So glad that shes doing better! I thought of this thread yesterday..whild driving on the Mass turnpike we saw a dead hawk in the road and another flying around by it... it was so sad.
Frightful's been at it again! New COOL sighting, post 191
- Thread starter wegotchickens
- Start date
Careful feeding only hamburger all you hawk/raptor helpers- calcium is absent at the MOSH (Museum of Science and History) Avolon is a barn owl who is permanently disfigured (Barn Owl) because he didn't get calcium he was feed only hamburger meat. (His wings are dwarfed)
- Thread starter
- #43
I knew better than to just feed protein. I've done rehab on a couple of songbird babies, hatched turtle eggs and raised the little ones. So although I considered thawing a chunk of beef to feed her little snippets from it, I knew that wasn't a long-term solution.
I know enough to accept that this was too new and too critical and too precious for me to learn as I went. I'm grateful for the Clinch River Raptor Clinic. What Frightful needs is exactly what they do. And I can learn from them
Calling a vet or Fish & Game were not numbers I was inclined to call. From the beginning I wanted someone that would take Frightful's care seriously. And I found just the right person
Now I have to restrain my urge to check on Frightful constantly. I don't want to be a pest! I'll send an e-mail at lunchtime and ask how she's doing...
FF, this is probably NOT the same bird that got your chickens, although it sounds like you have a Red Tail Hawk in your area. She is probably one of the hawks that eye-balled MY chickens all last summer. Mine have good cover, though, and (knock on wood) I haven't lost a chicken to a hawk so far. I have an excellent rooster, though, who watches the skies and warns his girls and they all listen to him.
I'm on the border of Sevier/Blount/Knox counties. And if I really do get to be the one to release Frightful I'll release her in a safer place than I found her, but in the same general range. If that means she'll be a threat to my birds, so be it. Guess I'll just have to only let them out when I'm there to keep an eye on them (which is what I do already, actually). I'd release her in my back yard if I could. But that wouldn't be the right thing to do for many reasons.
And even if she HAD eaten one of my chickens I'd still do what I did for Frightful.
I'm the kind of person that picks up animals that are clearly strays and then tries to find them a good home. I once tamed a litter of feral kittens and found them all homes. The turtles eggs I hatched out were missed by a predator that dug up their nest. I hatched them out, raised them to the size of my hand, and let them go. Same for the robin baby who's mom got munched. I don't keep wild things but I can't NOT help them if they need it and I can do it. Frightful is just a bit bigger and a little more fierceful than anything else I've ever helped.
redhen, the hawks in my area have always travelled in pairs, so I have been watching to see if there was another hawk where I found Frightful. Haven't seen one so far, though. How sad that one lost a mate to a car!
We had bad ice and snow last night, and once again I was smiling on my way to work because Frightful is NOT in that mess. She really would not have survived the past 48 hours. I've been trying to imagine what her past 2 weeks were like, living on the ground when she was meant to live in the skies. And thinking that the rain on her feathers when she preened is probably the only thing that worked in her favor when it came to survival. Because we've had a LOT of rain in the past two weeks!
I know enough to accept that this was too new and too critical and too precious for me to learn as I went. I'm grateful for the Clinch River Raptor Clinic. What Frightful needs is exactly what they do. And I can learn from them
Calling a vet or Fish & Game were not numbers I was inclined to call. From the beginning I wanted someone that would take Frightful's care seriously. And I found just the right person
FF, this is probably NOT the same bird that got your chickens, although it sounds like you have a Red Tail Hawk in your area. She is probably one of the hawks that eye-balled MY chickens all last summer. Mine have good cover, though, and (knock on wood) I haven't lost a chicken to a hawk so far. I have an excellent rooster, though, who watches the skies and warns his girls and they all listen to him.
I'm on the border of Sevier/Blount/Knox counties. And if I really do get to be the one to release Frightful I'll release her in a safer place than I found her, but in the same general range. If that means she'll be a threat to my birds, so be it. Guess I'll just have to only let them out when I'm there to keep an eye on them (which is what I do already, actually). I'd release her in my back yard if I could. But that wouldn't be the right thing to do for many reasons.
And even if she HAD eaten one of my chickens I'd still do what I did for Frightful.
I'm the kind of person that picks up animals that are clearly strays and then tries to find them a good home. I once tamed a litter of feral kittens and found them all homes. The turtles eggs I hatched out were missed by a predator that dug up their nest. I hatched them out, raised them to the size of my hand, and let them go. Same for the robin baby who's mom got munched. I don't keep wild things but I can't NOT help them if they need it and I can do it. Frightful is just a bit bigger and a little more fierceful than anything else I've ever helped.
redhen, the hawks in my area have always travelled in pairs, so I have been watching to see if there was another hawk where I found Frightful. Haven't seen one so far, though. How sad that one lost a mate to a car!
We had bad ice and snow last night, and once again I was smiling on my way to work because Frightful is NOT in that mess. She really would not have survived the past 48 hours. I've been trying to imagine what her past 2 weeks were like, living on the ground when she was meant to live in the skies. And thinking that the rain on her feathers when she preened is probably the only thing that worked in her favor when it came to survival. Because we've had a LOT of rain in the past two weeks!
Quote:
:standing ovation:
Not everyone knows these things tho so its good to post helpful hints.
:standing ovation:
Not everyone knows these things tho so its good to post helpful hints.
- Thread starter
- #45
Quote:
:standing ovation:
Not everyone knows these things tho so its good to post helpful hints.
True, true.
Sadly, Frightful had a bit of a relapse. I was expecting it, actually. Makes it a little easier to take...
She threw up, so she's back on fluids and hi-cal supplements for a while until her system stabilizes. And she won't be wormed until she's back on solid food and keeping it down. Poor baby
:standing ovation:
Not everyone knows these things tho so its good to post helpful hints.
True, true.
Sadly, Frightful had a bit of a relapse. I was expecting it, actually. Makes it a little easier to take...
She threw up, so she's back on fluids and hi-cal supplements for a while until her system stabilizes. And she won't be wormed until she's back on solid food and keeping it down. Poor baby
- Thread starter
- #47
Quote:
Yeah, I kinda got my hopes up when the news was so very good. But as skinny as she was it doesn't really surprise me that she had some trouble.
I'm really glad she won't be wormed for a while. I know the parasites are causing her recovery to be slower, but worming can kill a fragile animal and she is definitely fragile.
I wrote some friends & family my Frightful story. A couple of them think I should publish it (local paper). But I worry about doing that, lest I get smacked by the law for having her in my garage before taking her to the rehab center. I guess I could rewrite it and leave that part out? But I won't unless and until the story has a happy ending!
But I was kinda flattered at the same time, since one of the people who suggested it be published writes and has been published herself. That was a nice warm fuzzy for me!
And I've thought of the perfect place to set her free, in the same territory but away from a busy road. And up at the top of a hill, too. The feild is on property owned by some friends, so if things start really looking up I'm going to see if they'd be agreeable to it. They're the kind of people that will probably say yes
Yeah, I kinda got my hopes up when the news was so very good. But as skinny as she was it doesn't really surprise me that she had some trouble.
I'm really glad she won't be wormed for a while. I know the parasites are causing her recovery to be slower, but worming can kill a fragile animal and she is definitely fragile.
I wrote some friends & family my Frightful story. A couple of them think I should publish it (local paper). But I worry about doing that, lest I get smacked by the law for having her in my garage before taking her to the rehab center. I guess I could rewrite it and leave that part out? But I won't unless and until the story has a happy ending!
But I was kinda flattered at the same time, since one of the people who suggested it be published writes and has been published herself. That was a nice warm fuzzy for me!
And I've thought of the perfect place to set her free, in the same territory but away from a busy road. And up at the top of a hill, too. The feild is on property owned by some friends, so if things start really looking up I'm going to see if they'd be agreeable to it. They're the kind of people that will probably say yes
Such a wonderful thing - you finding Frightful - or her finding you...
That she is still alive is good news indeed -- and I am thinking positive thoughts for her every day... thanks for letting us know how she is doing!
- Thread starter
- #49
She's doing so well that she'll go into a flight cage later this week.
And she's learned where food is coming from, so Katie has to watch out for her fingers LOL.
Katie thinks Frightful is out danger at this point, so now it's just building her back up and then worming her.
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