People asked a lot of questions a few days ago when we posted photos of the Bald Eagle with spinal injury, with wrapped feet. Small balls were wrapped inside. I try to answer as many questions as possible in the body of the text. Eagles, like all birds of prey, have very powerful muscles in their legs and toes. Sharp talons complete the raptors foot. This combination makes for perfectly designed feet to catch, hold, and carry prey. When a bird has a spinal injury the results are similar to when a human has a spinal injury. There is often weakness in the leg, feet, or other parts of the body if the damage is extensive. Our eagle has an injury not a fracture of the spinal cord...that is a good thing. She is currently standing and making great progress. Her appetite remains excellent. She is trying to tear whole food such as mice and small fish. The foot remains weaker however so we do physical therapy on her feet which includes water therapy and manual manipulation. We massage her feet and then to assist with keeping the foot open, we have inserted first small balls and today...larger tennis balls into the palm of the foot. Eagles need strong feet and toes to survive in the wild. We want to give our lady the best chance possible...so we are therefore paying special attention to those important toes and her feet and will continue to do physical therapy, water therapy and massage to her feet. I have a short video that I will try to post after these photos. You will note that she is a bit tired as wrapping the feet in the balls is the last part of the therapy. Much like a person that has had physical therapy it is hard work.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 00:09:27 +0000
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