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Nature Done Wright
Incorporating the Celery Farm and Screech Owl Companion blogs
May 28, 2007
Monday owlet update
All four are looking good and growing well.
There is still a size disparity, and a couple of owlets try to hog the food when the parents bring it at night, but all four appear healthy — at least at night.
Sometimes during the day, especially if it’s hot, they lie flat and breathe shallowly, and you’d think they were dead.
But they bounce back quickly.
As you can see from the image above, they are starting to fill up the entire box.
2 comments
-
From what I understand, the size differences are the result of a few factors.
The females tend to be larger, and the ones born earliest tend to be larger.
The four owlets were born roughly 10 days apart, with the first three within four days of each other and the final little one born six days later.
On top of that, the bigger ones are better at jockeying for the food when their mom and dad bring it in…
All of this contributes to the different sizes… -
Jim,
I probably missed it, but do you know what the difference in size among the chicks is caused by? Are the larger one’s females? Do Owls have “runts?”
Vern
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2 comments
jim wright
From what I understand, the size differences are the result of a few factors.
The females tend to be larger, and the ones born earliest tend to be larger.
The four owlets were born roughly 10 days apart, with the first three within four days of each other and the final little one born six days later.
On top of that, the bigger ones are better at jockeying for the food when their mom and dad bring it in…
All of this contributes to the different sizes…
Vern
Jim,
I probably missed it, but do you know what the difference in size among the chicks is caused by? Are the larger one’s females? Do Owls have “runts?”
Vern