Bald Eagle.

[Constrictor_BO]

This juvenile Bald Eagle was found last weekend on the side of the road. He had been down for several days and has lost conciderable amout of weight and dehydrated. I think it was like 1000 grams underweight if memory serves me correctly. He had some head trauma and could not see when it came in. As of Wed. it appeared to be able to see some out of it's right eye and is gaining weight. Treatments consist of fluids LRS(w/nutrical) and SQ, Force feeding furless mice. We are doing these treatments three times a day. He has some wing issues as one of them is drooping, as to the extent of it we dont really know yet and wont know until it is able to go to an outdoor cage.


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[Constrictor_BO]

Oh yeah. You wont see me holding these Eagles like that often, not without someone holding the head. THis one is so weak we were a little lax on the holding for the pictures. A healthier eagle would put a major hurt on ya if you give it half a chance.
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[LdyDrgn]

Poor thing. So beautiful, too. You'll have him in good shape in no time! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
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[schatzie001]

Wow Barry! He is magnificent [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] I can't get over the length of those talons - sheesh

Please keep us updated on how his rehab goes, hope the big fella makes it through ok.
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[JuliusSqueezer]

Nice Rescue!!! Are you guys avoiding imprinting or are you fairly sure he won't rehab well enough for release? Either way, lucky bird. Doesn't sound like he had much time left on his own.
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[Constrictor_BO]

He is old enough that he wont imprint. It's the babies from birth until after they leave the nest that are so easily imprited. This Eagle is 2 to 3 yrs old. I dont think it'll be much fun getting him out of the cage once he is a little better. Usually healthier birds try to do as much damage to us as possible when we get them out. You can imagine what this bird could do to you if ya aint fast enough.

As far as being releasable. It is way to early to tell. He has definatly lost the use of his left eye. Last wed. we noticed he was getting some vision in his right eye. Some birds can be released whith one eye. They are tested in flight cages to see if they can find the mice we throw in there. Usually a falconer will get the bird to test it's hunting ability for us. Another release factor is his wing. It was broken, it seems to be healing ok as far as we can tell. We will have to see how it flies in a outdoor cage to determine if it can fly good enough to be released. We have had it for a week now and things are starting to look better for it. It still has a long road to recovery though because it was in such bad shape. I go back to the center on wed, I will give an update on it. Maybe it'll be somewhat better enough to put up a fight. The fiesier they are the better we like it because that means they are getting better.
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