Broken talons

[Buteonut]

I was wondering if anyone else has had a problem with broken talons. My RT broke 2 talons at the past THA meet as he caught a bunny trying to make it into a crevace between 2 rocks. The damage was on the right foot and of course he is right footed. I continued to hunt with him and it was obvious that he was getting kicked off more rabbits than he should. I was able to sharpen on of the talons but the other was barely more than 1/4 inch long.
I made a replacement talon out of 1/4 brass tubing and J.B. Weld. I attached it with epoxy and to my suprise, it worked. He caught 12 in 4 outings and the talon stayed on. I have to believe it helped and it was very sharp.

Buteonut

[hawkstir]

Very interesting! Is it still on? If yes, are you going to leave it on and wait to see if it falls off as the talon grows out or remove it and try to stimulate talon growth? Keep me posted as to your methods and results. I've had similar problems and have stimulated talon growth by keeping them wet (foot bath for 20 min./day) and sharpening. Takes about 2 weeks for a 1/4 inch of growth.

[Buteonut]

The talon stayed on for about 2 weeks, apparently it came off in the mews and i have been unable to find it. I was hoping to recover it in case I were to need it again but it's like looking for a needle in a haystack.
As far as the growth, I have seen very little progress. I know it takes a long time to grow back. I just hope it grows out by late Oct.

Buteonut

[hawkstir]

It well. You can help it by spraying it with water whenever your around your bird. I keep a small spray bottle handy in my mew. Spray feet, beck, food, even the bird if it's hot.

[Ooby]

Also, Vitahawk has been known to stimulate beak and talon growth.

I have seen a similar issue with a broken talon where someone attached a bent nail to the talon. it seemed to work good. Scary as crap to me though. I would have bumble nightmares the whole time.

[Buteonut]

I'll give those ideas a try. I use Vitahawk regularly even though I feed a lot of fresh cotton rat.
Thanks for the ideas

Buteonut

[Minca]

Didn't somebody post pics last year of artifical talons they had attatched to all the talons on their bird? I know it's somewhere on this board.

[fincher]

One of my HH has two kinda straight deformed talons, he gets kicked off rabbits pretty regular, one talon was pulled completely off the bone, the other one was broken (bone and all). They both grew back over the summer. But like I said, they are not shaped right. These talons were taken by a opossum. ( I hate those damn things )

The artificial talon is pretty cool! I've never seen a RT with bling! Now maybe you could cap his grill with some platinum. ;D

[alex2]

I'd seriously like to know why soaking their feet in water seems to cure just about everything.....

Sounds like a vitamin deficientcy to me.

[Buteonut]

Maybe providing shelter from the elements in the mews deprives their feet of wetness that they would normally get in the wild. My current bird has never been in the water pan to my knowledge, but I have others that loved it. It's possible that the regular exposure to water promotes healthier feet.

Buteonut

[Master Yarak]

Wolf said:

I'd seriously like to know why soaking their feet in water seems to cure just about everything.....

Sounds like a vitamin deficientcy to me.

The beak and talons are made of keratin. Its a protein. AS it becomes moist or wet the outer layer flakes off the new underside dries out and hardens. Leaving behind a new sharp surface. A talon is tough. Suprised me that it broke. It may have been weak before. I hope it regrows quickly for you.
Yarak

[Buteonut]

Thanks Yarak, It would probably grow faster if I didn't go into the mews 3 times a day and look at it.
Maybe we'll see you again at next years THA meet.

Buteonut

[alex2]

Yarak said:

The beak and talons are made of keratin. Its a protein. AS it becomes moist or wet the outer layer flakes off the new underside dries out and hardens. Leaving behind a new sharp surface. A talon is tough. Suprised me that it broke. It may have been weak before. I hope it regrows quickly for you.
Yarak

Thanks for clearing that up Yarak It really didnt make any sense to me before.

[grendlesgirl]

Wow, this is very intersting to me. I woudl like to know more about what situations lead to a broken talon and if anyone has had to use "first aid" due to a broken talon, was there anything immediate that needed to be done??

[danant75]

How exactly do you go about doing the foot bath? My girls talons are quite dull. I'm free mewing but she was spending a lot of time on the gravel floor. I have since covered the gravel with ruber matting. I need to get her some sharp talons in a hurry.