Health

[colohen]

Urgent
Weasel
I have a bad problem and did not see a area for health or emergency problems. I may have over looked it!
Anyone
My Red Tail developed some sours just below the right lower mandible about 3 weeks ago. I thought it was nat bites at first , had about the same appearance and the nats were bad at the time so I treated them with mild bite salve . I also sprayed her for mites , just in case.
The nats have gone but the sours are spreading . They are now on the right side again just below the lower mandible and coming up the base of the cere. The same sours are now on the feet and the right foot is swollen between the toes and the torses at the top of the foot.
The sours look like bites except the area of the sour looks scaly and flaky.
I am starting her on baytral tomorrow morning, washing the sours, thats going to be fun, and treat with external antibiotics. Then I am going to bleach down the mews and change the flooring. My Harris is in the next mews over , cant take any chances with either of them! Monday I am taken her to the vet for cultures. GOT TO STOP the spreading before it gets worse!!
She appears health , weight is up, alert, active, no feather lose.
I am more fit to handle broken bones and trauma from car accidents, this is new to me! Never seen any thing like it.
If any one has seen this and knows how to treat it please let me know!!!!!!!

[frootdog]

The cultures won't do any good if you start antibiotics. Self medicating an unknown disease is one of the worst things you can do. Waiting 3 weeks to have a vet look at it is probably THE worst thing you can do. It sounds like Avian Poxvirus to me. The way to find out is to have a vet do a biopsy an dsend it to the lab. The diffenitive diagnosis is made when Bollinger bodies are found in the affected tissues. The virus is shead in the feces. It is transmitted by mosquitoes. Highly contagious. Spread by areal and physical contact. As far as treatment goes I will let your vet discuss that with you. Here's a link to an article for anyone interested.

www.dvrconline.org/avianpox.html

[colohen]

Right! Frootdog
That is why I waited before treating till I get the test run. As for as waiting three weeks . Like I said , Nat's have been bad here and it look like the same thing at first, just a few small bites.
This is normaly not a real problem and clears up by now. The nets also don't bother the hawks as much as the owls so it didn't seam like a big thing at first , just a few small bites . Know its got me worried, a lot!!
As for my vet , he does every thing he can but has no knowledge with raptors. So I am care full how much I let him do. I have to check all dosages on med's and the med's them self to be sure they are safe !! Before I knew this I lost a RT due to administering the wrong antibiotics prescribed by my vet. So I am kinda alone here as is many others when it comes to raptors and vets!
Any way as you said , the test need to be run first and I realize this after I made the post but I will have something to go on now thinks to you, my not be what it is but is it a starting place .
Got to get a book on diseases!!!

[Weasel]

I agree with frootdog on this one. As soon as I read about the lesions, I said Pox. As far as I know, there is not much you can do about it once they have it. I'm certainly no expert so they may have some sort of treatment available.

[frootdog]

What part of Arkansas are you in? It may be benifecial to find a vet that has avian expierience in a different state depending on how far away you are.

[colohen]

Near Mississippi Frootdog
Vet was in surgery today so will see him tomorrow!
Found something that may be the cause but not sure yet. Found a mite or lice which I could not see with the necked eye. It may be possible there getting under the scales. She has been treated with a lice spray when I first noticed the sours but apparently it had no or little effect. Will find out tomorrow!!
I hope it is a lice and not a pox

[colohen]

:'(I t is a sad day for me Frootdog and Weasel .
I lost a dam good hawk today ! Even my wife cried over her . Frootdog ' you were right in you evaluation of the symptoms . It was a pox. Even if I had known what it was when I first seen it , it would not have done any good.
In this case it was probably better I didn't know . To know and not to be able to do any thing would have been worse!
Know this ; She was the best dam wild RT I ever had , trapped 01/30/05 . She had all she wonted to eat every day and we could still fly for a couple hours a day. She never hesitated to come to the whistle no matter where I was!
Sense she was caught at the end of last season I never got to truly hunt with her only the daily work outs near the house but she had prov-en herself a every worthy hawk for the next season . I dough I will ever get another one like her that will fly at top weight., the way she did!!!!!!!!! [/i][/size][/color]

[ccrobbins]

That sucks.....

[wes]

Bummer! My Words are not enough to ease your lost.
When does trapping season open?, trap in same area you got her, look for same gene pool or blood line, would be a good place to start.
Best wishes on this sad day
Wes

[Weasel]

How did the hawk die? Did the pox restrict her airways? I have seen several birds with pox and they came through it after awhile with the pox sores drying up and falling off eventually. The worse case is when thay begin to forn on the head around the cere as it will soon start to block the airway. I'm sorry to hear about your loss, but trapping season comes up soon and I think you will be suprised with the next bird. Remember, It's your mind set that will say if the next bird is better or not as they are all good. they just have some differing behaviors inbetween those basic instincts.
Cheers,
Weasel

[colohen]

Weasel
It would appear this may be the case. Not sure, except it look like she had a fit or convolution when I found her! There was a mass swelling of the infected area from the appearance . Most of the infected area was around the mandibles and super cilium but the swelling came up sudden.
I was at work for the last 8 hours from the time of death ! It was a bad day and I steel haven't got over it!
I hope none of you have to go thought that !

Thank you all !!

[BlueTiercel]

Very sorry to hear about your loss Colohen.

[colohen]

Thank You All!
I have a 3 month old FHH ( Lasair ; loh-seer ) that has really helped ease my loss. I would really be down if it was not for her !!

[colohen]

AVIAN POX
Since my last post I have been busy fighting this nasty viruses with my FHH Lasair !! So far she has only two light pox sours around the lower mandible, one each side, but has several on both feet!!
I have managed to keep it from spreading ::)and I think they are healing !?
I found information on the pox alone with treatment , unfortunately there is no cure! What I didn't find is how long will I have to keep up the treatments??
We should be flying right now but I have her weight up to keep her health at tops. It is also not easy to do the treatments every day ( mentally )!!

[swblade5984]

good luck sorry for your loss