Wildlife Rehabilitation in Utah/Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation: Busier than I'd like to be............

Friday, November 25, 2011

Busier than I'd like to be............

Another new Great Horned owl, two new Golden eagles..........and there are a couple of releases in there as well.

Unfortunately the newest Great Horned owl is also non-releasable, so that's three I need to find placement for. The newest guy came from an area in San Juan county called Verger, so I'll probably call him Verger to help me keep the three straight. He's quite handsome and will soon be introduced to the other two Great Horns.

Going to have to keep the remote camera's on that enclosure when that happens. He's been outside for awhile and perhaps they have been 'talking' and are familiar with each other by now, only time will tell. His x-ray shows the two broken bones which rendered him non-releasable. The most obvious one is the ulna in his left wing.

We released our Western Grebe. Connie was the one who did the actual release at an area near Huntington. There is a man made reservoir there and that's where she let our little guy go. Hopefully he is now somewhere much warmer having a good time with other Grebes.

The two new eagles are both serious cases. Of course, most are that come to us. They are not just stopping by to visit!

The first one came to us from San Juan county, specifically LaSall. He was found by the road, with what appeared to be a broken wing according to the finder of the bird. The wildlife officer that responded thought he 'didn't look too bad' (what a goof). Really? What does that mean?
Turns out the bird had been shot and is full of lead. He is also suffering from lead toxicity (go figure). He was thin and dehydrated and he has multiple broken bones. Lovely.
We started the usually protocol with fluids and pain medication. We also tube fed him for a few days, making sure we started out slowly before adding food that took more to process. We knew we had to get surgery done, but he would never survive the surgery in his current condition, so since we did have a few days that we could use to improve his overall condition,

we did that and then the surgery went forward.

We also started the chelation therapy to clean his body of the lead leaching into his gut. At this point he is considered clean.
We named the bird Copper and have started a Chip-In page for him to help with his expenses. As of today, he is still not eating on his own and we are having to force feed him twice a day. I've included pictures of the fixating device,

now on his wing, to hold the bones in place while they heal. He will have this on for about 10 weeks, a little longer than usual, and then have to go through another surgery to remove it. I've included a couple of his x-rays to show the extent of the lead in his body.

The other eagle came to us from Emery county in a very rural part of that area. He was not found near a road, so we weren't surprised that there are no broken bones, but why was he down and in critical condition. He was extremely thin and dehydrated and had the worst parasite load I have ever seen in a patient. Literally thousands of lice of many different species covered him. Yuk!

His signs and symptoms looked an awful lot like lead poisoning, whether primary or secondary I'm not sure. For precautions, I started chelation therapy on him as well, along with tube feeding and working our way to red, bloody meat. Talk about anemic, those lice did a number on him. I also added antibiotics as the lice could most certainly cause disease as well. He has power in his legs, but cannot stand on them and 'balls' his feet up under him. This is an indicator of lead, but could also be an indicator of other things as well, but I'm putting my money on the lead.
We are taking him into the vets tomorrow for x-rays and blood work. We ran a metal detector over him last night and it was beeping like crazy.

Poor guy. One good thing in this whole story is he has a tremendous appetite! Both of these newest eagle are about the same age.

So right at this point, we have 4 Golden eagles. Fury, (secondary lead poisoning), Canyon, just off the nest and found near death, Copper, gunshot and primary lead poisoning and Spirit, our newest Golden, possible lead poisoning. Three of these 4 are going to be here for quite awhile, due to the problems associated with lead. We will have to constantly look at each of them for any signs of tiny improvements or problems.
These cases cannot be determined in a 'normal' time frame for rehab (whatever that is). Costs are going to be tremendous, this is why we put together the "Chip-In" button on this page for Copper. Food alone for these massive birds for many months is a scary thought.
Please help if you can and remember, all the work that we do is done through donations. All of it.

Debbie

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ATTENTION

Spring is a very active wonderful time for all animals. Babies are born and learning what it takes to be wild from their parents. Unfortunately, many may end up in trouble and often times humans may try to intervene, whether or not it is necessary. The inexperienced human finding a baby bird, for instance, more than likely cannot tell if the bird is truely in need of help, or is learning to fly, something that can take a few days to master. Leaving the baby to learn what it needs is something an experienced birder can spot, but taking that baby home, thinking you're helping, when in fact, it is the worst thing possible for that baby, has now changed it's life forever.
Call a rehabilitator for answers. Yes, we want that baby to be safe from predators, but give that baby a chance. The worst thing that happens in these situations is an improper diet being fed by the 'rescuer'. This will result in death, if not right away, then in time, due to improper development. Different birds require different diets and different amounts of food at different times. Here is where a wildlife rehabilitators knowledge and experience makes all the difference. Don't try to do this yourself, only to attempt to find a rehabilitator as the baby is dying due to your 'efforts'. When they are at this stage, there is very little that can be done AND it is also illegal to attempt raising wildlife. Only a permitted wildlife rehabilitator can do this legally, for we know how to keep them wild and ready for release as well. Making them pets, besides being illegal is very selfish and is not what's best for the wildlife. They need to be free and have learned how to find the food they will need to survive in the wild and know what to avoid and learn the language of their species. There is a lot that goes into a successful rehabilitation and the orphans out there deserve the best chance possible. Don't you agree?

DID YOU KNOW...........

Wildlife rehabilitation is a profession borne of a love and concern for wild things everywhere. We wildlife rehabilitators have taken this many steps forward, increasing our knowledge, skills and techniques into a career that most people do not know exists. Most people assume that the work that a wildlife rehabilitator does is something all state wildlife agencies perform as state employees. This could not be further from the truth.
The reality is, all wildlife rehabilitation is done, in all 50 states, by us, wildlife rehabilitators. State and federal officials MAY occasionally pick up the patients that come to us, but they bring them to us at our homes and facilities, not their state or federal offices or vets offices.
Ours is a specialized field that primarily involves vet/medical expertise. No, we are not veterinarians, but many of us have extensive backgrounds in medicine (people and animals).
We also have vast backgrounds in the natural history of the patients we care for. Our work involves many fields. State and federal wildlife folks just don't have that training or background.
The other aspect of our work that is not known, is that we are not paid by anyone. Our patients don't 'belong' to anyone. They are wild beings. So when they have medical needs, there is no one to step up to this challenge except wildlife rehabilitators. Most of us work basically 24/7. Holidays are no exception. When an animal is hurt, it needs help now!
To top it all off, whatever expenses these patient incure, the bills are paid by us, for vet care, surgeries, medications, all of it. We build their homes and repair them as needed. All of our patients need something. They are not here to visit, they are in trouble. So imagine if you will......going to work everyday, driving your own vehicle to do that work and never getting a paycheck. OK, so maybe you can do that.....now imaging having a source of income from somewhere, now, this is where things get really different. When you get that money, you just turn it over to other people to pay for what your patients need, regardless of your financial needs!
This is wildlife rehabilitation.
We also are constantly pursuing continuous education of the latest finds in our field. We strive to be the best we can for those entrusted to us.
So please, support your wildlife rehabilitator in your area. They need it and believe me, it is very much appreciated.

Wildlife Rehabilitation in Utah/Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation

Friday, November 25, 2011

Busier than I'd like to be............

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