And here is yet another scenario that all of us should be aware of for future referance.
Scenario: A Red Tail hawk is presented in convulsions. It has a full feel and is in perfect feather. There are no signs of a skull fracture or concussion. The hawk has spasms that shake it's whole body at ten minute intervals. The people who found it stated that it was recovered near the local golf course. What is the diagnosis and the immediate treatment neccissary?
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines "Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day; give him a religion................ and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish."
Post by Falcon Boy on May 11, 2004 15:08:07 GMT -5
Ingest a poisoned rat or something from the golf course? WNV? Those are my 2 best guesses. Shows how much i know about raptor medicine, guess i gotta start reading more medical books
Falcon Boy Apprentice Falconry Administrator
Ethics make the individual, not the other way around.
DING DING DING!!!!!!!!! We have a winner!!!!! ;D ;DPoisoning via pesticides from the golf course. Imediate treatment would be Atropine injected directly into the breast muscle or thigh. It is similar to giving an adrenaline shot. After that, haul butt to the vet! ;D
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines "Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day; give him a religion................ and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish."
Good site of Australian rehaber with some photo's of illness and injury. eagle-hawk.org.au/ Lots of good information I highly recommend reading the entire site when you have time.
Good site Jim! Some of those injuries we see often as the feds shut down the make shift rehabers that keep birds in rabbit cages. We have several birds right now that barely have any feathers to speak of. They will have to stay with us through the molt before they are released.
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines "Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day; give him a religion................ and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish."
I know i've mentioned the Golden we got that was kept in a Preview Hendrix parrot cage for over a year! No tail feathers, muscle atrophy... the works!
It's rewarding to see how far rehabbing has come since my days in that field. Back then a broken wing meant automatic amputation and a captive bird. A broken tarsus, well... we'd try to splint it, but they hardly ever recovered. It still amazes me that ppl want to keep these birds as pets! i suppose folks will always be drawn to the forbidden fruit. Maybe it's the thrill of attempting to get away with violating a federal law. Who knows!
Misguided and uneducated on the subject is the case most of the time. We as falconers certainly had a draw to raptors. We just took the step in the right direction to learn how to train and care for these birds. Most peoples knowledge of birds pertain to parrots. Therefore they automaticaly think that they can feed and house these birds the same. I think it was jim who posted a link(who am I kidding,..of course it was Jim ;D) to the GHO site for a couple who found a young GHO and kept it indoors feeding it smoked turkey and hamburger.....DUH!!!!! I posted to the guest book and asked them how many pre smoked and cooked turkeys are running around in the woods....and hamburger? Oh yea those cows are easy prey for a GHO......more so, since they come ground up already right?......COMMON SENSE PEOPLE!!!!! This!!!!! is why I choose to help out in every educational show that I can. To teach the uninformed to be informed.
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines "Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day; give him a religion................ and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish."
Yes. TPW has an education permit available. Whoever applies for the permit has to meet certain criteria such as a minimum of 12 shows a year. Anyone can volunteer to help without a permit. Apprentices just aren't allowed to bring their birds along
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines "Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day; give him a religion................ and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish."
I have a show for the Audabon society this Saturday. The weekend after we will be at the Bass Pro Shops for their wildlife weekend displays on Saturday and Sunday. The weekend after that we have the THA picnic on Saturday and Sunday is the Scottish Games in Arlington Texas at the University(beer).....I'm gonna be all raptored out in a couple of weeks.....but, it helps salve the addiction to raptors ;D
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines "Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day; give him a religion................ and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish."
Has this been a problem in the U.S. ausraptor.org.au/ HOW FENCES FELL OUR PRECIOUS BIRDS OF PREY (Wedgies - edited)
Barbed wire fences, in rural Australia, are killing precious birds of prey - including giant Wedge-tailed Eagles and endangered raptors - an environmental group says. Up to 19 birds are reported to have been injured on barbed wire fences, this year, up from just one in 1993, according to the New South Wales co-ordinator with the Wildlife Information and Rescue Service, Mrs Lenor Wilbow. Mrs Wilbow said the increase could be attributed to a greater use of high-tensile barbed wire, which was harder for the birds to see. She called on farmers to stop using barbed wire on the top strands of their fences.
Species of wounded raptors brought to Mrs Wilbow include Sooty Owls, Powerful Owls, eagles, Peregrine Falcons, Brown Falcons and Black Falcons. Bats and gliders are also reportedly being impaled, and tangled, on bared wire fences. The figures do not include birds found dead - thought to be far greater than those found alive. "Most of the animals seem to be trapped on the top strand of the fence", Mrs Wilbow said. "When they see prey, their eyes are like binoculars - everything either in front, or behind, their prey is out of focus." J. Woodford The Age (Melbourne) 15/9/99: 9
I have seen White-faced Herons Egretta novaehollandiae, Masked Lapwings Vanellus miles, Masked Owls Tyto novaehollandiae and Southern Boobooks Ninox novaeseelandiae trapped on fences in Tassie. The last alive - and hanging by an optic nerve, its eye and lid wrapped around the top strand. YUK - NJM!
On the subject of Southern Boobooks, Nick had a comment upon Boobook 19 (1), page 28. Regarding the article, Boobook Massacre, he noted that these owls often hunted flying insects from the ground or low perches - as the insects can be seen, easily, against the sky. Clearly one underlying reason for the massacre of the small night birds, on that occasion, was the presence of grasshoppers along the road - Ed.
I know that at the prison we use concertina wire and that at least on a weekly basis I see one or two new dead birds cought by one of the razor sharp barbs. The list of birds include from freaquently found dead to rarely found dead. Sparrow, black crow, dove, pigeon, seagul. Only one seagul so far, that is the rare one. the others are more common to find on the fence. No raptors yet. The raptors might be able to free themselves and later die due to infection or flutter crawl away with a wound that prevents them from hunting.
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines "Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day; give him a religion................ and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish."
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines "Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day; give him a religion................ and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish."