Can you help please!!

[piglady]

We found an owl hung in the fence this morning and still alive. We cut him loose and brought him to the house but he has a lot of damage to his wings. I have been on the phone calling the conservation office, zoo, bird rescues, etc. but it's Sunday morning and no one will call me back. By tomorrow it will be too late. Does anyone know of someone who can help here in Southern MO.

[Janis Sauncy]

How sad. Good for you for trying to help.

Have you tried the Audobon Society? Maybe listed in the Yellow Pages?

Good luck.

Janis

[Meg Z]

Call your county sheriff. Use the non-emergency number. They should be able to to give you emergency contact information for whatever wildlife office in your area cares for injured raptors.

Good luck, and thanks.

Meg

[suzyhomemaker09]

You may be able to contact someone at the Dickerson park zoo in Springfield if you are near there. I know last winter we rescued a snow goose that had a broken wing and they took it in, removed the damaged part of it's wing and now it has a permanent home there.
Good Luck

[Cabin Fever]

Use leather gloves, wrap it in a towel, put it in a dog crate and cover the crate with a blanket. Put it in a quiet dark place. Now, call your local vet, pronto.

That's a beautiful great horned owl.

[MTplainsman]

I've gone through this before with an eagle and once a hawk. I have had mixed results with this over here. The eagle was eventually taken care of by the Fish and Game, though it took 2 days! The hawk was a weekend deal though, and I couldn't get a hold of a soul. I took care of the hawk for three days. I did eventually called the Sheriffs department, and a deputy came out and plugged it. Heck after all the bull I went through to keep it alive, I could have plugged it myself! Thats how they handle these things over here. Guess there not worth the fuss. I took whole steak and slashed up with a sharp knife, layed on the grass in front of the eagle and got out of there to let it eat. Sometimes hurt birds have no appetite, and you can't do much for them. Sometimes it may be the next day before they will eat, as it takes awhile for shock to wear off. Remember, they get moisture form the meat, so don't fuss with offering water. Offer some good fresh mangled up meat, and leave it alone. Check on it only by peeking from a distance. Keep making the calls and hope they don't send out a gunman after all your efforts. Joel

[MTplainsman]

Cabin Fever Use leather gloves, wrap it in a towel, put it in a dog crate and cover the crate with a blanket. Put it in a quiet dark place. Now, call your local vet, pronto.

I got ahead of myself, CB has said the correct thing to do before you try and nurture the bird. Where you live, you may have a better chance at getting help before you have to try and help the bird yourself. Placing a bird in a dark place comforts them, and will give you time to place calls. Our vet never wanted to mess with them, and just suggested to keep trying the Fish and Game. Good luck, I never had much.

[piglady]

He is safe for now. We cut him out of the fence but he still has barbs in his wings. We didn't want to risk breaking the wing so we just cut on each side of it. We have him in a large box and he seems to be comfortable. I have called the sheriff's office and they said they would get back to me. Called the conservation agent for our county and left a voice mail, called every number I could find at the zoo and got recordings, called several vet offices and got the emergency operator. She said he would be fine until tomorrow but then tomorrow is a holiday and the zoo is closed. They do have a rapture rescue program if I could just get to that person. No one at the vet or at the police departments know who that is or their number. I have ran out of options here. We'll just have to hope he lives until I can find someone who will help him. Thanks for your suggestions.

[piglady]

Finally, the conservation guy called me back and he is on his way out to pick him up. He is taking him to the zoo and it will be used in their program if he makes it. This is the best ending possible. The owl will live and be put to use and my chickens will be safe!

[vancom]

Hurrah!

I had a youngish hawk in my netted chicken yard last year, and thankfully he or she finally got loose. I shooed all the chickens into the chicken coop --one already mangled--must have been the target--and then threw open the gate and hung back behind the chickecoop. I didn't see it get loose but it was gone in about 3 minutes--it was magnificent, and I had never seen a raptor so close up before. I admit it scared the crap out of me at first!

Good for you, and good for the horned owl!

[A'sta at Hofstead]

I love a happy ending, I hope he makes it ok there. That must have been pretty exciting, he is just so beautiful... but those talons!

[praise4him]

In our area there is a vet that all, or most other vets know about that rehabilitates inured animals like that. They have taken in bald eagles, hawks, all the way down to pigeons, sparrows, and baby squirrels. I would find out because this may happen again and the vet here (Ponti veterinary over in Spokane, WA for anyone in this area) is the best! They take care of all my animals. It is a drive to get there (about 45 minutes) but they are absolutely wonderful with animals.
Blessings and I will pray for complete recovery for the beautiful owl!
Jennifer

[Gideon]

We have chickens and if I caught one in my pen he would be history-SSS. Most areas have "birds of prey" centers to nurture sick/injured birds back to health. Ours is called the Rapture Center. I drop a hawk occasionally trying to grab a baby chick. They, dogs, and owls will destroy a flock of their favorite food. I love hawks/owls unless they start eating my food--then they have a bad day.

[blufford]

Maybe the feds would have got there sooner if you told them it was a bald eagle.

[Mrs_stuart]

glad someone is coming to pick him up...

I was going to suggest calling on of the state parks...they almost always have a naturalist on staff, especially during the weekends...but glad all is ending well.

Good luck...

Belinda

[DocM]

For future reference:

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm

Wildlife rehab directory, by state

[emulkahi1]

Wow!! Poor guy. I am glad that you found someone to come get him piglady!! I remember seeing a raptor exhibit a couple of years ago, with live birds sitting on their perches. All were no longer able to live in the wild because of injuries, etc. so they were being used in educational programs. Several had been hit by cars, but the larger majority had become entangled in barbed wire like this owl. The interpreter at that exhibit was saying that it is one of the most common injuries they see and was recommending that, if at all possible, people should avoid using that top strand of barbed wire for this reason. I'd never even considered that possibility and was really surprised that it was such a common issue. I can't imagine what an awful way that would be to go....tangled up and hanging from a fence. So anyway, I just thought I'd pass it on in case others were as clueless as I was about it. Seemed like a good bit of info.

I am happy that it sounds like this one has a good chance at a hopeful future . Thank you for sharing your story w/ us piglady! Glad you found the right contacts.....it is amazing how this sort of thing always seems to happen over a weekend or holiday :baby04: .

Erin

[Shepherd]

What a beautiful owl - I'm so glad you saved it.

[blue8ewe]

Fantastic. What a great picture. So glad you were able to get help.