Goodbye bunny..........

Greetings on this wet, cold snowy day. At least it did something rather than be just cold and dreary. My kitty cats are hating it however, as are the chickens!

Well the Prairie falcon, Arie, is doing well and has been moved outside full-time now. His weight is staying up nicely. We're just waiting to see if that traumatized area regrows new feathers. Those feathers are crucial for his survival in the wild. So in the meantime, he's just hanging out and happy we are not having to catch him everyday to move him outside and inside (and so are we)!
Remember, falcons bite!

As for the bunny situation, I met Carmen from Best Friends in Green River, Utah as she was driving back from Wisconsin, visiting her family over the holidays, on her way back to Kanab, Utah, and sent the bunny with her to hang out with their bunny in the same situation. I think their going to be just fine and then get a chance at being free and wild sometime in the spring. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Another reminder, PEOPLE, don't bring home wildlife and make them pets! If you find something orphaned, call you wildlife department if you don't know of a licensed wildlife rehabilitator yourself. DON'T take something to the 'lady down the street who LOVES animals' either, ONLY a licensed wildlife rehabilitator has the skills and training to keep it wild while helping it! There, I've said my piece, once again! I hate fixing screw ups that are preventable!

Now, for the new stuff.



We got in a female Northern Flicker about a week ago. These guys are just beautiful. They are a woodpecker. We have several species of woodpeckers here in Utah. This poor little girl tangled with something big, as her injuries were just horrible. Her left wing and leg were broken beyond repair, with bones sticking out. The decision was make to euthanize her since these injuries were all major and unrepairable. I've included pictures, both alive and one, after her death to show (it's difficult to make out the details) the extent of the injuries under her left wing. I hope she's now flying free beyond this life she knew. We stayed with her until she passed.





We also got in a new eagle. She is an adult Golden that came out of Emery county, not far from where I live. She was found in the County dump. She has several different injuries. The injury to her left foot appears to be from a jaw trap. A trap was not seen, but the injury suggests that one was on her foot at some point. Law enforcement is now involved. My experience with these disgusting traps (and the people that use them) is when they catch something other than what was intended, they take whatever it is, out and then just leave it there, regardless of what it is or it's condition. I'm sure in most cases, death results, but some, like this eagle, was seen 'running' around in the dump and was easily caught because of the injury. There appears to be some head trauma and trauma to the left wing as well. I'm not sure how this occurred as the dump is on a dirt road, far away from the main highway, according to some folks I've spoken with about the dumps' location.
We started her on medications for infection and pain. We also took her into my vet's office to have that foot x-rayed. There are no broken bones in that foot, but there is soft tissue damage. Now, do we have tendons or ligaments involved? Only time will tell as the foot and a couple of the toes are swollen. Today, we moved her outside for the daytime. She is not eating willingly either. This could be for a number of reasons, so I'm not too concerned at this point. We will just keep pushing the food down her until she takes it willingly.






We also got in a new robin today. This bird was found by a gal in Provo, Utah while taking a drive up Provo canyon. She noticed something and pulled over to see a Raven attacking this robin. The Raven flew off as she pulled over and she picked up the robin and realised she was in bad shape. She made contact with me last night and despite a terrible snow storm in the canyon between her and me, she drove here this morning so the bird could get the medical attention she greatly needed. The robin has head injuries and was scalped by the Raven. I love Ravens, but they can be very naughty. Hopefully we can save her. Our thanks to Christa for taking the time to drive her to me in a very dangerous snowy canyon.

Enjoy the pictures included with today's post!

Thanks everyone,
Debbie..........................

I can't believe how cold it's been..............

Hello everyone. Well here in Utah things are all frozen. I don't remember the last time I saw the sun and anything above 31* seems down right balmy!

Well, the new Prairie falcon is doing well. I am concerned, however, that he isn't putting on and holding the weight like he should. He may possibly have more internal parasites that the medications didn't take care of. I plan on getting a fecal sample from him and having that checked.

His wounds are healing nicely. We'll have to wait and see if feathers regrow over the injured area. Of course, that will determine his releasability.


DWR also brought us a cottontail that was
confiscated from some people that had been keeping it as a pet for the last two years. Idiots! The officer actually 'thanked them' for taking 'care' of it!
I could choke some of these guys. They CREATED the problem, you don't THANK them, you prosecute them! UGH!!!!! Connie and Don have been caring for the little guy. We're going to send him to Best Friends as they have one with the same history. Hopefully, they can remind each other that they are rabbits and people aren't all that wonderful!




We also had a Belted Kingfisher come in a few weeks ago. What a beautiful bird. She had been fishing in a contaminated body of water owned by PacifiCorp and becamed oiled with this gunk.
She was drowning in freezing water when we got her. We focused on getting her body temperature up and hydrating her with warm fluids; this will also get the kidneys working harder to flush the body of the contaminants that are now absorbing into her skin.
She lasted two days, but finally died. She tried so hard, but the huge onslaught was just too much.











Things are slower as they should be this time of year. Last year at this time, it was crazy!
I have a meeting this Tuesday with the state DWR . Their policies regarding what they will and won't do to support us has become so insane that it requires a face-to-face meeting. They should be ashamed of themselves. They lie and contradict themselves over and over and when they are confronted by someone, well, you're the bad guy. But since I can speak a little more freely than most other rehabilitators, I will. I hope I accomplish something, but if history has anything to say about it, well, things will stay the same, maybe with one or two less rehabilitators however.

Keep you fingers crossed for all of us,
Debbie.....................

Some wonderful news...and some sad news.....

Time to get everyone caught up.
I've included in this post the release pictures of Rojo, the golden eagle. The release was at Horse Canyon in the Emery county area of Utah. The
gentleman releasing Rojo is Joe Tryon, and Iraq war vet that served 2 tours. What an honor to have him do this release. Rojo flew around, over us and around us, then lit down, taking in his new home. I hope he will do well and make beautiful eagle babies when he's older.




The second release was Cleo, and for everyone following her dilemma, it was sure wonderful to see her in the air. Her's was one of those releases you never forget. She flew in circles, climbing higher and higher over the Dead Horse Point area of Grand county. For those who don't know what this is, Google it. It's like the Grand Canyon on a smaller scale. She finally flew so high, we could not see her any longer. Wonderful!












We had one of the vet's involved in her care, Dr. Nicole MacLaren, do the release.






























Since then, we've had a red-tail hawk come in from Grand county. The poor thing didn't survive the drive to get him here. He was so thin. It appeared he was down due to illness and not injury as no broken bones were found on his exam. I'm glad his suffering is over but I wish we had the oppertunity to help and possibly save him.

We also have a cottontail that was brought to us after wildlife officers confiscated it from some people that had raised it illegally. Now thanks to these 'people', this bunny is not afraid of people or house pets. UGH!!!!!
I'm hoping, (it'll be a long shot) we can teach it these things by hanging out with another cottontail. Best Friends has one in the same predicament, so maybe they can help each other out.
Hopefully we can get the transfer done before Christmas.





We also had a new eagle come in and a new Great Horned owl. They came in the same day. Of course it was a day I left town with my husband, so Connie and Don had to go get them both. The Great Horned owl had a traumatic wing injury. It appeared to have been caused due to electrocution. The entire wing was "dead" so he had to be euthanized. Unfortunately, due to the extent of his injury, surgery could not have been performed to remove such a large portion of
that wing, so this is why euthanizing him was the only option.



The eagle was also in very bad shape. When Connie and Don found her, she was covered with frost. She would have surely died that night had not some deer hunters in the area come across her and notified the Sheriff's department. There were so many things wrong with her, it wasn't apparent what the primary problem was. She really wasn't thin, but her feet were balled up tight and she couldn't move them. She could move her legs somewhat, but not her feet. This can be caused by several things, so we started antibiotics, pain medication and gave her some SQ fluids to warm her up and tube fed her. We then noticed she seemed to have something bothering her airway. We could not see anything, so got her into my vets in Payson for a bunch of testing.
We drew blood for several things including heavy metal poisoning, which could cause the feet to be like this. We also tested for infections and West Nile Virus and metabolic problems. With the x-rays, the bill is close to $1,000 just for all of that.
The x-rays showed nothing obstructing her airway and her lungs were clean. Once the other
tests started coming in, we were still in the dark. Everything was ok. Some of the chemistries were a little off, but nothing life threatening. We continued her supportive care and bathing her three times a day since she couldn't deficate properly. But even after a brief period where she got her appetite back, things quickly got worse. We got her back into the vets at she was in respiratory distress and he looked again for foreign matter in her airway and took more x-rays, which again showed nothing. She died two days later. She fought so hard, but whatever this was, finally won.........
I took her back up to the vets for a necropsy, which didn't tell us what we were looking for, so we sent off many tissue samples to be examined and some cultures of internal organs. I'll keep you posted as to their results. We named her Hera; she isn't suffering anymore. I hope she's flying high and pain free where she's at. I just wish we could have found the answer and saved her.


Finally, we just got in an adult male Prairie falcon. He looks to have tangled with a barbed wire fence. He has some trauma to his right wing and came in with a concussion as well. Right now, we're trying to get some food down him, which is no-small-feat for these falcons. They are vicious! We're treating him with antibiotics for his wound and pain meds. He also had lice when he came in, so we're treating him for that as well. We've named him Ari. I don't have pic's of him at this time, but will take some and post them next time.

Thanks for checking in...........
and remember the wildlife this holiday. Donations are always needed for the work we do. Our medical supplies are not donated, we have to purchase everything, the vet work as well. Surgeries,-x-rays and other supplies all cost us like they would cost you at your doctors. It's an ongoing need, 365 days a year. Help us help them!

Debbie.......................

Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation
725 North Carbonville Road
Price, Utah 84501
435-650-3441

Finally.....a new posting

Well, I'm sure you've all noticed the change of the blog template. I'm not happy about it, but it's entirely my fault. In trying to change something, I completely deleted the old 'look'. I don't know how it happened since I was just looking around at a possible tab addition and voila! I had this template saved from a while ago and although I like it, it's not at all the old one and since I'm not computer savvy at all, well, until someone with amazing talent volunteers to help with some computer work, it will have to do, but it's only temporary.
So I'm mad, but only at myself!
A lot to update you on.
First, Rojo, the young golden eagle was finally released! We tossed him at an area in Emery county called Horse Canyon. A local Iraq vet, Joe Tryon, did the honors. The next blog will show those pictures as the other updates listed will contain pic's and I don't want to crowd this post.

The 3 robins are FINALLY in Florida. Yes, the paperwork came through (thank you Federal people) so at 6 AM one morning, they were put on a flight to Florida. I'm so happy they can have this new life and didn't have to be put down. My volunteer Diane paid for their travel expenses since Lori, their new caregiver, was not able to cover them as custom usually dictates.

We had a ring-neck dove come in that a cat had tangled with. I wasn't sure if the bird could survive, but with time and a lot of medication, she sure did and was released at Connie's house. She also had a broken leg and we let it heal without surgery as the feet do not have to be perfect as for a raptor. Once the pain subsided, she was putting weight on it and we could clearly see, she would be just fine.

More Mexican Free-Tailed bats have come in. We were able to release all of them. When I was in Salt Lake getting the robins on their way, another MFT bat came in so I just had Marc, my new sub-permittee take over with that one since it was there in Salt Lake and he released it the next day. Thank goodness, most of these bat calls require hydration 1 or 2 times and can be on their way. I hope they all are in a much warmer climate enjoying themselves.




Cleo, the golden eagle that went through a windshield here in Carbon county has been to the optical vets and my regular vets to repeat blood work. She will be headed to the optical vets again this Friday. Hopefully, we'll get the OK on her eye condition and then she will shortly be released. Her blood work looked great.







Kachina is doing very well. We still need at least one sponser for her so if you can help with this, you won't be sorry. We'll send you personal updates and a photo of her. Right now, she's in Moab with my volunteer Dave. He's working with her, getting her used to being handled by people. She's an amazing bird and has been through a great deal. Please contact me at secondchancewildliferehab@yahoo.com if you can help with her expenses with a donation.

Well, I'd better get to posting pictures, so thanks for being so patient. If anyone out there can help with computer (web-site) design, please let me know. Of course, we run soley on donations and are non-profit.

Debbie...........