Yep, the local barred owls continue to enact their mass suicide pact. LWR received two more barreds this week, one with life-ending injuries and one today whose fate is still uncertain.
The barred owl who came in earlier in the week was found in the middle of the road. Both his wings were broken—both open fractures. I mean, his wings faced backward and upside down. There was nothing to be done for this guy but to end his suffering.
The barred owl who came in earlier in the week was found in the middle of the road. Both his wings were broken—both open fractures. I mean, his wings faced backward and upside down. There was nothing to be done for this guy but to end his suffering.
The barred who came in today flew into a driver’s truck grille on the interstate last night. His wing is definitely broken, but it’s not an open fracture. He also lists to the side, as if he might have a hip or pelvic fracture. X-rays tomorrow will determine his fate.
Really, the barred owl situation this year has been insane. In the past six weeks, 63% of LWR’s intakes have been barred owls, with a 60% euthanasia rate, due to the fatal nature of their injuries. That figure may go up to 80 or 100% tomorrow, depending on today’s barred intake’s x-rays.
Last week’s concussed barred owl now appears to be totally blind. A vet exam last Monday did confirm a luxated lens in the right eye. This means the lens was ripped loose by the force of impact when he hit the car. It’s not fixable, but we thought the left eye looked okay, and he was eating the white rats I placed on a white puppy pad in his box, so he had to be able to see them, right? He was doing so well I placed a perch in his box Friday.
Last week’s concussed barred owl now appears to be totally blind. A vet exam last Monday did confirm a luxated lens in the right eye. This means the lens was ripped loose by the force of impact when he hit the car. It’s not fixable, but we thought the left eye looked okay, and he was eating the white rats I placed on a white puppy pad in his box, so he had to be able to see them, right? He was doing so well I placed a perch in his box Friday.
Friday night he didn’t eat his rat. It had been unseasonably warm, and sometimes the warmer weather will dampen appetites a bit, so I wasn’t too concerned when his rat was untouched Saturday morning. However, when it was still untouched this morning, I began to suspect optic nerve damage in the left eye. To test the theory, I took his perch away. Within half an hour, the rat was gone. I offered a second rat, still no perch. Again, gone within half an hour.
The bird apparently had been finding the rats by feel. On the perch, he couldn’t see where they were, and he couldn’t see to get off the perch, so he just didn’t eat. I’ll be having him re-examined tomorrow, as well, to see if there might be a chance that issue in the left eye will resolve over time. Optic nerve damage can be tricky—you can’t see it, and sometimes it resolves but more often it doesn’t. We’ll decide this poor barred’s fate tomorrow, as well. I’m not optimistic.
And that will mean 100% euthanasias for barreds in the past six weeks. Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends and Jennifer Gardner of Gardner Veterinary Services (and also a licensed rehabber) are reporting similar outcomes for their barred owl intakes. The issue seems to be lack of prey, with the added burden of migration, so that hungry raptors are hunting near roads and having fatal encounters with vehicles.
When raptors DO snag prey, however, they eat everything—bones, fur, and flesh. Because they can’t actually digest the bones and fur, they regurgitate it in the form of pellets—much like a cat’s hairball. The pellet-casting also helps to keep the digestive tract clean and functioning smoothly. Why am I telling you this? Because I snapped a photo of a very nicely-formed pellet this past week for your viewing pleasure. Sorry, didn’t think about using the dissection forceps to pry it apart…
The bird apparently had been finding the rats by feel. On the perch, he couldn’t see where they were, and he couldn’t see to get off the perch, so he just didn’t eat. I’ll be having him re-examined tomorrow, as well, to see if there might be a chance that issue in the left eye will resolve over time. Optic nerve damage can be tricky—you can’t see it, and sometimes it resolves but more often it doesn’t. We’ll decide this poor barred’s fate tomorrow, as well. I’m not optimistic.
And that will mean 100% euthanasias for barreds in the past six weeks. Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends and Jennifer Gardner of Gardner Veterinary Services (and also a licensed rehabber) are reporting similar outcomes for their barred owl intakes. The issue seems to be lack of prey, with the added burden of migration, so that hungry raptors are hunting near roads and having fatal encounters with vehicles.
When raptors DO snag prey, however, they eat everything—bones, fur, and flesh. Because they can’t actually digest the bones and fur, they regurgitate it in the form of pellets—much like a cat’s hairball. The pellet-casting also helps to keep the digestive tract clean and functioning smoothly. Why am I telling you this? Because I snapped a photo of a very nicely-formed pellet this past week for your viewing pleasure. Sorry, didn’t think about using the dissection forceps to pry it apart…
When a concerned young man called me about a pigeon down in town, I presumed he meant an adult pigeon. Upon intake, however, I was shocked to find that I had a fledgling pigeon—fully feathered, short tail feathers, still bits of “cactus fuzz” down sticking randomly through the feathers, and still making baby “whines” rather than adult coos.
He looked pretty rough and weighed only 15g, which is starvation-thin, near-death-thin for a pigeon. To put it in perspective, a fledgling mockingbird averages around 35-40g. He had poop caked rock-hard to his little bottom. He just looked rough. But…he was alert and fairly active, considering I’d gotten him in after dark.
He looked pretty rough and weighed only 15g, which is starvation-thin, near-death-thin for a pigeon. To put it in perspective, a fledgling mockingbird averages around 35-40g. He had poop caked rock-hard to his little bottom. He just looked rough. But…he was alert and fairly active, considering I’d gotten him in after dark.
Because he was dehydrated, the first thing was to get some fluids in his system. I couldn’t even start meds until he was hydrated. We spent the night becoming acquainted, with me pulling dried poop off his little butt and giving him fluids every few hours. (Relax, I did allow the poor bird some respite after 11pm, when all the poop was off and I’d gotten sufficient fluids in him.)
By morning he was looking better and had gotten quite feisty, trying to run from me to avoid food, water and meds. I’m still hand-feeding, as he refuses to attempt self-feeding thus far. His weight is slowly increasing, and he’s looking less rough, so I think he’s gonna have a pretty good chance at a spring release.
By morning he was looking better and had gotten quite feisty, trying to run from me to avoid food, water and meds. I’m still hand-feeding, as he refuses to attempt self-feeding thus far. His weight is slowly increasing, and he’s looking less rough, so I think he’s gonna have a pretty good chance at a spring release.
As promised, the drawing for the tickets to Bring It On: The Musical in January was held on Friday, and the winner is Teresa Hooks of East Dublin, GA. Congrats, Teresa! You should be receiving an email shortly with further details.
For those of you who would still like to donate to LWR’s 2014 rehab efforts, we still have our 2014 calendars selling through Lulu.com: http://www.lulu.com/shop/laurens-wildlife-rescue-2014-calendar/calendar/product-21282459.html?showPreview=true. Remember that all proceeds above Lulu.com’s fees will be used to fund LWR’s operations next year, so buy lots of calendars—they’ll make great Christmas gifts or stocking stuffers! The button below will take you directly to the Lulu site and add a calendar to your shopping cart automatically. I’m retaining the 10% discount for at least another week, and as an added bonus, Lulu.com is offering free shipping from now through Dec. 24 if you use the code FREESHIP.
For those of you who would still like to donate to LWR’s 2014 rehab efforts, we still have our 2014 calendars selling through Lulu.com: http://www.lulu.com/shop/laurens-wildlife-rescue-2014-calendar/calendar/product-21282459.html?showPreview=true. Remember that all proceeds above Lulu.com’s fees will be used to fund LWR’s operations next year, so buy lots of calendars—they’ll make great Christmas gifts or stocking stuffers! The button below will take you directly to the Lulu site and add a calendar to your shopping cart automatically. I’m retaining the 10% discount for at least another week, and as an added bonus, Lulu.com is offering free shipping from now through Dec. 24 if you use the code FREESHIP.
And because I like to end the updates with a dose of cute when I can, especially this time of year, I offer you a few more shots of the flyers eating mealies and peering suspiciously at the camera. Enjoy!
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