it you will know what everyone is meaning when they say just go for it.
best of luck and probably talk to you later.
Adam
Jester
18-02-2005, 04:11 PM
get oot there and do it ........................ just dont forget the piccies :partyman:
Shaun Byrne
18-02-2005, 06:03 PM
Go for it Bubo, bet you cry!! lol!!
Colohen
19-02-2005, 03:24 AM
No problem Bubo Barns are very easy imprinted and yours looks to be the most ! I dought he'll wont to be far from Mommy for long . So dont go chicken on me , get up and get out there !
Go for it Bubo, bet you cry!! lol!! it had better be from emotion and not cos he's ******ed off :lol:
weather is a bit dim and wet but it is not raining now and there is no wind. Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo i'm just gonna get dressed and we're off aaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh what a stressful moment. I need a mega cadbury fix :lol:
see you guys later and thanks for the encouragement. here goes !!
Right i have just got in....... and back to report on our morning out. Got kadabs jessed, oh sod all the details
WE DID IT YIIPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
http://yelims2.free.fr/Fete/Danseurs.gif http://yelims2.free.fr/Fete/Banane06.gif
http://yelims2.free.fr/Fete/Ballon02.gif http://yelims2.free.fr/Fete/Champ.gif http://yelims2.free.fr/Fete/Danseuse01.gif
right now i have calmed down a bit i can give you detailshttp://yelims.free.fr/Sourires/Sourire129.gif He was at 274g and was following me around the house everywhere so he was pretty hungry. got me camera, and took him outside. I put the creance on and he hopped to his post i turned around to walk away and he was already on to me. I thought stuff it off comes the creance and placed him back after giving him a mouse foot for coming. this time i was trembling but still adoment all was gonna be okhttp://yelims.free.fr/Groumph/Peureux03.gif. I walked back and he flew to my shoulder again. retried it but this time i ran all the way down the garden and flew the whole length. i just wanted to hold on them jesses and not let go hahahaha I couldnt believe it we did it. I dared to put him back almost as soon as he came just so he remembered what he just got the reward for. He sat looking at me, I was going to take the camera from my pocket but i left it there because i wanted 100% focus on him. He decided to hop to another post instead so i left him for a while just to look around. My heart was pumping cos i was not sure what he was thinking. was he going to fly off? but he didnt he was just looking around. I left him to browse and take in what was happening around. we have flown from the neighbours' garden so he knows that place aswell. after five mins or so he was ready for food. it was either that or he didnt like the fact i was moving further away. I called him and over he glided. It was magnificent. All i could see was two dark eyes on a pure white wings. Fantastic!!!!! and i didnt cry hahahahahaha almost did though. hands were a bit shaky though. Not sure if it was emotion, relief he stayed or what :D so a new chapter in his little life has begun.
thanks again to everyone for advice and encouragement, i needed it.
bubsy and kadabs
Adam Barrett
19-02-2005, 12:26 PM
Well done bubo and kadabs!!
:D
Carol
19-02-2005, 01:12 PM
Well done both of you
all that hard work you both put in paid off in the end.
happy flying free
Carol :goodman:
Shaun Byrne
19-02-2005, 06:22 PM
Brilliant Bubo, dont know what you were worried about lol!! All you have to do now is manage his weight accurately and you'll have no problems at all.
thanks guys, yep hawka, weight will now be well under tighter control. But as you can imagine knowing he can fly all on his own, i was eager to get out there flying again. I stood at the bottom of the stairs, hissed at him and he flew all the way down. (it's funny really cos he jumps up the stairs one by one but flies down hehehe).
he just glided around the garden and i just watched and awed at him. My hubby watched for the first time today so it made it even more special. He had to admit even he was taken back by my owl's beauty. We are in just another world i tell ya. And hawka, i really dont know what all the worry was about hahahahahahah but you dont find out till you have actually done it. thanks guys!!
bubo
relaxing time!!! i just love it when it is him and me chilling out.
We had a new experience today. We had a little girl round today and her jaw just dropped at the sight of kadabra. I asked her if she would like to have kadabra fly to her fist and she was just over joyed. Kadabra just didnt mind her at all and performed brilliantly. The little girl just stood there amazed hahahahaha. Kadabra is over coming his problem with strangers. Tho he was in the house so that may have made a difference.
bubo
Hawk-lady
20-02-2005, 07:21 PM
ooooohhh nice!!!what a pretty barn owl!!more pictures,the owl is soooo nice!
Jester
20-02-2005, 10:40 PM
brilliant to hear about young Kads there Bubo :supz: :supz:
but why pretend you do stuff like needlework cos we all know you donthave time for that with all the time you spend online :lol: :lol:
you're spot on there jester!!! i started this picture in 2003 and god knows how many hours it has taken me to get this far. It is a bride and groom piccy that was supposed to be a wedding prezzie for my sis. at the rate i'm going it will be for their silver anniversary ehehehehehehehehe. But i did sacrifice two hours of IFF yesterday to do some more work on it :shock: that is a lot to ask hahahahahahahahahahaha so she had better bloody well be grateful for this :lol:
if you look closely at the first of the three piccies you will see where kadabra enjoys pulling off the piece of leather on the sofa (it is to the left of me where the back joins the seat!!! he is always tugging at it. i put my fingers in the hole and make scratchy noises. it always deserves a fly and a dive!! it 's brill
Colohen
22-02-2005, 03:08 AM
Spoiled Rotten !!
yeah but aint he worth it!! :lol:
kadabra on tracks weight wise now so back to training!! I took him out this morning and he was ace. after some good flights he flew straight back to the door; i took it he was done for the day!!
bubo
i get kadabra flying early and he works hard. he sleeps 'til about 17.50 - 18.00 if he manages to get his feather butt out of bed earlier then he comes outside with us in the garden around four in the after noon but takes himself back in after about an hour or so. The days are gradually getting longer now so i can 'play' with him outside till much later. he usually gets a mouse for the night cos he gets a little hungry but instead of just giving it to him i make him work for this one too. One of my children usually run around the garden with a mouse attached to a string and he will hunt it down. it is fun to watch because he will swoop down, the kids pull it away and he will go up and land on a post then try again. I did manage to get him to hover once but never really tried again.
yesterday, he was outside with us lazing around the garden. i noticed the cat, my hubby and my little girl watching something. i took kadabs and went over to see what was happening and a vole was in the garden. the cat pounced at it making it run and squeak. kadabra picked up on it and swooped down and grabbed it. yum warm fresh organs hahaha. I only let him it eat it cos i know neither myself or my neighbours use any poison (and this little fella came from my garden). funnily enough he didnt want my dinky defrosted lab mouse :D it was awsome to watch. some use dogs and hawks and i manage with my cat and a barny :lol: :lol:
bubo
Shaun Byrne
21-03-2005, 06:02 PM
Well done Bubo, entered at last! lol!!
Mathew simonds
03-04-2005, 10:21 PM
Well done Bubo! Good job done there, and all those pictures, are brilliant. Its nice to see a well-looked after barn owl.
thank you matthew :P i have another piccy of kadabra i would like to put up but i cant find my installation disk so i can resize my piccies :cry: but after 5 months kadabra took his first bath!! in a small saucepan i use for my dog's water :shock: :shock: he has an eagle size bath (it is only this big cos i sort of messed up whist building it :oops: ) and he uses a titchy saucepan he can barely stand in :shock: hahahahaha as soon as i can get my piccy program sorted i will post more piccies (especially one of him flying) he is just awesome :lol:
Jester
04-04-2005, 07:31 AM
mail them o me Bubo i will resize them for you :D
i cant do that either mate, my outlook is down and msn wont take the size file sob sob, if i catch ya on msn chat i'll be able to send em to ya
see ya later mate and cheers
Boggy
04-04-2005, 10:55 PM
Hi, I'm new to the forum and stumbled across your diary. Got glued to it and read the lot! :lol: So wonderful to see your progress.
One day I would love that to be me!
Keep it going.
Boggy.
hi there boggy dont dispair it wasnt long ago i was in your position and look where i am now :lol:
here is a cute piccy i would like to share. (thanks to jay for resizing and jester for the offer)
he has a bath big enough for an eagle in his aviary and he uses my dogs old water bowl (which is infact a saucepan :shock: ) he could only flick tiny drops on himself cos that is all the space he had to do.
pooey my piccy didnt come out :evil: jester........ i need ya again!!
bubo
ok big break through here!! i was in the front room with kadabra potting around. I heard the garage door go and it was my hubby coming back from his mum's house with the kiddies. kadabra heard the garage door, thought grub was on it's way and he was not that wrong!!!!!
i came into the kitchen and my hubby had just brought back a bunny in a cage that my sister in law did not want anymore!!! kadabra was mesmorised. I called him and he flew to my arm and i went over to show him what it was :twisted: he was very unsure but definately knew it was not a cat!!!!! this had potential. He will keep distance but is constantly watching over the bunny!
dummy bunny training me thinks hehehehe entering could go a lot quicker than i imagined :lol:
bubo
yet another try with the piccy, ok it works, here is he in the saucepan :shock:
Boggy
10-04-2005, 07:07 PM
Hi, fantastic photo, looks just like he's playing peekaboo!
What a fantastic bird.
Boggy.
it's been ages since i typed in here so as i have a couple of mins i shall do so. Not really proud to put this in but it is his diary so I will log it down.
We had a major set back last wednesday :( and it was my fault :cry: kadabra was out with me in the garden flittering around then just watching the world go by. It was so nice outside we spent nearly the whole day out. I called him over as i was going in to get his grub and he followed over and flew into the house even before i got there. Got his stuff whilst he watched from his perch. He flew behind me but i didnt see him at the time and as i stepped back i caught the side of his foot. You can imagine how i felt. My heart sank right into the pits. Quickly assessed the injury but got his box and whipped him off to the vet. I felt like s..t. I phoned up to say i was on my way (cos he is one hour from me and it was almost closing time). He reassured me nothing was broken and gave me some ointment for his foot. kadabra let me apply the ointment and i just watched him all night long (literally). he hobbled along on his foot i felt so damn rotten but was grateful it was only his foot i got and did no further damage.
he prefered to sit in his hole upstairs in his barn so kept checking on him. I took him back to the vet as i really wanted an xray. I know the vet was competant and could probably tell if it was broken or not but i couldnt sleep and was making myself unwell about this. I got the xrays and as the vet said there was no problem. At least i slept a wee bit better but still felt extremely guilty. He gave me a lotion instead to help the bruising because the ointment was really sticking his breast feathers together. within two days of applying the lotion he was back to normal. He is now standing, pouncing, and using his foot to tear his food up just as he did before. So training will restart next week.
Glad he's back to his old self. And bi-lingual too, who says owls are daft! :)
just one more cute. the wall behind him is the back of his avairy there is a hole in it for him to get in and out. :P he's got a better set up than we do :roll: 8)
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