*cough* I didn't forget you, I promise *cough*. Okay, maybe I did.
Anywaaaaay, I have a big announcement! Our family has grown!
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If you have been following me on Twitter or Snapchat (Konnieee16), you will see that I have spoken and shared pictures of two new bundles of fluff - literally, that's all they currently are! I would like to formally introduce you to Smokey and Bandit!
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| They will not sit still together long enough for me to get a good picture!! |
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Smokey is a 6 week old Dark Breasted Barn Owl, and Bandit is a 4 1/2 week old British Barn Owl. They are 10 days apart in age, and they are a bloody nightmare! They bicker, they talk to each other constantly. Oh, and Smokey is currently in the 'exploring' stage. This means he will run away from you, and get into all the small spaces - or his new favourite thing, climb stairs!
This time of their life, I call the 'ugly' stage. They are currently just balls of fluff, with a huge face. At this stage, they are just trying to figure out how to walk, and are constantly asleep!
Hopefully around next week, or the week after, Smokey will be getting his adult feathers, and be getting rid of the downy fluff, he/she currently has. As they are so young, we don't know what gender they are. As soon as they start getting all their feathers, then we will know. If they have spots over the stomach, it is a female. If not, a male.
I have Smokey, the Dark Breasted, and I can already see the differences between him/her and Bear. The colour is the most obvious. As you can see in the picture, Smokey (Smo) has a much darker face than Bandit. His downy fluff is also darker than Bandits. They are very small, but significant differences between them. I find it hard to mix them up, but somehow my mum always does!
If you know anything about me, this is something I have been talking about for months! I really regret not getting another Barn Owl when I got Bear. I've wanted two, so I can fly them together. I want them to grow up together, and gain confidence through the other. Smokey is my bird, and Bandit is my sisters, but I will be the one training them both.
As they are still so young, I am going to try and get them used to everything now, so they are 'bombproof'. They are going to come everywhere with me, and see all sorts of things. Dogs is my only real concern. As we no longer have a dog, I am going to have to introduce dogs to them in the near future.
So yeah, I'm a mum...again! I genuinely forgot how hard it is having a baby again. Believe me, it's much harder than looking after an actual baby. A human baby you can put down, and know they won't go anywhere if you pop out of the room for 5 minutes. A baby Owl, if you leave it, you will find it stuck under the sofa/a unit/trying to chew a cable!
It's all worth it though. I can't wait to start training these two liccle ones. It won't be long!
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How cute are they though! Follow me on Snapchat to see more of our adventures!
Konnie
xox
