birds Archives - Page 18 of 20

22/09/201722/09/2017

Blackbird Marcia

Admission – 28/04/2017

Blackbird Marcia came to us three weeks after been rescued by a well meaning person, who found the bird as a nestling being out of the nest on the ground. Unfortunately, a wrong diet has been fed to the bird, which led to a very poor plumage and delayed general development. Marcia suffered also from an untreated coccidia infection worsened by a generally weakened immune system due to lack of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Additional plumage damage has been inflicted by keeping the fledgling bird in a metal cage. Marcia appeared also clearly imprinted, as she has been raised by her own. Luckily, the finder didn’t release Marcia as initially intended, but only because of concerns regarding cats visiting the garden. This was the main reason why Marcia has been brought to us eventually, which saved her live and gave her another chance.

Although Marcia’s plumage might not look too bad at the first glance, one should not forget that most plumage related problems will manifest themselves at a later stage. Feathers and flight are the primary facets of bird rehabilitation, which are sometimes overlooked by inexperienced and even seemingly experienced rescues and rehabbers. Feather condition is as critical during the course of release for birds as is the ability to fly. Any type of damage to the feather structure will impede a bird’s ability to fly, to be waterproof and to thermoregulate. In short, birds with compromised feather condition have a low survival rate following being released. To further compound the problem, the majority of birds have only one annual moult, the first complete one usually occurring in their second year.

Update – 28/05/2017

It took Marcia five months to replace all damaged and prematurely lost feathers. Marcia was unable to fly for many weeks, which would have been her death sentence in the wild. She would have been unable to protect herself from the elements, rendering her unable to maintain her body temperature and unable to forage. Marcia has spent most of the time in our sheltered soft release aviary, where she could exercise and explore freely, but where she also had the chance to find shelter and warmth when needed.

Update – 22/09/2017

Today blackbird Marcia has been successfully released. Stay safe Marcia!

19/09/201723/01/2023

Jackdaw Jack Or How To Treat A Scissor Beak

Jack is a two year old imprinted jackdaw, who came to us in March 2017, having shown deficiency signs at the time of admission caused by an insufficient diet. Jack has been raised by his own and kept in a cage with occasional indoor free flight after being found as an orphan. It was only last year, when he has been joined by a fledgling carrion crow. Jack has also suffered of a condition called cross, crooked or scissor beak, in which the top and bottom beaks do not align properly. This can be caused by genetics, an injury or the inability to maintain the beak’s length and shape by normal honing on rocks or other hard surfaces. It is also thought that an improper hand feeding technique and an unbalanced diet play a role in the development of this beak deformity.

A scissor beak needs frequent trimming, which has been done in Jack’s case carefully and gradually in several short sessions to allow the beak to regrow and reshape into a ‘normal beak’. However, this is not always possible and the success as well as relapse rate depends on many factors. In Jack’s case this has been achieved and the beak is now ‘maintenance free’ for more than three months. Apart from a balanced diet, it is also important to provide any bird with the means to ‘use’ the beak sufficiently, to enable the bird to strengthen the facial muscles and to allow natural wear and tear. Rotten tree stems, pebbles, bricks, rocks, shells, wooden toys, cuttle fish bone and marrow bone dog biscuits are only a few of suitable toys and tools, which help to keep a beak in a good shape and a jackdaw well entertained. Achieving the ‘perfect’ shape of the beak through trimming is obviously important and the prerequisite to solve the scissor beak problem. However, if a scissor beak persist for long, muscles will get atrophic, meaning they become shorter than normal, which can pull even a well shaped beak out of alignment resulting in the beak to continue to grow in an asymmetric fashion. This is why all beak trimming sessions do also involve some degree of physiotherapy to counteract problems caused by muscle atrophy.

06/09/201718/09/2017

Blackbird Orwell

Admission – 13/08/2017

Orwell is a fledgling blackbird, who has been caught and injured by a cat. He suffered a puncture wound to his left wing as well as sprain injury of his left leg. Orwell has been treated accordingly, which did include a course of antibiotics to counteract a potentially fatal infection transmitted by the cat contact. Orwell settled in very quickly and was eager to be fed. A couple of days later blackbird Orwell has been moved from his hospital box into a much larger flexarium, which is a soft fabric indoor aviary, to allow him to exercise his wing and leg without damaging his developing plumage. The puncture wound to his wing healed very well. The mild paralysis of his leg, caused by the sprain injury, which did obviously involve soft tissues and femoral nerve, has also completely resolved.

Update – 26/08/2917

Today Orwell has been moved into our soft release outdoor aviary, as he is now independently feeding. Birds which have been in care for more than a few days should be reacclimatised by housing in an outside aviary for a period of time (generally about two weeks) before release. Fledglings also require an oppertunity to exercise to develop sufficient fitness prior to their release. The exposure to the elements will also encourage preening and ensure that the plumage is returned to normal waterproofing, which is important for any bird species. Orwell settled in very well into his new temporary home.

Update – 18/09/2017

Today blackbird Orwell has been successfully soft released. Stay safe Orwell!

05/09/201723/09/2017

Magpie Immanuel

Admission – 22/04/2017

Immanuel is an immature second year magpie, who has been observed being grounded in a garden for several days. Whilst being in hiding, Immanuel has been attacked by a cat, but luckily managed to escape. He has been eventually caught, when he was seeking shelter in a conservatory following the cat attack.

The admission assessment revealed no obvious injuries, but showed a loss of all tail feathers and severely damaged primaries and secondaries involving both wings rendering the bird being unable to fly. Immanuel has been treated prophylactically with antibiotics to prevent a potentially fatal infection caused by bugs transmitted by the cat. As the plumage has been found to be severely damaged, Immanuel needs to undergo a complete or post breeding moult, which is usually happening over the summer and is going to be completed by the end of September. This also means, that Immanuel needs to stay with us for almost half a year before being releasable.

Wild, and in particular adult wild magpies can be difficult patients, as they are often very nervous and easily excitable birds, who may have the tendency to harm themselves when being kept in captivity in a type of aviary, which doesn’t completely suit their needs. Sufficient shelter and hiding spaces are crucial to allow these birds to feel undisturbed and to relax in a captive environment. Magpies enjoy to cache their food items and need therefore suitable areas, where they can do so. It can be also sometimes difficult to introduce magpies into mixed species groups, as other corvid species are commonly reluctant to accept magpies amongst them. Although jackdaws are the most likely species to be tolerant enough to accept magpie company, it is more about the individual personalities than the species itself, as we had positive outcomes with jackdaws, crows, jays and rooks. Age and previous negative or positive experiences seem to play a role as well, as does the degree of maturity and the time of the year in respect of the breeding season. Generally speaking, mixed setups of this kind have to be closely monitored as they are prone to seemingly sudden change.

Update – 03/09/2017

Magpie Immanuel is doing well in his outdoor aviary, which he is sharing with magpie Kiri and jackdaws Benno and Kojak. He has moulted most of his primary and secondary feathers and has also regrown his tail feathers. The result looks promising and we are now hopeful that Immanuel can be released by the end of September, when his moult is completed.

Update – 23/09/2017

Today magpie Immanuel has been successfully soft released. Stay safe Immanuel!

04/09/201718/09/2017

Sparrowhawk Amaya

Admission – 28/08/2017

Amaya is an immature female sparrowhawk, who suffered a severe impact trauma. She has been found unconscious after flying into a window, presumably whilst chasing her prey. Although she regained consciousness quickly, she was unable to fly off by her own. In cases like Amaya’s, where there was a witnessed loss of consciousness, it is strongly advised not to release the bird immediately, but to monitor the situation for at least 24 hours before even considering a release. In Amaya’s case, the admission assessment revealed typical signs of a severe concussion and a mild spinal contusion, but also a marked haematoma around her right shoulder girdle.

Sparrowhawks are very instinct driven bird, and as such will not learn quickly to adapt to new situations like being held captive. These birds react to stimuli without thinking, so one has to make sure that these birds cannot injure themselves whilst being in captivity. For this species specific reason, but also due to her brain injury, Amaya has been transferred immediately into a quit and slightly darkened hospital box, where she could rest undisturbed. This dark and quiet hospital box is very important for the recovery, as this can prevent convulsions induced by the trauma. If the bird is restless, it might also be sometimes necessary to apply a tail sheath or guard, which will be fitted to protect the tail feathers.

To get a sparrowhawk started on food can sometimes be difficult. Sparrowhawks seem to have a fairly set “idea” of what their food has to look like. Therefore these birds need usually to be force-fed to start with, which may include tube feeding of a specifically design liquid raptor diet, a step being particularly important during the acute phase of the disease. Luckily Amaya suffered only a mild concussion and recovered quickly. Against one’s expectations, she also adapted well to the new situation and accepted her first assisted feed the next morning.

Update – 30/08/2017

Amaya made a very good recovery from her traumatic injury to brain and spine. However, as she wasn’t using her bruised wing sufficiently enough to be released soon, the decision has been made to transfer her into the care of experienced falconer Charlie Rolle of South Coast Falconry, who has today kindly taken over her care and is providing a flight aviary, where Amaya can exercise and strengthen her flight muscles, before eventually being released. Thank you very much Charlie for your help and continued support!

Update – 07/09/2017

Today sparrowhawk Amaya has been successfully released. Stay safe Amaya!