LanczSpringer
07-07-2005, 10:57 PM
Hi last night when walking the dog we found a little owl laying at the side of the road.
I though at first it was a dead partridge but on looking closer I saw it was in fact a little owl, and it was still breathing.
We picked it up and and tucked it into our coat, after a min or so it opened it eyes and looked around.
It cant have been there long as it looked as though it was dazed and not many cars go down this little country lane.
We gave it a little inspection, checked its wings over they looked fine, checked its eyes they were fine and then checked its legs and talons (if you would call them talons ;-) )
If I didn't find any damage I would have just seen if it wanted to fly off!
There were no signs of broken bones but its left foot was failing to grip onto our finger and no movement of the leg my first (novice) impression was that it was a dislocated leg.
My girlfriend (Jen) walked back home and called our vets, told to leave it alone and take it to them in the morning, where they would check it over and treat it and then pass it on to someone they know.
Jen took it to the vets this morning and left it with them, but asked if she could phone up to see how it was going on, they said phone later and we will give you the number of the guy that's going to care for it.
she phoned back later in the afternoon to be told the number of the guy that's looking after the little little owl ( it only looked young).
The guy apparently likes people to phone up to see how the owls are doing, he told her that he is quite well known, has about 50 owls, and that the little owl was about 2 weeks old and must have been at the side of the road for at least two days as it was starving.
I was a little disappointed when I heard the guys name, its only rumors that I have heard about this chap but they were not good ones!
I am no owl expert, wouldn't even call my self an owl novice, but I would have thought the owl would still have had some down on it if it two weeks old!
I know I also said that the road was not that busy but there are few cars that go down the lane and it would have been squashed by the next car to go down, not to mention its quite a well used lane for taking dogs for walks!
Surely the size of the owl means its metabolism is fast and therefore its bound to be hungry!
Jen asked if it would be returned to the wild, the reply was we will have to see but a dislocation means it probably wont be able to go to the wild.
I also though the vets were going to treat it but apparently they just handed the owl straight over to him.
I would have though a dislocation would have healed quite well if treated properly, if I had know the poor little owl was going to end up in a collection (Rumored not to be kept in great conditions!!) then I would have tried anything else to help the little fella.
I hope the rumors are false or that the guy in question try's to get the owl to a state where it can be returned to the wild.
Is this guy allowed to legally keep this owl without any veterinary advice as to if the bird would be able to be returned to the wild? I hope not!!
(notice all correspondence about the "carer" of the owl has been kept anonymous as I don't want any slander cases against me!!)
I though at first it was a dead partridge but on looking closer I saw it was in fact a little owl, and it was still breathing.
We picked it up and and tucked it into our coat, after a min or so it opened it eyes and looked around.
It cant have been there long as it looked as though it was dazed and not many cars go down this little country lane.
We gave it a little inspection, checked its wings over they looked fine, checked its eyes they were fine and then checked its legs and talons (if you would call them talons ;-) )
If I didn't find any damage I would have just seen if it wanted to fly off!
There were no signs of broken bones but its left foot was failing to grip onto our finger and no movement of the leg my first (novice) impression was that it was a dislocated leg.
My girlfriend (Jen) walked back home and called our vets, told to leave it alone and take it to them in the morning, where they would check it over and treat it and then pass it on to someone they know.
Jen took it to the vets this morning and left it with them, but asked if she could phone up to see how it was going on, they said phone later and we will give you the number of the guy that's going to care for it.
she phoned back later in the afternoon to be told the number of the guy that's looking after the little little owl ( it only looked young).
The guy apparently likes people to phone up to see how the owls are doing, he told her that he is quite well known, has about 50 owls, and that the little owl was about 2 weeks old and must have been at the side of the road for at least two days as it was starving.
I was a little disappointed when I heard the guys name, its only rumors that I have heard about this chap but they were not good ones!
I am no owl expert, wouldn't even call my self an owl novice, but I would have thought the owl would still have had some down on it if it two weeks old!
I know I also said that the road was not that busy but there are few cars that go down the lane and it would have been squashed by the next car to go down, not to mention its quite a well used lane for taking dogs for walks!
Surely the size of the owl means its metabolism is fast and therefore its bound to be hungry!
Jen asked if it would be returned to the wild, the reply was we will have to see but a dislocation means it probably wont be able to go to the wild.
I also though the vets were going to treat it but apparently they just handed the owl straight over to him.
I would have though a dislocation would have healed quite well if treated properly, if I had know the poor little owl was going to end up in a collection (Rumored not to be kept in great conditions!!) then I would have tried anything else to help the little fella.
I hope the rumors are false or that the guy in question try's to get the owl to a state where it can be returned to the wild.
Is this guy allowed to legally keep this owl without any veterinary advice as to if the bird would be able to be returned to the wild? I hope not!!
(notice all correspondence about the "carer" of the owl has been kept anonymous as I don't want any slander cases against me!!)