zooophagous:why-animals-do-the-thing:crc-rehab-blog:Replacing damaged feathers on an Eastern screech
zooophagous:why-animals-do-the-thing:crc-rehab-blog:Replacing damaged feathers on an Eastern screech owl is not easy. Imping (the process of replacing damaged feathers with matching feathers from another bird) is definitely a technique that requires some practice. It’s not always easy on a large bird, much less on one that weighs less than 200 grams. It is a very important skill in raptor rehabilitation because it allows the release of a bird that would otherwise have to wait for molting. Typically, we use bamboo skewers or dowels as the “imping needle”. This is the part that connects the old feather shaft to the new feather shaft. We whittle them down until they fit inside the two shafts and then use 5-minute epoxy to glue them in. This isn’t possible with a bird this small. The wood would have to be whittled so thin that it would no longer be a strong bridge. So we used very small metal pins. It worked! This bird was admitted on Christmas eve with severe eye damage after being hit by a car. He recovered, passed his live prey test, but was not quiet enough for release because of his feather condition. After imping the bird on Friday, the owl was quiet in flight and was released last night. Fly free!This post is from one of my favorite raptor facilities - the Carolina Raptor Center. I had no idea before visiting that imping was something that could be - much less was frequently - done. Their tumblr posts infrequently, but I adore everything they produce because it’s such high quality and unique educational content. Woah -- source link