Heres a behind-the-scenes peek at daily life in our Animal Care Department. Today was Gift the Red-tailed Hawks (you know, the hawk from the movie, Ladyhawke?) Spa Day. She gets extra special attention because of her advanced age (we think shes close to 35!) Animal Care Technicians Kendra Romero and Laura Milnes gave her a bath and began the coping process (no, not that kind of coping!) #DidYouKnow: Birds beaks and talons are made of keratin, which is what our fingernails, toenails and hair are made of. It just keeps growing so they have to trim their nails too! This process in the bird world is called fracking (no, not that kind of fracking!) If youve ever noticed birds scratching their beaks across rocks or sticks, this is what theyre doing. Wild birds and some captive birds frack on their own, but when they dont we have to step in and take care of it for them, which is called coping. Pictured below: A grumpy Gift after her bath, Kendra and Laura while they are coping her beak and examining her talons, and finally a brand-new shiny, happy Gift! Shes eating her dinner and looking markedly improved. She can now walk around with greater ease because her talons arent so thick and long and she can eat better because her beak is shaved down to the size and shape it should be. Thanks Laura and Kendra for all your hard work keeping our residents happy.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 00:44:16 +0000