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Roadrunners 479

management of orthopedic injuries in wild birds. For lacerations, the author prefers covering with
a bio‐occlusive dressing such as Op‐site (Smith and Nephew, Inc.) or Tegaderm™ (3M) to sutures
or any other closure. In the author’s experience, these dressings are well tolerated by most birds
and do not require a decision about closure or drainage because the material acts as a substitute
skin. These dressings also serve to keep feathers out of wounds. Some brands of this type of prod-
uct absorb exudate as well.
Subcutaneous emphysema (air under the skin) may occur as the result of a cat attack. This usu-
ally resolves without treatment. If the bubble is interfering with mobility or compromising breath-
ing, it may be necessary to remove the pressure by puncturing the bubble with a sterile needle,
avoiding any visible skin blood vessels. If the internal puncture into an air sac has not closed, the
bubble will re‐inflate. A slightly elastic pressure bandage may help resolve the emphysema, but is
often hard to apply and may be stressful to the bird. Consult your avian veterinarian for medical
advice regarding antibiotic treatment for puncture wounds.

Diet Recipes

Roadrunners are obligate faunivores and do well on diets that are fed to raptors. See Chapter 20 for
diet information. However, unlike raptors, roadrunners typically do not cast (regurgitate) bones,
fur, teeth, or chitinous insect exoskeletons. In adults, the entire ingested animal is reduced to a
thick, tarry, malodorous fecal dropping. In the healthy nestling, droppings are very large and
encapsulated in a gelatinous envelope.
These rapidly developing youngsters evolved in the desert, and they need the proper cal-
cium‐to‐phosphorus ratio (2 : 1 by weight) with adequate vitamin D 3 and sun from the earliest
age. Characteristic of all cuckoos, roadrunners typically do not pick up and eat dead food
unless they have learned to do so. In training young roadrunners for release, they are given an
advantage if they are trained to pick up almost anything that could be food, live or dead, and
examine it.

Feeding Procedures

Roadrunner hatchlings, after being well‐hydrated so that they produce large gelatinous droppings,
can be fed pieces of food as large as they can swallow. The food should be lifted from a soak of fluid
(water or 0.9% saline) to provide plenty of fluid and prevent dehydration. Hatchlings have bright
red gapes with a fringed pattern in the mouth that includes both white spots and a black tip to the
tongue. They gape vigorously and make a whining, growling sound when begging. They should be
fed whenever they beg in response to stimulus. If even the slightest wrinkle appears on the abdo-
men, they are becoming dehydrated. This condition should be immediately corrected by hydration
with isotonic fluid.
The amount of food needed each day can be calculated with the formula (BW kg ) 0.75 × 78 ×
1.5 = 24 hour maintenance requirement. A young bird needs 1.5–3 times maintenance for healthy
growth. A good way to measure the amount fed is to weigh the day’s planned food at the beginning
of the day and at the end of the day after feeding has ceased. The difference is, of course, the weight
of the food consumed. Each prey species will vary in caloric density, but the author’s rule of thumb
is to estimate faunivore prey items at 1 kcal/g.