The avian necropsy/bandaging wet lab yesterday was awesome. I was expecting to go in and crowd around an exam table while one professor did the necropsy and explained bits of bird anatomy on the way. I expected to then watch a bandaging demonstration and be along my way.
In reality, there was just about one to one bird-person ratio. There were smaller, songbird-types, a variety of ducks, a raven, a crow, a couple seagulls, and a handful of raptor species including two bald eagles! I paired myself up with a sharp-shinned hawk. When people think of raptors (or when I think of raptors...), larger birds are typically pictured. The hawk I had was female, juvenile and probably a foot in length. We knew she was juvenile because they're browner across the back versus the blue-brown color of the adults. Just a delicate little thing. So we all got to necropsy our own birds (except for those who paired up with the gigantor eagles), sex them, estimate age and do a thorough physical exam. A lot of the birds had been shot (mine probably had, as well) as cause of death.
We then were shown how to perform a variety of tasks like wing bangage (a figure eight design), a body bandage (to hold the splinted wing to the body), placement of an intraosseous catheter, finding common veins for blood draw, and SQ or IM injections. The demonstrator was the zoo/exotics vet who hosted a lunchtime lecture on zoo/exotics med that I went to, so I thought it was neat to see her in action.
I did all of my laundry yesterday, stuffed myself with junk food and did less than optimal amount of studying. I have a handful of flashcards to finish up and then I need to study for the lecture portion of the anatomy midterm. My football team plays a divisional game today, which my parents and sister got tickets to! I'm so jealous. I really hope they broadcast it on TV so I can look for them in the endzone.
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