The Week in Review - Some Interesting/Challenging Cases
American Robin 21-593 was found in Richland, WA. The Robin acts like a normal baby Robin who is just starting to get the idea he can eat food on his own (especially blueberries!) but he has deformed toes on both feet.
We often admit birds that are under weight, but Red-tailed Hawk 21-616 is an extreme case. At 504 grams, he is approximately 50% underweight. He is emaciated, dehydrated and anemic. He needs fluids to treat the dehydration, and he needs blood to treat the anemia. We started with a bolus of IV fluids followed 12 hours later with oral fluids. Then we selected a Red-tailed Hawk who had recovered from her initial injuries and been outside in a flight pen reconditioning for two months. She provided 12 ml of blood for a transfusion - humans usually receive a glass of orange juice after giving blood, we gave the hawk a bolus of oral fluids.
The donor hawk was anesthetized prior to drawing the blood from a wing vein.
An IV catheter was placed in the emaciated hawks jugular vein to make it easier to administer IV fluids and the blood transfusion.
He was soon standing in his cage. He will get more oral fluids in a few hours. We will check his packed cell volume in the morning and decide whether or not to give another transfusion.
Fall Open House: October 2, 2021, 1-4 pm
This Great Horned Owl print will be one of the many items available to bid on at the open house. Don’t forget to mark your calendar!
