The phone call came in from the Vet. Annaliese's white count is still very high 26000. She will continue with the Itraconazol for asper prevention and we will drawn more blood in a few weeks. Until then she will be kept hydrated, fed and left alone to keep her stress down. The good thing is her Vet thinks she will recover being she has made it this long. We will keep fighting.
Update: Annaliese seems to be doing well, and her spookiness has disappeared. She is bouncing around and playing a lot of ball (tennis ball in the mew). She is dropping feathers quite a bit and I have been calling her bald bird for the last few days. A question for all: Has there been any other member of the forum who's bird has came out of West Nile? If so, what were some of your observations? Any after effects?
Update: Annaliese seems to be doing well, and her spookiness has disappeared. She is bouncing around and playing a lot of ball (tennis ball in the mew). She is dropping feathers quite a bit and I have been calling her bald bird for the last few days. A question for all: Has there been any other member of the forum who's bird has came out of West Nile? If so, what were some of your observations? Any after effects?
Joe
I haven't personally had a bird with it, but several of the education birds I worked with got it. The really old ones died, but the ones that made it through had different after effects of the virus. Two of the birds have had their feathers grow in strangely, not all of them, but a few grow in corkscrewy. Others pinch off before growing in all of the way. One bird also seemed to be more vocal afterwards. One bird seemed to be completely normal. I think it all depends on the severity, how long they were infected before supportive care was given, and how long before they started to recover.
"We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?" -Bloc Party
Post by Master Yarak on May 11, 2008 10:56:37 GMT -5
My bird contracted it. It was after both rounds of the equine vaccine. It hit right in the middle of the moult. It was bad. I thought she was a goner. She lived in the giant hood in empty quiet dark bedroom for 10 days. I was certain that every time I opened the giant hood she would be dead. The worst of the symptoms lasted about 10 days. The encephalitis never got bad though it was apparent. Like Forestfalcon said it did a number on her feathers. She had many feathers moulted twice and neither time did they come out normal. It took the next seasons moult to return her to her normal plumage. NO after effects of any kind. She carries the titers for it now and is no longer susceptible to it. WNV killed many birds and quite few humans around here that year. My vet said two things probably saved her. First was the vaccine. It mitigated symptoms and prevented the worst of them. Second was the physical shape she was in. The very prime of her health. She is a very robust bird and has a great constitution. I think I just got lucky. Glad to hear you have a survivor too. Many were not so lucky. Yarak
If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away
In July 2001, WNV hit IL big time. All my rehab cages were full of sick and dying RTs and GHOs into October. We had very few survive because the birds were discovered and admitted too late.
My ed short-eared owl contracted it first in July. She was my oldest bird, and her symptoms were the worst. She had all of them, including blindness, seizures, and paralysis. At one point, I considered euthanasia. Our vet convinced me to use this owl for research - to see the full progression of the disease and experiment with drugs. Three separate blood titers were sent in... results were 'negative', then 'false positive', lastly 'positive'. We studied the affects of several medications, none having good results. Finally, a five-day injection regime of Celebrex alleviated her symptoms, and she recovered -- after five months in rehab. She did have residual symptoms occasionally for two years after - i.e. when overly stressed, she seizured. We could no longer use her for off-site ed, but kept her for on-site display only.
My falconry RT contracted the virus early that August. Her symptoms were far milder than the Shortie, but it was very clear that she was ill (light sensitivity, sudden weight loss, lethargy, inappetance, dehydration, depression) After a month in rehab, she recovered fully, only suffering some damage to new feathers, a double molt for some, but no residual symptoms.
Lastly, my ed bald eagle fell ill in late August. She stopped eating, sat fluffed, and was obviously depressed. Definitely not her nasty self. Her symptoms only lasted 4 days, and then recovery seemed to come almost overnight without intervention.
I don't live in a mosquito area. I'm in dry wind-blown farmland. That year, I hadn't been bitten once, and I'm outdoors a lot. All my ed and falconry birds are housed in the same facility (separated, of course), and I feed them the same food. I can not explain why 3 of my birds fell ill, and not the other 5 (especially my GHO and dark RT - two species VERY susceptible to WNV). Note: Our rehab patients are not housed in or near our ed/falconry facility. We have a clinic in a separate building. We wear gloves and masks when handling patients. Physical transmission was very unlikely.
I am convinced that the birds survived WNV because 1) We observe each bird daily, and are attentive to subtle behavior changes (like most falconers are), 2) the birds are well-fed and kept in heavy weight during the molt (hence, the sudden weight drop associated with WNV didn't emaciate them), 3) We initiated rehab protocols quickly.
Since 2001, we've seen a decline in wild birds with WNV. Those few that were admitted survived I attribute to the administration of Meloxicam/Metacam (vet equivalent to Celebrex - Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory) to reduce brain swelling, fever, and pain.
We did not vaccinate any of our birds, and have no plans to. We permanently window-screened the entire facility in Sept 2001. We have not seen WNV symptoms in any of our birds since. My apprentice's RT did contract mild WNV last summer (recovered fully). She "hadn't gotten around to" screening her mews, as I'd advised her to. She regretted that.
Thanks for everyone's replies, and sharing experience. I think Annaliese has made it out of the woods and I will make note for others. This is my first year with a bird. I have fought through bum feet with this wonderful girl, and had to cast her nightly to clean and bandage up those funky feet. We made it though that and did well for our short season of hunting jack rabbits. I look back now and know when she caught the WNV. After our last kill, the following hunts she just did not have the tenacity, and holding power that she did previously. Annaliese was not giving her all, and looked completely different in all previous hunts. Her weight was very up and down. She would lose a lot of weight one night, and the next she did not budge. In the mews she was very calm and not active like usual. I noticed her casting one night was very dark and kind of wet and nasty. I thought coccidia right away, and had her to the vet the next day. Blood and fecal was done, and we waited for the results. Coccidia was present in a very low level, but her white count was very high. My wonderful vet treated for the coccidia, and gave asper meds for prevention. I opted for a serology panel and the blood sample was sent off. The meds continued, and the serology reports came back. WNV was positive. We have continued the asper meds and I have kept Annaliese quiet in her mews. She is very fat 1400g and I only bring her in to clean the mews and mow the lawn\do yard work. I have had to put a feeding block in the mew, being she would not eat outside in the yard. She was very freaked out and would not eat if she was not alone. Daily I have watered her down with a spray bottle three times a day to keep her hydrated. Annaliese is weighted in the morning and then in the evening after feeding every night. I have kept her diet to DOC's, quail, and beef heart for the medicine. I have also kept up my weekly regiment of Nekton Bio vitamin for feather growth. To sum it all up, I have kept a tight monitoring schedule, and kept a very close eye on Annaliese's every last detail. I fully understand why an apprentice is paired up with a redtail. They are very hearty birds, and have a lot more of a chance living through a stressful time with a beginner such as myself. Thank you for all your responses. The more we learn the better we will be.
Annaliese has been cleared by her vet. She made it and and defeated the WNV. Time to man her down once again and get her ready for our two week summer camping trip up north. It will be nice to interact with her once again. My thanks goes out to everyone that replied to this thread. Your support was much appreciated.
ikcus, congrats! Have another great season with Annaliese! I,personally, can't wait until the start of trapping season in September....have fun with her on your camping trip!!!!!!
"Falconry is not a hobby or an amusement; it is a rage. You eat and drink it, sleep it and think it. You tremble to write of it, even in recollection. It is as King James the First remarked, an extreme stirrer up of passions." --- T.H. White
That's great to hear, Joe. I've been following your updates when I can, and have to say you've really done right by that bird. Hopefully you guys will have a lot more time together to catch those jacks. ;D