…a holiday free of injured wildlife. Of course, for LWR that already won’t be the case, as we have the screech recovering from surgery and a barred owl we’re sorta kinda hoping for a miracle on.
Let’s start with the barred owl, as his situation is more quickly explained: He was found on the ground in a local WMA (wildlife management area), apparently unable to fly. A quick parking lot exam revealed swelling at the right elbow that was probably indicative of a fracture.
Let’s start with the barred owl, as his situation is more quickly explained: He was found on the ground in a local WMA (wildlife management area), apparently unable to fly. A quick parking lot exam revealed swelling at the right elbow that was probably indicative of a fracture.
The next day, an exam and x-rays by vet Richie Hatcher at Smalley’s Animal Hospital confirmed both a fracture and a dislocation. Both showed clear signs of callus formation, so this bird had been injured a while. Either injury by itself wasn’t good; combined, they appeared to be a death sentence. Unlike in Parts North, barred owls are about as common as dirt in Georgia, so educational facilities usually have a full complement and aren’t looking to take on additional barreds.
Richie went for the euthanasia solution, and I walked back into the exam room with vet tech Carma Goodman. The barred decided to get feisty and flared both his wings as I held him. Carma and I were somewhat surprised to see him flare the injured wing level with the good wing. Hmmm…
Richie came back in and I gently moved my arm up and down to make the barred flare his wings again. Richie’s reaction was the same as ours. Hmmm… He called for vet Jim Hobby to take a look. The barred did it again, powerfully flapping both wings perfectly levelly and in sync.
We all agreed to give him some time in the small flight pen to see what happens. If he can’t fly, we can always euthanize later, but once it’s done, you can’t take it back. So far he’s pretty much glued to one perch, although I know he can and does come down, as the mice I place in there overnight are gone the next morning. We’ll see…fingers crossed for this guy!
Now…if you’ll recall, the news wasn’t promising for Sir Screech last week, with the pupil in his good eye looking all weird and jagged. To my delighted surprise, however, after posting last week’s update I went to feed the little guy, and the eye looked perfectly normal. What the…???
Obviously, he went to the vet with the barred on Monday, where Richie and Jim could find no logical explanation for the smooth-jagged-smooth pupil. We dunno…Maybe we got that miracle you were all hoping for last week!
But Richie did tell me to bring him back Wednesday morning for his surgery. Remember, we knew we couldn’t save that right eye. It was ruptured; all that could be done was remove it to prevent potentially deadly infection. This is not something we’d normally do, to be honest. A bird with that extent of damage would normally be euthanized. We’ve done so in the past and will do so in the future.
So why not euthanize Sir Screech? His calm demeanor would make him an ideal educational bird, and he’d also make a good surrogate parent for screech babies. None of this is guaranteed, of course. It all depends on how he fares over the next few months. If we see his health is adversely affected or he seems unduly stressed by captivity, we’ll take the necessary action. But right now, we’re seriously leaning toward ed bird. Richie is as amazed as I am at how calm this little guy is and agrees that he’d be an excellent wildlife ambassador.
Sooo…back to the surgery…Wednesday morning, Richie was ready to work and I was ready to document his work with photos. Vet tech Betty Smith assisted Richie with gassing down and entubating our guy, after Richie crafted a makeshift and very serviceable tube when their smallest one was too big for Sir Screech’s airway.
Richie came back in and I gently moved my arm up and down to make the barred flare his wings again. Richie’s reaction was the same as ours. Hmmm… He called for vet Jim Hobby to take a look. The barred did it again, powerfully flapping both wings perfectly levelly and in sync.
We all agreed to give him some time in the small flight pen to see what happens. If he can’t fly, we can always euthanize later, but once it’s done, you can’t take it back. So far he’s pretty much glued to one perch, although I know he can and does come down, as the mice I place in there overnight are gone the next morning. We’ll see…fingers crossed for this guy!
Now…if you’ll recall, the news wasn’t promising for Sir Screech last week, with the pupil in his good eye looking all weird and jagged. To my delighted surprise, however, after posting last week’s update I went to feed the little guy, and the eye looked perfectly normal. What the…???
Obviously, he went to the vet with the barred on Monday, where Richie and Jim could find no logical explanation for the smooth-jagged-smooth pupil. We dunno…Maybe we got that miracle you were all hoping for last week!
But Richie did tell me to bring him back Wednesday morning for his surgery. Remember, we knew we couldn’t save that right eye. It was ruptured; all that could be done was remove it to prevent potentially deadly infection. This is not something we’d normally do, to be honest. A bird with that extent of damage would normally be euthanized. We’ve done so in the past and will do so in the future.
So why not euthanize Sir Screech? His calm demeanor would make him an ideal educational bird, and he’d also make a good surrogate parent for screech babies. None of this is guaranteed, of course. It all depends on how he fares over the next few months. If we see his health is adversely affected or he seems unduly stressed by captivity, we’ll take the necessary action. But right now, we’re seriously leaning toward ed bird. Richie is as amazed as I am at how calm this little guy is and agrees that he’d be an excellent wildlife ambassador.
Sooo…back to the surgery…Wednesday morning, Richie was ready to work and I was ready to document his work with photos. Vet tech Betty Smith assisted Richie with gassing down and entubating our guy, after Richie crafted a makeshift and very serviceable tube when their smallest one was too big for Sir Screech’s airway.
I realize not everybody finds wildlife surgery as fascinating as we rehabbers do, so in the interest of weak stomachs out there, I’ve limited the photos of the surgery below to the less gory stuff. I’m constantly amazed at the skill of my vets, though, and am grateful each time they allow me to observe and document their work. It’s friggin’ awesome!
The damaged eye…
Removing the eye…
Stitching the eye shut…
Waiting for the screech to wake up…
Sitting in Richie’s hand after surgery.
While his appetite was off Wednesday night, it was back to normal Thursday morning and he hasn’t slowed down since. (Sorry the video’s a bit out of focus in spots; apparently screech camouflage affects camera lenses!)
Remember that the 2015 LWR calendars are available through Lulu.com (link below) for $16.50 + shipping. US, UK and Canadian holidays are featured, and $5 of each purchase goes toward funding next year’s rehab efforts. We’re up to nine calendars sold, and while at this point they won’t arrive in time for Christmas giving, everybody needs a good calendar for the New Year, so order yours now!
Also, while you may be done with your online Christmas shopping, please remember throughout the year that when you shop at AmazonSmile, Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price to Laurens Wildlife Rescue Inc. Bookmark the link http://smile.amazon.com/ch/26-1668846 and support us every time you shop.
And finally…
And finally…
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