No holiday would be complete without at least one rehab call, and sure enough, just before dinner (that’s the noon meal here in the South, folks) on Thanksgiving Day, “the call” came in. A lady on her way to her mother’s for Thanksgiving had found an owl in the road. Since she was several counties away, it would be several hours before she could get him to me, so we made plans to meet later in the day.
When I met her and picked up the bird, an adult male barred owl, a cursory parking lot exam didn’t reveal any obvious broken bones, but the poor guy had a massive concussion. His head was “sho-nuff” hurtin’. He kept his head hanging low most of the time; his feet were balled…Still, no broken bones—that was a GOOD thing!
When I got him home under better lighting for a more thorough exam, his beak was cracked and both eyes were cloudy, the right more so than the left. Cloudy eyes are never a good sign. There’s blood in the eyeball, so we have eye trauma. Sometimes it’s just blood that reabsorbs; sometimes it signals more serious damage to the eye. I didn’t see any obvious lens damage, but there was so much blood that it was hard to see anything else, so…we wait until the blood begins to dissipate to see what damage there is to the interior of the eye.
When I met her and picked up the bird, an adult male barred owl, a cursory parking lot exam didn’t reveal any obvious broken bones, but the poor guy had a massive concussion. His head was “sho-nuff” hurtin’. He kept his head hanging low most of the time; his feet were balled…Still, no broken bones—that was a GOOD thing!
When I got him home under better lighting for a more thorough exam, his beak was cracked and both eyes were cloudy, the right more so than the left. Cloudy eyes are never a good sign. There’s blood in the eyeball, so we have eye trauma. Sometimes it’s just blood that reabsorbs; sometimes it signals more serious damage to the eye. I didn’t see any obvious lens damage, but there was so much blood that it was hard to see anything else, so…we wait until the blood begins to dissipate to see what damage there is to the interior of the eye.
Concussed raptors generally won’t eat for 24-48 hours, until their poor heads stop ringing, so I waited until Saturday night to offer a rat. The cracked beak worried me, but I wanted to see if he could a) eat without the food being cut up and b) locate the rat on his own.
I’m happy to report that while both eyes are still cloudy and the left looks like there may be a lens issue, he’s able to locate the rats in an enclosed environment and eat them without any help!
I’m happy to report that while both eyes are still cloudy and the left looks like there may be a lens issue, he’s able to locate the rats in an enclosed environment and eat them without any help!
Don’t worry; that bloody spot you see behind him is all that remains of his morning rat!
My vets were closed for the holiday weekend, so I’ll be taking this guy in Monday for further assessment of his eyes, but I’m cautiously optimistic that he might have a chance, if we just give those eyes a little time. One is probably trashed, but because owls hunt primarily by hearing, as long as he has one good eye, he should be fine for release at some point in the near future.
As a reminder, there’s just one week remaining in the LWR online raffle, and we still have only three people’s names in the pot for the prize. To jog your memory, Macon, Georgia’s Grand Opera House has very generously donated 2 tickets to Bring It On: The Musical in January and through Dec. 6, donors will have their names entered into the drawing for the tickets, valued at $100. For every $5 donated, your name will go in the pot once, i.e., donate $25 and you’re entered 5 times. You can use the PayPal links located on each page of the website to donate, or mail your donations to Laurens Wildlife Rescue, 1101-L Hillcrest Pkwy, PMB #255, Dublin, GA 31021. The lucky winner will be announced in the Dec. 8 update!
Sales of the 2014 calendars, featuring 12 photos of LWR’s “guests” in 2013 and available from Lulu.com: http://www.lulu.com/shop/laurens-wildlife-rescue-2014-calendar/calendar/product-21282459.html?showPreview=true , are still quite sluggish—3 sold so far. 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 offering a 10% discount for at least the next week, and as an added bonus, Lulu.com is offering free shipping from now through Dec. 24 if you use the code FREESHIP.
My vets were closed for the holiday weekend, so I’ll be taking this guy in Monday for further assessment of his eyes, but I’m cautiously optimistic that he might have a chance, if we just give those eyes a little time. One is probably trashed, but because owls hunt primarily by hearing, as long as he has one good eye, he should be fine for release at some point in the near future.
As a reminder, there’s just one week remaining in the LWR online raffle, and we still have only three people’s names in the pot for the prize. To jog your memory, Macon, Georgia’s Grand Opera House has very generously donated 2 tickets to Bring It On: The Musical in January and through Dec. 6, donors will have their names entered into the drawing for the tickets, valued at $100. For every $5 donated, your name will go in the pot once, i.e., donate $25 and you’re entered 5 times. You can use the PayPal links located on each page of the website to donate, or mail your donations to Laurens Wildlife Rescue, 1101-L Hillcrest Pkwy, PMB #255, Dublin, GA 31021. The lucky winner will be announced in the Dec. 8 update!
Sales of the 2014 calendars, featuring 12 photos of LWR’s “guests” in 2013 and available from Lulu.com: http://www.lulu.com/shop/laurens-wildlife-rescue-2014-calendar/calendar/product-21282459.html?showPreview=true , are still quite sluggish—3 sold so far. 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 offering a 10% discount for at least the next week, and as an added bonus, Lulu.com is offering free shipping from now through Dec. 24 if you use the code FREESHIP.
And finally, while the flyers are increasingly camera shy, I did manage these few shots of them being impossibly cute, so enjoy while I can still snag a few shots of them every now and then!
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