Raptor Medicine, Surgery, and Rehabilitation

David Scott

• Publisher: CAB International
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781789246100
• eBook ISBN: 9781789246124
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Veterinary Medicine

Comprehensive, practical and extensively illustrated, this book accumulates years of practical knowledge when dealing with injured birds of prey. Written by a practicing veterinarian it is a concise, helpful, day-to-day guide which outlines everything from handling and the intake examination, through to practical procedures and the treatment of a comprehensive range of conditions and injuries. Also covering advice on housing, rehabilitation and eventual release, and fully updated throughout, this new edition incorporates new images as well as new and expanded information on electrocution, pesticides, feeding puppets and species habitats. With plenty of new 'raptor tips' and questions, Raptor Medicine, Surgery, and Rehabilitation, 3rd Edition, includes handy hints, clinical pearls and retains its emphasis on practical procedures throughout. Forming a complete and approachable guide to raptor veterinary care, this book also features numerous rapid reference charts and appendices.

1 Handling and Physical Examination

Birds of prey are actually quite easy to work with if you have the proper training and a little experience. On the other hand, they can be incredibly dangerous if handled improperly. As with all wild animals, it is important to work fast and to minimize stress whenever working with birds of prey. Proper handling techniques and being prepared can go a long way to help create a safe and stress-free interaction.

Learning Objectives

1. Proper handling techniques.

2. Performing a physical exam.

3. Intake protocols for common problems.

Handling and Restraint

Proper restraint is important for the patient’s well-being and for staff safety. Always remember that the talons are in most cases the most dangerous part of the bird and, as such, should be restrained at all times.

Appropriately sized leather gloves should always be worn. They must be thick enough to protect the wearer but not too thick as they can make handling cumbersome.

The legs should be held with the index finger between them. This is more comfortable for the bird (the legs will not rub) and the grip is much more secure (see arrowhead in Fig. 1.1).

Fig. 1.1. Proper handling for transport.

The legs should always be grabbed as close to the body as is possible (i.e. above the stifle joints) to avoid iatrogenic fractures. This is especially important in birds with long, thin legs such as Cooper’s hawks. Once the bird is adequately restrained, the grip should be moved closer to the feet for better control of the talons.

When transporting a bird, secure the legs with an underhanded grip, cover the bird’s head with a towel and place the bird’s back to your chest (Fig. 1.1). With your other hand, gently place the towel across the chest (be careful not to interfere with respiration) and hold the beak up. This protects the bird’s face from its talons and also restrains both wings.

The eyes and head should be covered with a light towel whenever possible since this will have a calming effect on birds of prey.

Remember to protect your face with one hand when grabbing a bird from a kennel.

To decrease stress, consider using isoflurane anesthesia when doing examinations or treatments.

Vultures use their beak for defense so their head must be gently restrained at all times. This can be done by covering the head with a towel and loosely encircling the neck with your fingers just under the mandible.

Young birds should be handled with extreme caution. In most cases these birds should be handled as little as possible, should not be manipulated onto their back unless absolutely necessary and should be transported in a box, rather than hand-carried. Young birds/hatchlings should never be grabbed by the legs. Always use a body grab from behind with the wings carefully folded up against the body (see Chapter 12).

Long-handled nets are very useful when capturing birds, but they need to be constructed and used properly to avoid injury. The actual net should be made from solid, lightweight cloth and not fro...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• About the Author
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• 1 Handling and Physical Examination
• 2 Anatomy and Physiology
• 3 Species Overview
• 4 Fluid Therapy and Treatments
• 5 Ophthalmology
• 6 Infectious Diseases
• 7 Miscellaneous Conditions
• 8 Anesthesia
• 9 Soft Tissue Surgery
• 10 Orthopedics
• 11 Endoscopy
• 12 Caring for Nestlings and Hatchlings
• 13 Feathers and Aging
• 14 Clinical Pathology
• 15 Housing and Husbandry
• 16 Capturing Trapped Birds
• 17 Time for Release!
• Appendix A: Feeding Guide
• Appendix B: Formulary
• Appendix C: Anesthetic Record
• Appendix D: Wrapper Patterns
• Appendix E: Laws and Regulations
• Appendix F: Body Weights during Development
• Appendix G: Building a Nest
• Appendix H: Feeding Puppets
• Appendix I: Resources
• Index
• Cabi
• Back