Vehicle Collision Leaves Hawk With Busted Crop: Patient 24-2264
After a vehicle collision, this Red-tailed Hawks finder brought her in for care. Although the hawk was very aware and aggressive, it was clear that something was wrong. After examining the wound on her neck, it was determined that her crop had broken open!
What the heck is a crop?
Some people may be asking, “what the heck is a crop?”, and that is a great question! A crop is a muscular pouch that is located at the base of some birds' throats. The crop acts as a temporary storage space for food so that some birds, like hawks, can eat large meals quickly, but gradually digest it. Some of the birds that do have crops are hawks, eagles, turkeys, and many pet birds like parrots, chickens, and pigeons.
In the case of patient 24-2264, her crop sustained an interesting injury. Her crop became slightly ripped open and exposed due to the vehicle collision. This would cause serious issues for a hawk in the wild as any food they would eat could not be digested as it would fall out of the hole in her crop.
It’s time for some help!
Once it was decided that the injury would not close on its own, we quickly reached out to our good friend and veterinarian Dr. Moon. After checking her out Dr. Moon decided that he would be able to help us. We took patient 24-2264 in and Dr. Moon closed up the wound!
Although the wound was all closed up, the hawk still needed some time to heal. She would also need some medication to make sure she wasn’t in pain, and to make sure that the wound didn’t get infected. She stayed with us for nearly a full additional month until she was released. Patient 24-2264 was released near the center where she will have plenty of ideal nesting and feeding grounds.
PS: Patient 24-2264 was also our very last patient of the 2024 season!
