Our Time with Owls: Ended

I was nervous about taking on baby owls. Living on a farm, I have seen so often the tender balance of life and death, especially with very young animals. It is always heartbreaking to see the most vulnerable little creatures begin to fade away. What's worse is the feeling of being powerless to do anything about it.

That's how I felt about Oscar. On the day he arrived, one of his feet spread out farther than the other, unnaturally so. My friend pointed it out to me when she introduced us to him. As the days went on, I noticed that the foot was getting worse. It was discolored and and the nails on the claws were beginning to curl inward. I had seen it happen before on the farm dozens of times. The first small signs that Oscar was probably not going to make it.

Each time one of the kids and I took turns feeding him it was more and more obvious that the efforts we were putting forth to keep Oscar alive were in vain, and this morning Oscar died. With that sad news came the news that Eddie too was beginning to show signs of curling, discolored feet. Normally very energetic and eager for a meal, Eddie just laid there barely making the effort to open his mouth.

Just Eddie

I feel sad to think that the two thriving little owls we received have declined so rapidly in the five days we have had them. Also, disappointing is the thought that the birds incubating will probably not be hopping, cracking, and emerging fresh and soggy from their shells. The four eggs sitting in the incubator haven't changed at all except for one small crack that we noticed three days ago, but since then nothing.

Egg with cracking that started and then stopped.

Rescuing animals has its rewards and its regrets. My friend will be by tonight to collect her puppy (who is doing very well) and the less than hopeful remains of what is left of our time with owls.