I made these two pages tonight to share these videos, as it’s the only way I could think of to post them on a message board.
Awesome little guy:
Some cats handle anesthetic rather strangely:
Aww, I can’t watch videos on my crappy computer.
What kind of hawk is it? I miss working with wild birds. I don’t miss the little buggies that live on them though.
Wow! That hawk was amazingly non-aggressive. The last vet I worked for was the only one in our area licensed to handle endangered species, so whenever there was an injured hawk we would take it until someone from the Raptor Center at Auburn University could come get it. We got an injured red-tailed hawk one day, and I was asked to help hold it so the tech from the Raptor Center could wrap the wings for transport. Even through the heavy leather falconers gloves, that bird intended to take my thumb to AU with him.
Poor kitty-boo! I may have to send people to this website when they want to know why they can’t take Precious home after her surgery. The fuzzies can hurt themselves if they’re not safely confined, and they may not have the faintest idea who you are!
Great videos - thanks for sharing!!
Red-tailed, I’m pretty sure.
Everyone at the clinic is amazed at how tame he acts. He’s never tried to bite any of us, and he only flaps his wings like that if you get within inches of him, like I did with the camera.
We’ve had people complain about having to leave their pets for three days after surgery, but we’re only looking out for the best interests of the animal. Doc says that vets who send animals home the same day, or even the next day, have a lot higher incidence of people bringing them back with their incisions split open from being let loose in the yard and allowed to romp around. Staying confined and quieted helps a lot in the healing process. Some people just don’t understand that this is major surgery, just like with a human, and recovery takes time.
I hadn’t thought of that until you mentioned it, but I should start sending people to that webpage just to show them that an animal doesn’t wake up and start acting normal immediately after surgery. Maybe that would better explain why we insist on keeping them.We don’t even attempt to pick them up or anything when they go through that banging around stage, because they’ll keep that up, even in your arms. It’s quite fun to watch, though.
I’m at work right now and I can’t tie up the phone too long, so I’ll check back in a while to see what anyone has to say…
Ever since we put the hawk out in the dog run, it’s been a week now, he hasn’t eaten a thing. We’ve tried cat food, dog food, hot dogs, raw hamburger, I’ve tried heating up the hamburger since we thought he might not like his food cold, everything we can think of, and he won’t eat a damn thing. Anyone have any ideas?
A dead rat?
A LIVE rat?
Well, I figured since the bird can’t fly, that might prove a bit too challenging.
I’m sure we could catch a mouse, but I’m afraid that with all the poison Doc puts out, we might catch a mouse that’s contaminated with the poison and make the hawk sick.
Doc’s calling the zoo soon (probably Tuesday) to see if they’re interested in taking him.
In the meantime, I’m thinking about going out and buying a mouse or a rat and seeing what he’ll do with it. He can fly a little, he just can’t get very high, so I’m sure he could catch it. I just hope he’ll want to.
If he does have trouble catching the mouse, you might try whacking it a few times so it’s stunned but still squirming.
I think I’ll have my coworker do that if it needs it… 
Most falconers here in the UK feed their birds on day-old chicks (chicken chicks, that is). They buy them frozen and warm them up to blood heat in a microwave. A wild hawk may not recognise tham as food, though, being used to catching live prey.
I would suggest you get the advice of your local falconer or aviary.
We got a mouse today from the pet shop, and put it in a box so it can’t escape through the gate. The hawk hopped down in the box, but the wind blew one of the flaps and it hit him in the head and scared him out of it. He was still watching the mouse like a…like a hawk, I guess…when I left.
I searched google today for how long a hawk can go without eating, or how long they go between feedings in the winter. All I got were pages about what they eat. Anyone know?
I’m pretty sure Doc’s planning on calling the zoo this week. Maybe they’ll have better luck getting him to eat. crosses fingers