Loons

[flynpa]

I have never read anything about keeping loons. Does anyone keep them? Is it legal? If so, what are they like? What do they need?

Thanks,
Stuart

 

[Narragansett]

There is a huge difference between keeping omnivorous ducks which do well on grains and commercial feeds, and keeping picivorous species such as loons, not the first of which is expense. You need a steady supply of the proper diet, which gets very expensive, as well as a lot of freezer space to store it. Then there's the knowledge needed to understand that the diets of picivores need to be supplemented due to the degradation of certain vitamins in their frozen diets, unless you happen to have a very reliable source of fresh food. Plus, loons do not walk very well on land, so need a facility with open water all year round. For these reasons, they are not even commonly kept in zoos.

 

[Blob Chicken]

I agree with the above.

Loons will need lots of space ,and are quite territorial. Along with lots of water they will also need very clean water. Not the muddy flith ducks are happy to swim in. Either daily water changes or a strong filtration system.

Also no ,without permits they are not legal to own ,as all loon species are native to north america.

Also fish eating birds REAK like fish. If you ever should wish to smell a loon, don't. They smell bad.

 

[Angie MI]

This is good info, I have also wondered about getting loons as I have waterfowl an the necessary permits. I guess loons would not be a good choice.

 

[Rloon]

Please visit www.michiganloons.org to learn more about these wild birds. Where are you located.
Loons are only found in the northern hemisphere - circumpolar. They CANNOT be kept in captivity

 

[Midnightman14]

We couldn't even do much with them at the Bird Rehab center I used to work at. Unless they were very young there wasn't much we could do to accommodate them.

 

[Rloon]

Loons - Loons absolutely cannot be kept in captivity. For information on loons and their protection visit www.michiganloons.org. Best to enjoy your backyard poultry. Smile.

 

[SergeantSniffle]

I wouldn't say they cannot be kept in captivity. See, if you have the money, time, and land you could have an enormous aviary built over a large, established lake with a steady population of breeding fish, (you could also introduce large batches of young native fish every year to boost the populations) then it could theoretically be done.

Also you'd need a whole load of permits in the US, although in Canada you'd need an aviculture permit for migratory birds, which would allow you to collect the eggs of loons, and hatch and raise them yourself. You could hatch the chicks under a broody hen, and keep them in a wet brooder type setup until they're fully feathered by which time you could release them into the aviary. When they're young feed them fish sized proportionally to their body, and somehow teach them to dive and catch food. This is a highly ambitious, unfeasable idea though.