tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58794208318001087892024-03-13T16:28:34.386+02:00Livingstone Wildlife BlogLivingstone is in southern Zambia. This blog includes stories and photos of the wildlife I see and meet in and around Livingstone.Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-65101234108426088802014-07-19T19:06:00.000+02:002014-07-19T19:06:05.149+02:00Tula the owl still refusing to eat<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More than two weeks after I rescued Tula the barn owl, she is still refusing to feed herself. Whatever food I put in her cage she just ignores it. So almost every evening I have to force-feed her. My sister helped once or twice, when she visited. Here she is feeding her mincemeat with tweezers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She also gave her water through a syringe, as there is no evidence that she drinks by herself from her water bowl.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A week later I am still having to force food into Tula's mouth almost every night. Some nights I just put food in her cage, but she always ignores it. After forcing her to swallow a mouthful of mincemeat she squints up her eyes and appears to either be in great pain or asleep. It seems to be very exhausting for her to swallow. I just cannot work out what is wrong with her. But amazingly she is still alive! She is quite weak and light so I am very hesitant to release her, especially without knowing what the problem is. If only she could tell me...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-58084143957211244552014-07-12T10:33:00.001+02:002014-07-12T10:33:30.767+02:00Tula the owl, continued<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A week after rescuing Tula the owl, she was still refusing to eat anything. I tried dead mice, small fish and mincemeat, but she showed no interest at all.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During the day she just sleeps.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And at night she desperately tries to get to get out of the cage.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thought of releasing her, but she still shows some sign of damage to one eye, and when I picked her up she felt very light.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So two days ago I started force-feeding her with mincemeat. I managed to get some meat into her mouth, which she eventually swallowed, although she was far more interesting in attacking my hand with her sharp beak!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday I forced some more food into her, which she reluctantly swallowed. She seemed a bit weaker, although still vicious with her claws!</span></div>
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Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-6546313360160563522014-07-07T20:28:00.000+02:002014-07-07T20:28:34.811+02:00Tula the barn owl<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Tula is a another barn owl that I received on 3<sup>rd</sup> July 2014. She was found on the ground with blood on her beak
and apparently unable to fly. I couldn’t find any other injuries, but she was
squinting her eyes, implying she was in pain. I don't actually know what sex it is but have just decided to call her a "she".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I put her in my owl recovery cage and let her settle down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The next day I had my sister
examine her for broken bones, as she has experience in this. She did not find
any and suggested she might be a young owl, not yet able to fly. It is possible
that she was knocked out of a nest or off a perch by people throwing stones at her. Owls do not have a good reputation here – they are associated with
witchcraft and death, so are not treated well. Tula does not look very young, as she has no signs of the downy feathers that the babies have. But perhaps she has not learnt to fly yet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">On the second night I offered her a
dead mouse for dinner, but she showed no interest. So I tried cutting it up, since
young owls often have their food cut up for them by their mothers or older
siblings. She still did not touch it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So the next night I offered her some small fish together with another small mouse. In the morning I found the
dead mouse in a different place but not eaten.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Three days after being rescued,
Tula owl appears to be feeling a bit better and is becoming quite defensive every
time I come near the cage, puffing up to look bigger than she really is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Baby owls usually make a drawn out
hissing sound, “shhhhhh”, through most of the night, but this one is very
quiet. That's why I called her Tula, which means "quiet". Also because her quietness makes it difficult for me to find out what is wrong with her - if only she could tell me. She does have a habit of bowing her head right down and then shaking it from side to side, after her impressive "look how big and scary I am" display. I am not sure exactly what it means, but it appears to be part of the threat display. You can see it in this video clip. It's actually quite funny.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">On the fourth day, for the first
time, Tula left the safety of her box in the evening and moved out into the open part of the
cage to look around. I have given her another small mouse in the
hope that she will eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-18546491039177874682012-11-01T13:00:00.000+02:002012-11-01T13:02:08.924+02:00Goodbye Amigo<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">This morning I checked on Amigo the owl and
found he was not in the cage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I
noticed the catch on the door was open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In great concern I searched the whole garden but could not find him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">I am very upset and puzzled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a complete mystery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I always close the catch after feeding
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can not understand how it
was left open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it possible a stranger
walked into the yard and opened the catch to let him out?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Or was it left open by mistake when someone checked on him?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Whatever the reason, I am worried about
Amigo’s chances of survival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a
barely healed broken wing and one blind eye, coupled with his lack of exercise
for the last two and a half weeks and his refusal to feed on his own, I
think his survival chances in the wild are slim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Added to these problems, white-faced owls do
not normally occur in town, so he will be unlikely to find any of his
kind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I just have to hope for the
best and that he will make it somehow.<u></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Goodbye, my dear and beautiful friend Amigo... </span></span></div>
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Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-39315975946447610422012-10-31T19:48:00.000+02:002012-11-01T12:53:10.903+02:00Update on Amigo the owl<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Amigo the white-faced owl is still not
eating on his own, so I have to push food into his mouth every evening. He eats a mixture of minced beef, kapenta
fish and pieces of mouse that I cut up for him.
I have not managed to get him to swallow a whole one. Perhaps they are too big for him.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Feeding time </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"> Trying to keep <span style="font-size: small;">cool</span></span></span></span></div>
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</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB">On 26<sup>th</sup> October Amigo managed to
remove his cardboard wing splint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
found it lying in the cage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the next
day I had my sister come and check on his wing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After examination she said the bone seemed to be healing, so she
suggested leaving the splint off.</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB">Meanwhile, his injured left eye has begun
to shrink, so he may not recover his sight in that eye as I had hoped.</span></div>
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Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-63129376085775745132012-10-19T18:55:00.000+02:002012-10-19T19:12:51.586+02:00Amigo's story continued<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amigo the White-faced Owl is still alive, amazingly, after
being hit by a car a week ago. He has
been rather inactive, probably still suffering from concussion. One day I found him covered in ants because
he had just been sitting still the whole day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I almost thought he was completely blind because he hardly
responded to any movement, only sound and touch. But the next day he was responding, though
slowly. I just hope he does not have
permanent brain damage.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u_LRHzY61Xc/UIGCUUfZKSI/AAAAAAAAAfM/M4AEKcuAM20/s1600/1210160009+x25.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u_LRHzY61Xc/UIGCUUfZKSI/AAAAAAAAAfM/M4AEKcuAM20/s320/1210160009+x25.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Doesn't</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> he look cute here, sitting on my hand (which,
luckily for me, was protected with an oven glove at the time!)</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started him on <i>kapenta</i> (small fish), which he seems to
like. I alternate this with minced
beef. He is not feeding by himself yet,
I have to push the food into his mouth and then he swallows willingly. He is eating a good amount – the equivalent
of one or two mice a day, which is a good sign.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday he came out of his box for the first time and was
looking much livelier.</span></div>
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Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-1880654870569649042012-10-15T11:27:00.002+02:002012-10-19T19:07:44.981+02:00Amigo's Story<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Three days ago I acquired a
white-faced owl. It had been hit by a
car the night before and ended up on the bonnet, rather dazed. On examination it was found to have an
injured left eye and a broken wing. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It did not eat anything the first night. I called it Amigo, after the Amigo Crisps box
that it came in. Amigo happens to mean "friend" in Spanish, which is a nice name for my new friend.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ukLjalmTIGQ/UIGIqoZWWaI/AAAAAAAAAf0/2nU9JIIkmO8/s1600/1210140006+x20.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ukLjalmTIGQ/UIGIqoZWWaI/AAAAAAAAAf0/2nU9JIIkmO8/s320/1210140006+x20.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The following day my
sister helped to put a cardboard splint on its broken wing. That night I force-fed it with mincemeat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Managed to force-feed Amigo again last night. He is not looking too happy, but is still alive, and did manage to eat a fair amount, which is a hopeful sign. I have no idea if he has any internal injuries from the accident. Only time will tell.</span></div>
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<br />Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-25150196555181893712012-09-06T23:29:00.001+02:002012-09-06T23:30:46.873+02:00Releasing Fighter the Owl<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I have now had Fighter the Barn Owl for two and a half months. In spite of being found with a severely broken wing and an injured leg, he appears to have made a full recovery.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">A few days ago I noticed him making strange hissing and whining sounds that I had not heard before, and he seemed quite restless. So this evening (</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">6th </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">September) I decided to release
him.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I opened the top door of the cage
and after looking round curiously for a while he came out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He flew laboriously and not very far, soon landing on the
ground. I walked over to him and he flew off again, failing to reach any tree and landing on the
ground again. So at least I know he can fly that high when
he tries. After that I saw him fly back
and forth between the roof and some large trees. A bit worrying was the neighbour’s cat
hunched and alert on the ground, waiting to see if it would get tired and come
down to the ground again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o62PkxBQ4B8/UEkUM57ZyyI/AAAAAAAAAeM/8yR-fIP7do4/s1600/1209060042+cr_x25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o62PkxBQ4B8/UEkUM57ZyyI/AAAAAAAAAeM/8yR-fIP7do4/s320/1209060042+cr_x25.jpg" width="320" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">On the next two attempts he flew into fences. I was very concerned by now that he was not really strong enough to fly far enough or fast enough to survive for long. I was particularly concerned that he might land in a neighbouring garden, because some of my neighbours are particularly averse to owls and would do anything to kill them. So I kept approaching his landing place to try and either re-catch him or at least steer him away from neighbouring gardens. Then finally he flew off and I could not follow where he had gone. I searched the whole back garden, both on the ground and in the trees, but there was no trace. Worried and very concerned for his future I gave up the search. No sooner had I gone back in the house than one of the kids heard scratching noises on the roof. I rushed outside to find him sitting on the roof of the house, quite a distance from where I had last seen him. </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9GNYGkQ-nNQ/UEkUQaTCdnI/AAAAAAAAAeU/Pa4kBvzLtVY/s1600/1209060043+cr_x25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9GNYGkQ-nNQ/UEkUQaTCdnI/AAAAAAAAAeU/Pa4kBvzLtVY/s320/1209060043+cr_x25.jpg" width="320" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I have left some food in his cage with the door open, just in case he gets hungry before he manages to find his own food.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I am very concerned for Fighter’s future, but against all
odds he has made it this far and is, like Harry Potter, "the boy who lived" (although I don't actually know if he is male or female). </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I sincerely hope he will survive his new life in the
wild and that he will really prove to be one of my "success stories".</span></div>
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<br />Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-59766847583548461652012-09-06T23:14:00.002+02:002012-09-06T23:14:22.016+02:00Fighter the owl recovers<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">2nd September 2012</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">During the past month Fighter has been gradually healing and
getting stronger. By the end of August
his wing looked quite back to normal and his limp seemed to have gone. He was getting quite restless and constantly
trying to get out of the cage. I decided to keep him just a bit longer to make sure he was fully recovered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-37494930553318645882012-09-06T23:09:00.000+02:002012-09-06T23:32:52.046+02:00Update on Fighter the Barn Owl<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I gave fighter this name because he has fought to survive,
unlike many injured birds that I have tried to save. In my last post I
mentioned that Fighter, after two-and-a-half weeks, had finally started eating
out of my hand voluntarily, instead of being force-fed. Soon Fighter was
feeding directly from a plate, and not long after I started feeding him on
small dead mice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">On the 14<sup>th</sup> of July, after I had had Fighter for
three weeks, my sister said it was time to remove the splint. She said that by this time the bone had
either healed or was not going to heal.
So with a pair of scissors and fingers, she carefully removed the duct
tape and cardboard that had been supporting the bone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">She said as far as she could tell, the bone appeared to have
healed. But only time would tell. Fighter was still dragging his injured wing,
but she said that the muscles would take time to get strong again.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-2132185224514850222012-09-06T23:03:00.000+02:002012-09-06T23:33:47.223+02:00Fighter the barn owl<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Fighter, the barn owl, was found outside the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Livingstone</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place> on the morning of 23rd June. He had a broken wing and could not
fly. One of the staff brought him inside,
and I later came and rescued him. On
examination his left upper wing bone was found to be rather badly broken. With my sister’s help we fixed him up with a
cardboard splint, held on with duct tape.
He appeared to be limping a bit but we could not see any obvious injury
to his legs. Luckily I had a cage ready
that I keep for injured and abandoned birds that need attention. I put some water in the cage but decided not
to try feeding it until it had settled down.
My experience with injured birds is they will not feed the first day or
two after being put into captivity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The next day I noticed he was not standing on his right leg, but holding it up all the time.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I examined it and thought it felt broken, but was not sure.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I decided to leave it, since the owl was still in some shock at being held captive and was obviously still in a lot of pain, so I did not want to handle it too much.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">That evening I tried feeding him with some mincemeat.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">He would not feed willingly so I forced some into his mouth, which he then swallowed.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Every day I tried to get him to feed by itself, but he would not.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I even tried him on dead mice, but he would not show any interest.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">So I had to go on force-feeding him.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I would shove a small mouse down his throat and he would then swallow, sometimes leaving the tail hanging out for a while.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In the cage is a little house that Fighter sleeps in during
the day. In the evenings he comes out
and looks around.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">For the next two weeks I would force-feed him most
evenings. It was not easy, as holding an
owl with a broken wing and probably a broken leg without hurting it is not
easy. Added to this was the fact that he
was very scared of being handled, so panicked every time I came near. For the first few days he seemed quite weak
and in pain, and I did not have much hope of him surviving. I have had very little success with injured
adult birds. However, as the days went
by he began gaining strength and began to attack me when tried to get hold of
him for his daily feed. So I thought I
would let him feed himself and again tried putting mincemeat or dead mice in
front of him in the cage. The next
morning it would be untouched.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">After I had had him for about two weeks, one day I found
Fighter on the top shelf of the cage for the first time. I did not know if he had flown up there or
climbed up the netting. But over the
next few days I saw him doing both. The
broken wing is very lop-sided with the splint on it, but he can still flap
around quite a lot. This was a good
sign. But still he was not eating by
himself and fought every time against being force-fed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I was really wondering what the best option was. Firstly, he had not died in two weeks, so
there was a good chance of him surviving.
But he would not feed himself and viciously resented being held and
force-fed. So what should I do? I tried starving him for a day or two. That did not work. But then finally, a few days later, when
I was really at my wit’s end about what to do, I went to feed him, holding his good wing in one hand and coving up his sharp, attacking claws with an oven
glove, I started feeding him. Finally he calmed down and began to take the food from my hand, for the first time. I was so relieved, because it was a first
step towards independence. The next day
I did the same and again he took the food (mincemeat) from my hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">12 July 2012 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Today I mixed some kapenta (small fish) in with the
mincemeat and put it on a plate. The
moment I came near he climbed up the side of the cage and flapped about. So I had to catch him, but when I touched the
food to his beak he soon calmed down and began eating out of my hand
again. Eventually I was able to
completely let go of him and he went on eating from my hand, just above the
plate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">It is encouraging, firstly that Fighter has survived more than two weeks
in captivity with two rather badly injured limbs, and secondly, that he
is finally learning to feed </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">himself and getting more used to being handled.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I hope that in the next few days he will
learn to feed directly from the plate and that soon he will also take dead mice
by himself.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">He appears to be in less
pain and is getting more active every day.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Unfortunately it may take some time for his bones to heal.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">But if they do heal well, hopefully he can
eventually be set free and live the rest of his life out in the wild.</span></div>
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<br />Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-62457762020685561592012-09-06T22:27:00.002+02:002012-09-06T22:28:14.954+02:00Update on dovesI have not updated this blog for quite a while. Unfortunately the two little doves I last wrote about did not survive. They were doing so well but then one day they just got sick and died soon after.Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-76340996469389878092009-05-24T10:18:00.000+02:002012-09-06T23:38:04.275+02:00A Pair of DovesJust over a week ago, on 16th May, I received a pair of baby doves to look after. They had been delivered to my Sister’s house on her farm the day before. They had either fallen out of a nest or been taken out by some little boys. <br />
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They were tiny. They were just beginning to grow feathers, but were mostly just covered in furry yellow down. I took one look at their beaks, with big bulges at the nostrils, and decided they must be doves. I did not know which type, but knew they must be a lot smaller than domestic pigeons, having raised one a year ago, which was huge.</div>
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My sister had started feeding them on chicken food (broiler starter crumbles) soaked in water, which she says is excellent food for baby birds. She asked if I would like to take them on and I said I would love to. I have raised wild doves and domestic pigeons before and it is great fun. Seed eaters are so much easier to look after than insect eaters. They also tend to be quite tame.</div>
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We first started feeding them by hand. Having made a paste with the chicken food and water, we held it between the fingers and the chicks pecked it out of our hands. Pigeons and doves naturally take food out of their mother’s mouths, unlike some other baby birds that just hold their mouths wide open for the mother to drop the food in.<br />
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I soon resorted to a method we previously used on a pigeon, using a plastic syringe, which is much easier and less messy. I cut the end off a 2ml syringe, so that it becomes a tube of equal diameter all the way along. Then suck the food paste up and it serves as a mother dove’s beak. The baby bird pushes its beak into the end of the syringe and starts gulping the food down.</div>
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I feed the birds three times a day – about 10-11 syringe-fulls at a time. My children help me, as it is hard work feeding twins! One baby is slightly bigger than the other. We do not know if this is because one is greedier than the other.<br />
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The baby birds live in a tiny cardboard box, lined with old rags, which serves as their nest. This is put, together with more cloths and two hot-water bottles, inside a plastic shopping basket. I keep the lid on just in case of cats. They are very quiet, but usually start calling gently around feeding time – a very soft “chwee, chwee”. When I get them out they get all excited and start feeling all around with their beaks for the food. I change the hot water bottles after feeding them. I also change their “nappy/diaper” (the cloth they sit on) after each feed.</div>
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Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-12207438355311056912008-12-20T12:42:00.003+02:002008-12-20T13:01:17.156+02:00Independence<strong>25th May</strong><br />The last part of the barn owl story: <div><div><div><br /><div>On the evening of 25th May the owls were not on top of the cage when I came to feed them. So I searched the garden and found them sitting together in the fork of a large tree. The older one was tenderly grooming the younger one. They would not come immediately for food but I left the food on the cage and when I checked some hours later they were there.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281823224675412322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 282px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SUzOPREvqWI/AAAAAAAAAMk/N1FNqnD3vA8/s320/Owls+in+a+tree+0805250039.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281823819253819506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 279px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SUzOx4DSKHI/AAAAAAAAAMs/q05BO4DMpl0/s320/Grooming+0805250040.JPG" border="0" />Unfortunately, by this time the cats had worked out the routine and knew that there was meat on top of the owl cage every evening, so they would lie in wait and then scare off the owls to get the meat. So I had to find another place to feed them. I put the food on top of the children’s climbing frame under a big tree, and they would come down to get it each evening.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281825357305486626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 260px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SUzQLZvYHSI/AAAAAAAAANM/tRaq4UApwE0/s320/Back+for+food+0805260093.JPG" border="0" />After a few days the older owl stopped coming for food, so I assumed it had learnt how to hunt by itself. Then a few days later the younger one, which was looking much more grown up by now, also stopped coming for food.<br /><br />I can only hope that it learnt how to find its own food and became independent, and that I helped it in that path to independence.<br /><br />It was a joy and a great learning experience to look after this pair of barn owls. I watched them work their way to freedom and independence, and I hope that they are now happily living somewhere around my neighbourhood and doing their part to keep the rat population down.</div></div></div></div>Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-58372490043985608052008-11-21T16:21:00.005+02:002008-11-21T16:38:12.706+02:00Release<strong>The continued story of two barn owls...</strong> <div><div><strong>21st May<br /></strong>After a week of being in the cage, the older owl began to get restless, and since there was obviously nothing wrong with it and the baby could now look after itself, I decided to release it. I wanted to give it the option of coming back to the baby if it wanted to, so I just opened up the upper part of one side of the cage. It soon discovered the hole and was out exploring its new surroundings.</div><div><div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271116519193408242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 247px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SSbEi_A3cvI/AAAAAAAAALE/aQBtihJcLQ4/s320/Trying+out+freedom+0805210247.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271116523128452274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 270px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SSbEjNrDdLI/AAAAAAAAALM/B04BeuvX6DE/s320/Owl+on+the+roof+0805220278.JPG" border="0" /> <div>I left the cage open in case it wanted to return to the baby later.<br /><br />But to my surprise, by morning the baby was gone too. I did not think it could fly so was at first worried that perhaps a cat had got in and eaten it. But there was no sign of feathers or a feast having taken place, so I hoped for the best, but worried the whole day about what would become of it, as it was still so young.<br /><br />The next evening when I went out in the garden I was pleasantly surprised by a loud “shhhhhh, shhhhhh, shhhhhh”. I tracked it down and found the baby owl sitting on the top of a kind of stepladder, with the older owl perched just above it. I later found out it had got there by hopping up the steps, one at a time, as it could not yet fly. I still don’t know where it had spent the day.</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271117146915178962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 229px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SSbFHhdZidI/AAAAAAAAALU/VCrvmGxytGY/s320/Owls+return+0805220270.JPG" border="0" /> <div>For its own safety, I caught it again and put it back in the cage, leaving the older one out, as it seemed quite independent.<br /><br />I put food in the cage for the baby, and later I found the bigger owl on top of the cage looking down at the baby and trying desperately to find the way in. I first thought it was worried about the baby and wanted to care for it. But it soon became obvious that its main interest was the meat I had put in the cage. So I opened up the netting at the top of the cage and closed the previous opening I had made at the side.</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271117151127394450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 245px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SSbFHxJq2JI/AAAAAAAAALc/muSCz_Ad4V4/s320/How+do+I+get+back+in+0805220272.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>By morning the larger owl was gone again but the young one was still there. In the evening I put some meat in again. Soon the older owl was back, after the meat. The next morning I found the young owl sitting on top of the cage. It had found its way out the hole at the top. It stayed there all day. I decided to put food on top of the cage that night, and the older one was back again at the usual time.</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271118059947667010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 289px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SSbF8qxTrkI/AAAAAAAAALk/ydwsY72A0kM/s320/Baby+on+the+cage+0805230289.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271118063071891682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 306px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SSbF82aLkOI/AAAAAAAAALs/8CCexd9IXPg/s320/Hello+down+there+0805230287.JPG" border="0" /> <div>I went on putting food out each night on top of the cage and both owls would be there, the young one remaining on the cage by day, the older one flying off somewhere and coming back each night.</div></div></div></div></div>Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-79245127617000966602008-10-31T10:08:00.004+02:002008-10-31T10:34:52.646+02:00The barn owls settle downThis is the continued story of two barn owls that I looked after in May this year.<br /><br />I asked Lawrence, the young man who had brought the owls to me, to find me some rats to feed the owls, which I offered to pay for. Meanwhile I offered my two owls some chunks of beef steak, but they were still too scared to eat. The next day Lawrence turned up with some rats, so that evening I offered one to the owls. <div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263227488062781426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 243px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SQq9g74Nt_I/AAAAAAAAAKM/NO6t6uFJyq8/s320/Enjoying+a+mouse+0805150580.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>That got them excited and the bigger grabbed the rat and had soon swallowed it whole. There was no sign of the smaller one eating for a few days. However, it did not die, so I assumed the older one was feeding it somehow. By this time I had decided that these may not have been mother and baby, not being that much different in size, but two siblings. I had read that barn owls start incubating their eggs one by one, as soon as they are laid, so the chicks hatch at different times and siblings in one nest may be of varying ages. Older siblings will often look after and actually feed the younger siblings.<br /><br />The younger owl would call for food every night with a loud hissing or “shhhhhhhh” sound, repeated at frequent, regular intervals all night. </div><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263228847509686130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 258px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SQq-wENnR3I/AAAAAAAAAKU/lvzxyjxmBSk/s320/Protecting+baby+0805150556.JPG" border="0" />The older one did not do this, but when one got too close it would give a deep, puff-adder-type, guttural hiss in defence, at the same time, lowering its head and raising its wings to make it look bigger and scarier.<br /><br />By day, the owls would snuggle up together on the shelf in their cage. Baby owl always looked rather sleepy.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263233191105144178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 247px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SQrCs5XeJXI/AAAAAAAAAK0/CxdbZ3udLx0/s320/Lean+on+me+0805160600.JPG" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263233200914894210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 262px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SQrCtd6TDYI/AAAAAAAAAK8/EFrGWkH4o9g/s320/Stay+tight+0805180008.JPG" border="0" /> <div>Every night I would feed them on rats or chunks of beefsteak. After a few days the younger one started feeding itself.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263228853673682914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 238px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SQq-wbLOZ-I/AAAAAAAAAKs/MuSM0e4YUJ4/s320/Eating+steak+0805200242.JPG" border="0" /></div></div></div>Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-61402844653602447272008-10-28T16:10:00.007+02:002008-10-31T10:20:52.371+02:00A Pair of Barn OwlsThis is the story of a pair of barn owls that I had the pleasure of looking after.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Arrival</strong><br /></span>On the 14th of May this year a young man called Lawrence, came to my house carrying a barn owl. He said he had found it sitting on the road about a kilometre away. It had seemed unable to fly and he was concerned that it would get run-over. He said he liked wild birds and wanted to save it. Someone told him I would look after it. Of course he also wanted money for it, which I declined on the grounds that it would cost me money to feed it, and it was not his to sell anyway. He reluctantly accepted. It appeared full-grown or nearly so, and we could not find any injuries or anything else wrong, but it seemed weak and reluctant to fly away. I guessed it was just in shock for some reason. I put it in a cage that I luckily had available, so that I could monitor it. Here it is, just after arrival.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262211906858780178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 244px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SQch2VEmBhI/AAAAAAAAAJs/kc9PsuW49mU/s320/First+barn+owl+on+arrival+0805140530.JPG" border="0" /> About half an hour later, to my surprise, Lawrence returned with another owl. This time it was a young one, half covered in downy feathers. He said he had been heading back the same way and had found this one under a big tree by the side of the road, very close to where he had found the first owl. I guessed the first one might be the mother of this baby, which had fallen out of a nest in the tree. We could not take it back, as the mother, even if she was ok and was released, would probably reject it, so I said I would take it also and keep it until it was old enough to go free.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262214529188549234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 275px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SQckO-Au0nI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/hQGfWvv3xc8/s320/Second+barn+owl+on+arrival+0805140531.JPG" border="0" /> I put the two in the cage together. The young one looked terrified at first, but later it snuggled up against the older one and it was clear they knew each other. Here they are snuggling up together, baby rather dozy while his protector analyses the situation.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262214804978270546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 289px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SQckfBaIAVI/AAAAAAAAAKE/eeqjBZBkqaA/s320/Snuggling+up+0805150568.JPG" border="0" /><br />More in the next post.Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-79215258234881028052008-10-27T14:45:00.005+02:002008-10-31T10:21:23.229+02:00Martin - rest in peaceSadly, Martin the owl died last night. I have not been posting updates on this story for a while, so I thought I would tell you about his last days.<br /><br />After my last post, when Martin was spitting out all the food I gave him, I decided to start feeding him liquid foods. I liquidised mincemeat and kapenta fish, which I then sieved and fed him through a syringe. Later I added raw egg to his diet. Liquidised mincemeat did not work very well, so I soon cut that out. I also continued him on antibiotic through his water for a week.<br /><br />He appeared to improve slightly and was willingly taking the liquid food. Since the liquid food was largely water, I fed him three times a day to try and get enough food into him. But still he did not seem to put on weight. He never bathed, so was quite a sight, with dried raw egg all down his front, where he had dribbled. I had to give him a forced bath several times, but it was not very successful, and he never preened his feathers afterwards.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261815475385337058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 234px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SQW5S-v_BOI/AAAAAAAAAJk/-pJ1jOHP7Cw/s320/Martin+owl+0810180022+x30.JPG" border="0" /><br />Martin appeared to do nothing but sit on his perch all day, staring into space. It was as if he had given up the will to live. But at the same time, was refusing to die. I expected him to drop dead at any time, but he did not, for a whole three weeks. Most of the birds I have kept have either died within the first few days or lived. Martin just kept stubbornly hanging on the edge.<br /><br />I tried to give him more privacy in his cage, hanging curtains around it, to make him more comfortable, but he showed no sign of appreciation.<br /><br />For a whole week I kept trying him on solid food, but every time he would spit it out. Eventually, on 21st October, he started accepting mashed kapenta, a good sign. But a few days later he began refusing to swallow solids, so we were back to liquids again. He appeared to be having some difficulty breathing at the same time as eating, as if he had a stuffy nose. I decided to start him on antibiotic again.<br /><br />Yesterday I noticed he looked very poorly, was squinting up his eyes as if in pain, and looked much weaker than usual. He still took his syringes of food. But by evening he was so weak he could hardly stand up or keep his eyes open.<br /><br />This morning I found him dead. He had hung on to life for a whole three weeks. I still do not know exactly what he died of, or why he survived for so long after his injury. But he was not a happy bird while in captivity and I am relieved that now he is at peace.Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-65135760069628871212008-10-14T11:51:00.005+02:002008-10-14T12:11:51.916+02:00Martin not very well<div><div>Martin the owl has been with me for nine days now. He is still not feeding himself, so I have been hand-feeding him every evening. I have also put some anti-biotic in his drinking water and am giving him some with a syringe each day.</div><div> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256946679864949762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SPRtJyCE_AI/AAAAAAAAAJU/8j9WZ1IunFA/s320/Feeding+time+0810130022.JPG" border="0" /></div><div>Most days he has swallowed the food when I put it in his mouth. But yesterday at feeding time he was not looking too good and just kept spitting it out. He also seemed quite weak. He may have picked up an infection from his wounds. I can not tell whether he is going to make it or not, but things do not look too good right now.</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256949004361688546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SPRvRFdSZeI/AAAAAAAAAJc/RMv1h8a4UM8/s320/Martin+after+9+days+closeup+0810130029.JPG" border="0" /> <div></div><div></div><div>This morning I tried again and he managed to swallow some food, in small quantities at a time, and I gave him lots of water. But he looked tired and weak.</div><br /><div></div></div>Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-80774550890033146132008-10-10T20:33:00.000+02:002008-10-10T21:18:55.236+02:00Martin the owl still aliveSix days after receiving Martin the spotted eagle owl, he is still alive and looking a lot better. He would not eat for two days, so I started force-feeding him every evening on kapenta (small fish) and mincemeat.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255571921390557650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SO-K0ToAWdI/AAAAAAAAAI0/BHqAYUknljA/s320/Martin+after+4+days+0810080011.JPG" border="0" />He is still very scarred of anything that moves, and starts panicking every time anyone comes near the cage. I have to grab him and hold him down, trying not to touch his injured wing, and keeping well away from the claws, which are vicious. Then I feed him with the other hand by forcing open his mouth and trying to avoid the sharp end!Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879420831800108789.post-9267459306507873422008-10-10T09:51:00.000+02:002008-10-10T21:07:34.903+02:00Martin the spotted eagle owlMartin is a spotted eagle owl, who was caught scaring chickens in someone's chicken house and shot with a catapult. He was brought to me last week, just after he was shot. His right wing is broken, and I don't yet know if he has any other serious injuries. Here he is in a basket the day I received him. <div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255473042012790642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SO8w4xPQX3I/AAAAAAAAAIc/ZTj5jB8rPL4/s320/Martin+first+day+0810040002.JPG" border="0" />He was obviously in a lot of pain. My sister, who is a farmer, helped bandage up his wing. The break is in a position that would be very difficult to splint, so we decided just to restrict movement by bandaging the whole wing together with sticking plaster.</div><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255474594497826546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SO8yTIsiDvI/AAAAAAAAAIk/OPIxi64Wc9E/s320/Martin+being+bandaged+0810040005.JPG" border="0" /> </p><p align="left">Here he is all bandaged up and not looking very happy.</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255475658653186098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aO36Yjd0TGI/SO8zRE-8ODI/AAAAAAAAAIs/IrwdKfChvnk/s320/Martin+bandaged+up+0810040009.JPG" border="0" />I gave him water with a syringe and then put him in a cage that I have used for previous owls and other birds. </p>Clare Matekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13945944384478719795noreply@blogger.com1