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334 Hand-Rearing Birds

­ Common­Medical­Problems

Metabolic­Bone­Disease
Metabolic bone disease is seen unfortunately often in young birds that have been in the hands of
the public for even a few days on an inadequate diet. Though recognizing a young raptor as a meat-
eater, people fail to understand that a diet of hamburger, organ meat, or muscle meat creates a
severe imbalance of calcium and phosphorus at a very vulnerable time when young birds are grow-
ing at an astronomical rate. The severely unbalanced calcium-to-phosphorus (Ca : P) ratio in such
meats causes stripping of available calcium from the bones, leading to deformities such as bowing
of the long bones, greenstick or outright fractures. When these birds come into care, often because
the finders finally realize that something is wrong, this situation can only sometimes be corrected.
Providing a diet with the correct Ca : P ratio of 2 : 1 plus oral calcium supplementation for as long
as the inadequate diet was fed can sometimes overcome the problem if the birds do not yet have
any fractures or major deformities. A veterinarian should be consulted for help in such cases. Once
fractures have occurred, little can be done because the cortices of the bones are usually so thin that
they will break somewhere else if an attempt is made to immobilize or pin the fracture site. Feather
development will usually be severely compromised in these cases as well.

Head­Injuries
Do not overheat a bird with a head injury because this may aggravate bleeding/swelling in the
brain. Steroids or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may be of use in treating head
injuries, although steroid use is controversial; using dexamethasone for head injuries raises con-
cerns over the steroids causing a depression of immune system function. Many wildlife veterinar-
ians prefer NSAIDs in these cases, although there is a large amount of variation in safety and
effectiveness between species. Extrapolate between species cautiously. Dosing for some raptor spe-
cies has been published (Hawkins et al. 2018) and is an area of current research. Each new edition
of the Exotic Animal Formulary (Hawkins et al. 2018) reviews current published papers and it is
prudent to stay informed with new knowledge.

Other­Injuries
Young birds without wing feathers to slow their fall can be badly bruised in a drop from a high nest.
If very young, their abdomen tends to be the center of gravity, and bruising there can lead to impac-
tions of pellet material. Fecal matter in droppings may look like a string of small beads rather than
a typical fried egg appearance. Appetite may be low and a hard mass may be palpated between the
legs in the abdomen. Fluids and a small amount of Metamucil can help correct this over time.
Clean meat (i.e. no casting material) supplemented to correct the Ca : P ratio can also be dipped in
Metamucil and then fed. This will provide nutrition without adding to the casting burden. This
condition sometimes takes up to 3 days to resolve.
Wounds can be treated as in adult birds but if antibiotics are deemed necessary for, say, a cat bite,
check with an avian veterinarian. Broad-spectrum antibiotics frequently used in injured raptors
include penicillins such as amoxicillin/clavulanic acid at 125 mg/kg orally (PO) every 12 hours or
amoxicillin at 100–150 mg/kg PO every 12 hours, or cephalosporins such as cephalexin at
40–100 mg/kg PO or intramuscularly (IM) every 6–8 hours, or cefazolin at 50–100 mg/kg PO or IM
every 12 hours. Open fractures are most often treated with clindamycin at 25–50 mg/kg PO every