# Looks like it might be a long spring



## nabisho (Nov 18, 2004)

The little fellow was found wandering around in the desert near Tonapah by a BLM guy, the NDOW guys had a truck coming up to Reno that day so they dropped him off at the animal hospital in Reno. The Vet diagnosed a mild G.I. infection and that he was a sub-adult male, and couldn't find anything else wrong, so they called us and Nancy went up to pick him up. Got him into the infirmary and usually we put a wooden block in the cage for GHO's to perch on, but this guy wouldn't perch, instead he just huddled in the corner and refused to get up on the block like a normal GHO would. We found out why Saturday morning.

Here he is after two day on anti-biotics, he's up and eating OK will be fine.










And here is why he wouldn't perch on the wooden block - HE IS A SHE! We had to fire up the incubator early, looks like it's going to be a long spring season if it's starting already.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Wow! Another great rescue. I, too, think it is going to be a long spring this year. Good luck with the incubation!

Terry


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Oh WoW, Nab! You never cease to amaze me with your rescues and stories! 

Is she sitting on her egg? What role does the male owl have in baby sitting, if any? She looks apprehensive but that's completely understandable. She'll know, soon enough, that you're only trying to help! Oops, just saw where the egg is going to be incubated???

Funny that you should post this today. I just finished watching a Nature episode about Raptors on our PBS station! They also showed some owls! Fascinating program!

Sending Hugs and Scritches to your newest addition!

Please keep us updated...


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## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

Surprise, surprise!!  
It's no wonder she has that 'look' in her eyes.

Hope everything goes well NAB.  

Cindy


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

She is so pretty. Great rescue.
Wouldn't she sit on the egg? How long is their incubation period?

Reti


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

WOW!  

Congratulations to the mommy to-be.

PLEASE do answer the questions presented, as I am as curious as the rest. Iwould just love to see her hatch this egg.  

Thank you for sharing and do update us.


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

*What a PRETTY owl!*

Nabisho,

With my clumsy fingers, you almost became Nabisco! Wow. Ten mis-typings, then corrections, in the last sentence, and only three in this one. Going to keep it short. Not my day. 

*What a beautiful owl! *Fantastic that she has an egg! This will be an interesting thread to watch ... all summer long ....

Larry


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

You gotta love those big bright yellow eyes.....I guess we're all curious about the egg, etc...........so you'll just have to take a break and fill us in!! I find it curious that people seem to find owls fairly easily. 
We have them in our yard once in a while. I hear them at night sometimes, but I have never actually seen an owl. Where do they go during the day to hide so well?


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## littlestar (May 11, 2005)

Awww! she is beautiful. My fingers are crossed that a beautiful baby owl will be born (hatched). Great rescue!


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## nabisho (Nov 18, 2004)

*It's about a 30 day incubation cycle for GHOs*

We haven't seen a second egg yet. She pushed the egg away and cracked it slightly (don't worry we covered the crack with Neo-Sporin and tape so it will be OK) because she doesn't have a nest and a mate (they are 300 miles away in the desert) so she won't roost, plus she has to remain in the sterile infirmary pen until her cycle of anti-biotics is over and she is fully up to her proper weight.

NAB 

For those interested in rescuing these fellow/ladies you need about a dozen sterile 4 X 4 x 4 cages inside a well heated and air-conditioned room. Keeping them from getting sicker from surroundings during treatment is very tricky. You need to have fresh chopped mouse parts and all the tools to feed them on hand and the patience to hand feed a young lady like this one until she can get back on her feet enough to feed herself.











Even though a lot of effort goes into saving her I think she is well worth it - what a cutie.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

WOW! Her setup is REALLY professional! I wouldn't mind being a patient there if I had to!

Who says birds don't have expressions! I've seen the other pictures you've posted of GHOs and others, Nab, and none of them have the expression of this lady!

I, along with the rest of the members, are really rooting for her AND her egg(s?)!!!

You can bet we will all be anxiously awaiting updates!

LOVE and HUGS to ALL!!


(Larry: I, too, think "Nabisco" but fix that by saying "Nab!")


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## nabisho (Nov 18, 2004)

*We have egg #2*

Now we have two eggs in the incubator Oh Boy it's starting mighty early this year.

NAB


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## BirdDogg10 (Aug 23, 2005)

Nice owl, if you don't have a name for her here's a few.

Constance

Ivana

Vy (short for Viola)

or Violette (that's french)


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

THANKS, NAB!! I'm really excited about these eggs and hope all goes well!!

Have you (i.e. the team) had any experience raising baby owls? I know you've had some young ones come in, but newborns...from "scratch??"
(Of course, I'm sure I'm asking a rather stupid question as you wouldn't be incubating if the newbies couldn't be raised!) 

I am assuming they will be raised w/minimum human contact so they can be released??

Sending all the best!!


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## BirdDogg10 (Aug 23, 2005)

mr squeaks said:


> THANKS, NAB!! I'm really excited about these eggs and hope all goes well!!
> 
> Have you (i.e. the team) had any experience raising baby owls? I know you've had some young ones come in, but newborns...from "scratch??"
> (Of course, I'm sure I'm asking a rather stupid question as you wouldn't be incubating if the newbies couldn't be raised!)
> ...


I wouldn't call that a stupid question, you're probably just concerned, you have a right to be. 

That's understandable.


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## nabisho (Nov 18, 2004)

*Never raised a baby owl myself*

But my GF has, she has been running the bird repair center here for 29+ years now, and has raised from eggs about every species of bird in Northern Nevada at one time or another. In the spring she will have 10-20 eggs in progress at any given time, mostly Barn Owls but we get all sorts of eggs. As I understand it the most important thing is that when they first open their eyes that they see another member of their species because they will imprint on the first thing they see when they open their eyes, and if it's a human they will forever think they are a human which can make a sucessful release into the wild very difficult. 

NAB


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Nab, how many people (volunteers? employees?) does the Center have?

Reminds me of Kittypaws (Tania) in the UK working at her favorite wildlife center!

LOVE, HUGS and SCRITCHES!!


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## Rooster2312 (Mar 8, 2006)

Great Rescue Nab!

What a lovely owl! 

Wishing you and the rest of the team the best of luck with the eggs and getting this gorgeous owl healthy for release.

Lindi


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## nabisho (Nov 18, 2004)

*Got no real staff*



mr squeaks said:


> Nab, how many people (volunteers? employees?) does the Center have?
> 
> Reminds me of Kittypaws (Tania) in the UK working at her favorite wildlife center!
> 
> LOVE, HUGS and SCRITCHES!!


Just me and the GF and one other lady that helps part-time slicing the food and feeding, she's been helping now for about 10 years. We rely on the animal hospital Vets for evaluations and surgery etc. and once in a while when the neighbor kid needs $20 he will come over and help clean up the aviaries and cages. That's about it so spring time is a big headache, lots of 16+ hour days.

NAB


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

nabisho said:


> Just me and the GF and one other lady that helps part-time slicing the food and feeding, she's been helping now for about 10 years. We rely on the animal hospital Vets for evaluations and surgery etc. and once in a while when the neighbor kid needs $20 he will come over and help clean up the aviaries and cages. That's about it so spring time is a big headache, lots of 16+ hour days.
> 
> NAB


Darn! Wish I was closer! I would be glad to help out!

Aren't there any kids who might be willing to help? Perhaps those who may be interested in going to Vet school or who love working with animals??? 

Did you ever advertise for help?


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## nabisho (Nov 18, 2004)

*Usually more trouble than it's worth*

She's tried screening volunteers over the years, but usually they have some ulterier motive (want eagle feathers etc.) or by the time they get trained to be of much help they get tired of it and quit showing up etc. Plus nowdays with all the scummy lawyers there's a liability issue too if somebody got hurt by a bird they could sue or something and we'd have to close down the place. Right now the insurance isn't too bad, but if we had actual employees it would skyrocket. GF has an adult daughter and a 10 year old grand daughter that help out too. So she has pretty much given up on outside volunteers, just not worth the time and risks.

NAB


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