Week 2: Bandaging Red Tailed Hawks

My second week consisted of a much more vigorous schedule. As busy season is starting to come around, more and more animals are being brought in.

During my second week, two red-tailed hawks were brought in with one suffering wing injuries and the other suffering malnourishment. Being assigned to their enclosure within only the second week actually empowered my confidence in handling them. While opening up their cages, I carefully grabbed its legs and held it towards me, while my partner administered the tablets and liquid medicine. We then put it in a box, weighed it, and took it to the triage room where I was able to observe and assist a bandaging on its wing.

This week, I was also able to handle screech owls, possums, and different species of birds including robins and waxwings. With these different animals, I was getting better at identifying the reasons they were brought in. The screech owl was constantly shaking, not eating, and not fighting back every time it came into contact with a human. Previously I had learned that these were signs for head trauma.

This week, it is much easier to start identifying the disorders in animals and to group them among the species.For example, many of the birds being brought in are mainly from cat attacks. I’m looking forward to helping the animals that will be brought in next week.