Much-appreciated slow week

LWR had no new intakes this week and one release, so it was almost like a vacation...if your idea of a vacation involves thawing mice daily and fighting with a recalcitrant bird to feed and medicate it...

So let’s start with THAT bird—the red tail who’s recovering from a ruptured crop. See, in his mind, nothing’s wrong with him. His wings work. His feet work. His crop works. So why’s he in captivity and being force-fed food and meds?

You ever tried explaining to an aggressive and confused raptor that he needs your help, whether he believes it or not? Yeah, they don’t listen so well...

So far he’s punctured the backs of both hands, through the handling gloves.  The tip of my index finger twice-daily has a new blood blister or outright puncture from feeding him, because he stubbornly refuses to self-feed. That fingertip is numb. I get slapped in the face twice daily by his powerful wings as he bates and tries to get away from me when I take him out to feed and medicate.

And I insulted his ancestry by exasperatedly asking him one morning last week if he was sure he didn’t have some Coop somewhere in his background...
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On the plus side, his crop IS functioning beautifully and he only has a few more days on meds—and every morning, like clockwork, there’s a fresh pellet in his box. As soon as he’s off meds and will self-feed, Mister Spastic is going into the mini-pen and then the raptor flight to finish out his recuperation.

​The red tail recovering from the elbow fracture, while not a “teddy bear,” is certainly laid-back compared to his next-box neighbor and lives to eat. Honestly. I think I could drag in an adult black bear and this fellow would attempt to eat it all. He’s what colleague Steve Hicks describes as a “light eater”—as long as there’s light, he’ll eat. Another week or so and he’ll be ready for the mini-pen. 

​The mature red tail, I’m pretty sure, is just an old bird trying to die. He has no injuries; he’s been treated for frounce and capillaria, but he just sits in his box with his head feathers ruffled when he’s awake. Most of the time he tucks his head and sleeps. All day. He eats very little, even when hand fed. He’s just old and tired and as much as I hate to, I may call it on him this week to allow him to die with dignity.

​The gray phase screech self-released early last week when I walked into the mini-pen to feed both screeches. I wasn’t surprised. He was flying beautifully and I’d planned to release him anyway; he just beat me to it. This photo was taken the day before he flew the coop.

The red phase is looking good. Flights are still short and a bit wobbly but the wing is pretty level, so...we’ll see. He’ll have to come back inside when the red tails are ready to be moved outside.  The chess pieces get moved around the board as needs demand and space allows...
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As are most screeches, he’s a master of stink-eye. This expression is priceless! “I see you, and I don’t approve. Go away.”