Stabilizing an injured owl:

It is vital to prevent the rescued owl going into shock (circulatory failure). 10% of the birds body weight is given of warm water containing glucose and administered orally via a tube directly into the stomach.

The owl is then left for an hour to get the benefit of the treatment.

 If you have found an injured owl, please follow these procedures:

Firstly, Don't Panic! put the owl into a secure but ventilated box and leave it in a quiet, warm and dark place.

Do not delay in contacting your local vet or an experienced rehabilitator and do not try to "have a go" at treating it yourself. Owls need specialist care if they are to recover fully. Your vet should not charge you for treating wildlife.

Do not try to give any food or water, The bird MAY require surgery. (Imagine if you were to be knocked down, and somebody was trying to make you eat a pizza while you were waiting for the ambulance !) 

If a wing, foot or leg looks broken. Usually this is obvious by the fact there is bone protrusion and blood from the site but sometimes a break is not obvious so do not rule out a break if the animal has had any sort of impact injury.  Restrict the owls movement by confinement in as small a box as possible and support the owls body weight if the leg is suspect with a rolled up cloth. Immediate veterinary attention is vital.

If the eye or eyes are closed. The owl may have collided with a vehicle and have trauma to the optic nerve and/or hemorrhage to the orbs. keep the owl calm and seek veterinary attention as soon as possible.

If the owl cannot stand up but seems uninjured. If the owl seems lethargic and cannot stand, especially if the legs are bowed outwards, it may have eaten a poisoned rodent. If the owl has not eaten too much poison it may recover naturally, but a vet will give it a vitamin-K injection to help its recovery and stop internal bleeding.

Resist the urge to show it to your family or friends.

Refrain from handling it too much, (even a sick owl can use its talons), if the owl goes into shock it will die very quickly.

If the owl was just underweight and weak (feel up between the top of its legs to feel if the stomach is empty) and not injured in any way, then about two oz. raw uncooked beef in small pieces will do until you can find a vet or rehabilitator.

Remember that however calm the bird may appear to be, it is still distressed by its injury or illness and its sudden captivity. Wild owls can die if over handled or stressed by human contact when unwell. 

Don't delay. Contact your nearest raptor rescue centre or rehabilitator. For the Cotswold region, call. Cotswold Owl Rescue Trust on: 01451 821106 or 07752 662432 or 07752 662434

If an Owl has been found with  a suspected BROKEN WING.

Things to consider. 70% of all the injuries we come across are injuries to the wing. Birds need wings to fly! That goes without saying, but owls (as well as any bird of prey) need their wings to hunt. If any damage is done to the wing from skeletal, muscular or permanent feather damage, that bird cannot hunt and will starve to death. It is vitally important to assess the condition and make the correct diagnosis. Very often euthanasia is the best method but depends on the conditions as set below.

 PROXIMAL BREAK (NEAR TO THE JOINTS) This is a tricky injury and not many wild birds recover fully from this type of injury. Firstly, a vet needs to X-ray the injury to ascertain the type of break. As a break heals, the bone "calcifies" and this causes inflammation so reducing the use of the joint rendering the owl unable to fly properly.  Also, any damage to the surrounding soft tissue has to be taken into account as infection is very common in "open" wounds due to breaks. Antibiotics are not always successful. Avian bone is like a honeycomb and bacteria can cause the bone to 'twist' and so not set correctly. Great care has to be taken and a decision to operate or euthanaise has to be made.

What do I do? Ok! Feel along the wing, if the wing seems to twist of move unnaturally at the point where the wing joint should be then it's likely it's a proximal break. Bind the wing to the body with some elastic bandage, or cut the foot off an old sock and slide it over the owl like a sleeve then take it to a vet

MIDSHAFT BREAK (MIDWAY BETWEEN THE JOINTS) Of the two types of break, midshaft breaks are the only type which can be treated successfully because the injury does not interfere with the movement of the joints. A midshaft break can be pinned without interference and so greatly increases the chance of a successful repair.

What do I do? Ok! Feel along the wing, if the wing seems to twist of move between the point where the wing joint should be then it's likely it's a midshaft break. Bind the wing to the body with some elastic bandage, or cut the foot off an old sock and slide it over the owl like a sleeve then take it to a vet

PHYSIOTHERAPY. It takes ten to fourteen days for the bones to set and it is best to keep the wing as mobile as possible to prevent it from atrophying. About 65% of all fractures fail treatment for one reason or another. There are many reasons why a break may not heal correctly but assuming it does, then we go on to nurse the bird back to health. After just one week without using it's wings, muscles start to waste (atrophy) and we have to give physio.  The first stage of physio is Passive Range of Motion (PROM). This is achieved by confining the bird in a small aviary in which it can use its limbs but not fly. This stage takes place whilst the damaged limb is still bound. Whilst bound, it is essential that blood circulation is not restricted. This continues for approximately 3 weeks during which time, any binding or bandage may be removed. (Discretion born of experience must apply - not all birds will recover at the same rate and it may be less than this).  We can then move on to the next stage of physio - Active Range of Motion (or AROM). This is done by standing the owl on a gloved fist and rocking it back and forth to make it use it's wing to keep balance (so exercising it) and manually extending the wing to stretch the muscle.  We do this 3 times daily for a week. At this stage the owl is kept in a 4'x6' aviary because we are actively exercising it, but after about a week of that the owl goes into a 36' x 6' aviary and we encourage it to fly for itself. We continue to observe the bird not only to ensure that the limb is being used, but to observe "normal" behaviour - preening, interest in food etc.  It is essential to establish that the owl is sound not just in body but in mind before it can be successfully re-introduced (birds are "hacked back") to it's natural habitat.

Muscles and Ligaments. Any owl that has been ill for a while will not be at its peak of fitness. One of the biggest problems with owls who have sustained a broken wing or leg, is muscle and ligament wastage, even when a bird has been in a splint for  as little as six days the owls' reluctance to use the limb when the splint is removed poses problems. It is very difficult to build up the muscles to there former strength. An owl who is to be released must be able to fly and hunt well. This is the most crucial part of a successful rehabilitation. There are no allowances for the weak and injured in the wild. Owls do not feed from peanut holders, left-out crumbs or bird tables, they have to locate and catch a food source that can both run away and fight back. As a bird needs its wings, eyes, feet and beak to hunt, permanent damage to any of these will render it unfit as a hunter, with the surety of slow starvation and death, as a result of this euthanasia is preferred.