Veterinary Care Of Raptors

Veterinary Care of Raptors

Birds of Prey, which are presented to your Veterinary Surgery or Wildlife Shelter, ARE INJURED. Members of the public and Wildlife Shelters will not be able to pick up a Bird of Prey unless there is something wrong with it.

Handling:

If you find an injured raptor or are asked, how to deal with one by a member of the public, always use a towel or blanket to immobilize the bird. Most injured raptors will be found on the ground, so approach them slowly and cover the bird as quickly as possible, gaining control of the wings and feet immediately after it is covered. Cover the bird’s head so that it cannot see, this will also help in calming the bird down. The talons are obviously the most dangerous part of the animal so have them under control at all times. Use the towel to wrap the bird up if you don’t have a transport box. Transport boxes must be made out of cardboard, plastic or wood, NO WIRE under any circumstances. Wire can and will cause damage to the birds feathers and cere even in transportation. This is also a good time to do a preliminary first aid check on the animal.

Basic First Aid:

Obviously an injured raptor needs to be seen by an Avian Veterinarian as soon as possible, but a quick check over yourself can save a lot of time in determining whether the bird is a viable candidate for rehabilitation or needs immediate euthanasia. Give the bird a visual check for wounds, disease or breaks and feel the bird’s keel (breast bone) to see how skinny/fat it is. Check all the feathers; there are 10 primary feathers and 10 secondary feathers on each wing and 12 tail feathers. Learn the skeletal structure of the birds and know which bones are likely to be broken and how to determine breaks. Open wounds obviously need treatment, as do any foot (abrasions, cuts swelling), throat (obstructions, cuts or disease), or eye (cloudy appearance, blood, cataracts) problems. Check the beak for splitting or cracking.

If a veterinarian administers medication, it is essential to treat the animal for the entire length of time prescribed. Even if the bird’s wound appears better in 3 days and the Veterinarian has prescribed 7 days of medication, it needs to be treated for the entire 7 days.

**Maintaining the birds weight whilst it is under your care is an extremely important part of their rehabilitation! As a skinny/malnourished bird can die within a few days. A red, bloody, piece of meat like beef (No fat on it) can be given to a malnourished bird, as it is easy for the bird to digest and it should put on weight, if the bird refuses to eat, it is vitally important to get in contact with any of the below mentioned people as they will be able to assist you.

Assessment of injuries:

A bird of prey needs to be in almost perfect physical condition to survive in the wild. Without this the bird will slowly starve to death. Birds, which should be euthanized, are those, which have:

1. A compound fracture. The bone will be contaminated and infected, making healing virtually impossible.

2. Fractures near or involving a joint, and dislocations. The joint itself will fuse or be damaged leading to arthritis

and an inability to use the joint sufficiently, compromising flight capacity.

3. One or both eyes missing or severely damaged.

4. Lose of use of a leg. Birds of Prey cannot effectively hunt properly, and they are prone to developing foot

infections due to the uneven weight distribution.

5. Digit 2 and the rear digit missing on one or both feet, or the rear digit missing on both feet. These 2 digits are vital

for the bird to be able to kill its prey.

INJURIES WHICH ARE TREATABLE:

1. Fresh soft tissue injuries, which can be adequately cleaned and sutured if necessary.

2. Wing fractures in the middle of the bone. These can be repaired surgically.

3. Leg fractures. It is not as crucial to have perfectly functional legs as it is for the wings.

(Assessment of injuries, injuries are treatable as per Dr. Peter Holz Healesville Sanctuary).

The decision to treat an injured bird of prey needs to be made after careful consideration, with the expectation of a prolonged convalescence period. It is unusual to be able to release a bird with a fractured bone less than 2 months after its initial presentation. X-rays are a vital part of any good diagnosis.

DO NOT use Elastoplast on the bird’s feathers, as this will leave a sticky residue, which will damage feathers. Vet rap should be used when bandaging feathered areas. IT IS NOT ADVISABLE TO STRAP A BIRD’S WING, AS IT DOES CAUSE CONTRACTION OF THE PATAGIUM.

HOUSING

These birds like any injured native animal will need to be kept in a secure, dark and warm environment. The cages, which are provided at Veterinary surgeries, are generally made out of wire. Line the wire cage on the inside with either towels or sheets so that the bird will not damage its important flight feathers. Alternatively a cardboard box, which is big enough for the bird, can be used. Make sure the bird is unable to receive any outside influences. If the bird has damaged flight feathers it will require a full moult, which can take up to 12 months for the smaller birds of prey and up to 2 years for your large eagles, so it is vital to look after its feathers.

As veterinarians you need to ensure that after treating these birds they are going to be cared for by Shelters who have the appropriate facilities to house them, and have a good supply of quality natural foods i.e. mice, rats, rabbits and pigeons. Housing after initial treatment must be a warm hotbox or small pen so it will not injure itself further. A perch will be required if the bird is to be kept in a hot box so as the birds tail does not become damaged/broken. Ensure the perch is high enough off the floor of the box so as it does not rub in its own faeces. Enclosures need to be 2.4m x 2.4m x 2.4m minimum. Enclosure walls need to be lined with shade cloth or wooden lattice can be used, but it to must be lined on the inside with shade cloth. Wooden slates placed vertically about 40-50mm apart also can be used as a wall structure (shade cloth covering is not required). This prevents cere and feather damage.

Good quality perching is also required i.e. tea tree, paper bark, stringy bark or for the perches to be wrapped in astro turf, coconut fibre or hemp rope. The perch should be wide enough so the talons do not completely encircle the perch. Raptors/Birds of Prey must NOT under any circumstances be housed in wired enclosures.