From Center for Wildlife

This Barred Owl came to us 13 days ago after being found entangled in mesh netting. After finding the bird tangled up in their yard (from mesh that was not theirs), the owl's rescuer caught him and brought him to our clinic for much needed care.

Our clinic team got to work detangling the owl, then cleaning and dressing his wounds. His feathers were a bit ratty and disheveled, and both feet were injured from the netting. His left foot was just a little cut up, but his right foot was rubbed raw on top and even down to the muscle over his second toe. He was also given fluids due to dehydration and lethargy- likely caused by stress from getting tangled and going through care. (Stress can be deadly to many animals, so we always make time for them to decompress unless the case is urgent. We also urge rescuers to keep stress in mind and not play music in the car while transporting the animals, or let kids and pets get too close.)

Our clinic team has kept a close eye on his right foot as he's been going through treatment. It has been receiving daily cleaning and re-dressing with honey (a natural anti-inflammatory and antibacterial treatment). The foot did start healing, but our team noticed a lot of dry skin which wasn't helping the injury. They tried a petroleum wrap before landing on a natural salve to treat the dryness, which they continued to use as it proved effective.

The owl also needed continued fluids over his first few days in care due to his lack of appetite or voluntary water intake, but he's hydrated and eating now! He just got his tail-guard off too! He needed it to prevent breaking any tail feathers, which he was trying to nervously chew on at first.

As of today, the owl's wounds are healing well, and he is hydrated and eating more! Yesterday, our clinic noted that the foot wounds are beginning to scab over and heal better. We are optimistic about this barred owl's progress, and hope to release him soon!