Warning: Graphic Images, But Tis A Day In The Life Of Our Work... Yesterday, we received a call from someone who had found a raptor of some kind, down on her property. She said the bird had a broken (protruding) humerus, and it appeared to be a fresh wound. The caller was unable to bring the bird to us, but sent us photos so we could identify the species. We immediately recognized it as one of Jeffs favorites, a Prairie Falcon. These are sensitive, highly stressed birds and this one was critically injured, so we immediately picked it up. Upon immediate assessment of this falcon, its injury was definitely not new, for there was no bleeding. Unfortunately, the humerus was appearing to become discolored at the exposed end, indicating bone death. Jeff carefully removed the bird from the crate it was being held in, and we placed a hood on its head (to help decrease its obviously high stress level). We then did a very basic cleaning of the wound site and placed a body wrap wing bandage on our new patient. An injection of pain medicine was also given. Hours later, late last night, we could safely anesthetize the falcon knowing it had not eaten recently. This is why we do not choose to immediately anesthetize new arrivals. Anesthesia provides a pain and stress free opportunity to do a thorough exam of the fracture site, which we do for every patient before attempting radiography. With this particular patient, a radiograph is clearly not indicated. Upon closer examination, it was noted that the biceps had been severed from its tendon and there was a foul odor coming from the wound site, confirming our previous thoughts that the fracture was old. In examining the bones, Dr. Cooney determined that the damage extended into the elbow and, in fact, involved the joint. In this unfortunate situation, the only humane option was to euthanize. :-(
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 05:39:59 +0000
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