# Severe Case Of Ruptured Air Sac(s) - July 14, 2005



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Here are some pictures from today. There has been some 
discussion on a couple of lists lately about ruptured air sacs 
in birds. The first series of pictures today is of a cat caught 
sparrow with a severe case of ruptured air sac(s). This poor 
little bird is going to need several deflations as s/he started 
to puff up again almost instantly after the first draining off of 
the air under the skin. This little one is pretty beat up, and I'm 
not at all sure s/he will make it. 

Then come six new darling ducklings and a couple of shots of 
Eddie and his friends. 

http://www.rims.net/2005Jul14 

Terry


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## pigeonmama (Jan 9, 2005)

Terry,
Thank God for you, always there giving comfort to some little'un who needs it. You know , I have two cats, two "indoor only" cats, partially to protect wildlife, partially to keep my cats safe, partially to help maintain what little sanity I have. With the cats in the house, I don't have to worry about them getting killed outside.
That poor little sparrow does look pretty pathetic. He is in the best of hands, and at least, if he doesn't make it, he dies when it's his time, and not be being eaten alive.
Daryl


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Wow, Terry...I've never seen a ruptured air sac that bad. I know he is in your capable hands, I know you are dealing from one minute to the next with that little one, I hope for the best....

The various ducklings are such a colorful blend together, one happy little group, and Edie......what a difference....she looks great!

Treesa


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## Rockie (Jan 18, 2005)

Thank you Terry for all you do...I/we all know how much time & emotion is involved in rescue (I don't want it to sound like a burden, it's a labor of love).

I pray there are happy endings for all of these innocent babies. 

Is the sparrow well enough that he asks for food like such babies do, or is that wishful thinking. ???


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Rockie said:


> Is the sparrow well enough that he asks for food like such babies do, or is that wishful thinking. ???


S/he did, indeed, gape as soon as the air was drained that the tremendous pressure on his/her little body was relieved. The little one has had a good meal and the last draining seems to be holding at least for now. 

Terry


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## Lin Hansen (Jan 9, 2004)

Terry,

So happy to hear that the poor baby has eaten and is doing better for now. Those pictures were hard to look at.

On the other hand, it was a delight looking at the beautiful ducklings. The many different colors made reminded me of a beautiful bouquet of soft, downy flowers.

Good luck with all the various patients.

Linda


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Terry,


Ohhhhhhh...ouch...

...sigh...

This looks to be an otherwise healthy little young adolescent Sparrow, and, as you know, they are quite hardy in their (maybe delicate) way.

Glad he gaped! do you do the 'Sparrow Chirp' as if a sibling were asking to be fed?

I know sometimes that will get an otherwise recalsitrant one to start in with their own Chirp-gape...

except for the first-thing-in-the-morning, when one expects them TO chirp and ask to be fed, some are more liable than others for me anyway, to say, "Hey! Where's the chow??? Feed me!" so...good news in many ways if this one is interested in eating-being fed!

Golly, I have only seen a very few air Sac ruptures, Baby Pigeons that had fallen twenty feet straight down onto concrete, and the ones I had, healed up over some weeks with just love and good chow, and plenty of both.

Sparrows are such wonderful little Birds of course, and yours is one lucky little girl.

...do we suppose this was occasioned by a bad and likely long fall?

I would expect bruising to the Bird as a whole, and to it's various internal organs generally...

So, this is one very determined little Sparrow you have there, for sure, to still be at it, I would think.

Big Kiss for the little Sparrow's forehead...!

"poof"....there, I just blew it off the palm of my hand, so it is on it's way now...

Good luck!


Cute little Ducklets...!

"Waaaaak-waaaak"...murmer-murmer...and those little 'smiles' they can have...

Lol...

Golly...

Phil
Las Vegas


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Thanks everyone .. little "balloon" sparrow is looking quite normal as of now and is a little lean, mean, eatin' machine .. no problem with getting food into this one .. just in being there with it often enough and quick enough <LOL>! Will try to post a photo from today in a bit .. got lots of incoming today though and still busy getting all of them sorted out.

Terry


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

You are amazing to be able to handle all these different cases. The
photos of the little sparrow with the ruptured air sacs are incredible. Hope the tiny baby is able to recover. Those ducklings are so cute and Eddie has really improved!


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Terry...!


Glad to hear they are a lean-mean-eatin'-machine...!

Lol...wonderful...


...don't be shy now to plunk in the occasional dab of (Mmmmm, yummmmm...) Water Pack Sardine...with some vivid Green 'Chlorella' powder on it. Yummy...

Gets it about as close to an insect and it's chlorophyll intestines and tummy-innards as any Boy or Girl could want. I guess a tiny dab of Braunschweiger on there too would do the stand-in for the Insect's Liver, more or less...

Damn, now I am getting hungry!


Gives them that nice 'Fish Breath' for the next Gapeing session...!

Kinda like Gilding the Lilly I know, being as they are so charming anyway even without Fish Breath...

Oh silly me...



Phil
Las Vegas


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## Pigeon-girl1988 (Mar 20, 2005)

Great pictures. Just wondering what is that your feeding your ducks? Is it scratch or seed? Neither are healthy at all for ducks...


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Pigeon-girl1988 said:


> Great pictures. Just wondering what is that your feeding your ducks? Is it scratch or seed? Neither are healthy at all for ducks...


In that particular picture is was wild bird seed mix. They get mash, crumbles, or pellets for one meal, seed or scratch for another meal, and assorted veggies and sometimes fruit like cantalope or watermelon as treats .. sometimes a few pieces of dry dog or cat food as treats. They also get to "free range" in the yard for bugs, slugs, and whatever other delights they can find for several hours each day.

I do realize that just seed or just scratch is not a balanced diet for a duck. 

What is your recommended feed for domestic ducks?

Terry


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Hi Terry, what precious little ducklings, thanks for the pics...and the sparrow,
yes, hard to look at. My favorite pic is the sparrow using your hand to hide from the camera, very adorable, and a good metaphor for the safety your hands provide.

fp


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Terry,



My little tufted-head Duck youngster...

When I got her, and I had never had a Duck before ( or since) most of my fast research seemed to find that everyone said to feed them mash and pellets and so on...

So I bought a 96 lb Bag of top-notch Purina stuff for Ducks and she would put her sensitive little Bill into it, it in Water, and kind of pause politely and then turn away...

I was to try it in many forms and with various additions and she never liked it.

I tried some, and I thought it was pretty good, kinda like 'Milk Bones' overall, if maybe a mite sweeter even...

Oh well..so I did some more internet looking on what Wild Ducks eat...and well, they eat all the kinds of things I would eat, more or less, if I were wild, so...it was easy then...

So, I decided I would let her tell me what she wanted to eat, and I am not the best listener, but what we ended up with was...

In a typpical 1920s white Enamel and smallish deepish rectangular pan...I would put any or all of the following -


Canned (and NOT 'farm raised') Alaskan Salmon, Sardines, Sprites, Mackeral, any kind of ripe Fruit bits cut small and thin, or sometimes Canned 'water-Pac' Fruit biuts cut thin and small...sheet Sea Weed cut with scizzors into small bits ( everything in smallish bits really, ) rolled Oats...rolled other Grains...frozen Peas, frozen Corn ( thawed of course!) shredded fresh Carrots, ditto Radishes, ditto Zuccinni, ditto other veggies ( hand shredded, and I ALMOST ran off with some of the rent money to buy a 'Cuisinart' thing...) 

..."Uncle Sams" Flax Seed Breakfast Cereal...assorted Sushi of the Fish kind and or of the Vegetable kind ( sold in bunches of six or eight for like four bucks in some stores here, and I'd feed her a couple of them off and on since I sometimes buy them for me, and they have Rice in them of course and dabs of Seaweed and little veggies and so on...various kinds of small tender 'Sprouts'...Whole Grains like Oat Groats and Barely and Wheat and so on...

These ingredients I would put some or various of them into her white Enamel pan, and cover the whole with filtered Water so the Water was about two inches deep.

And that little Bill, and the amazing speed and sensitivity of it, and of it's action in the whole Water pumping-filtering-feeding yes-to-this, and or sometimes no-to-that ingredient, at lightening underwater speeds, in the manner that Ducks have in eating things in Water, well...that little Bill would go-to-town...accompanied by murmers or even squawks and squeals of delight.

This diet also made very nice poops which one could pick up in a kleenex, and almost never a 'loose' or runny one.

I also added sometimes some other things that I do not remember now.

She LOVED to eat and was a joyful feeder and very vocal about it, and if she did not like an ingredient, it would mysteriously remain down on the bottom, under murkey Water, when all else was gone!

Sometimes I used 'Trader Joes' Canned Corn ( very good by the way,) or I cut the Kernels off fresh Field Corn and used them...sometimes I used frozen Corn of some brand or other ( also very good) and she liked them all...

Baby Lima Beans sometimes too...frozen kind.

She liked the frozen Peas better than Canned Peas, which I was not surprised at.

I fed her about four times a day, maybe more, and I'd set that little pan in a larger shallow pan to keep things more tidy as for possible spills...

Almost every meal would have Fish in them to one degree or another.


I really loved that little Duck...golly...

...sigh...

Anyway, that's my Duck feeding experience, in a nut-shell...

And she seemed happy with it.

I think she may have been someone's pet before I got her, because if she saw you with a Box of Cereal, or heard one rustle, she was all ears and murmers and tensely anxious to have some!

Lol...

Love,

Phil
Las Vegas


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Mazuri waterfowl feeds are probably the best for good nutrition. Mazuri is a division of Purina. In my area all Mazuri products are special order and are very, very pricey. Purina does make Purina brands of waterfowl feed, but these are also not carried in the local feed stores and are special order. Mazuri can be ordered on-line. It's kind of a moot point anyway as my rescue waterfowl don't really care for pelleted food .. none of them.

http://www.mazuri.com/

Terry


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## Rockie (Jan 18, 2005)

Hi Terry,

I have mallard ducks w/babies in my swimming pool (we keep the pool cover on because they have returned every year for the past 4 yrs). 

I also tried feeding the pellets and nobody ate them. Other than any vegetation on the property, they seem to mostly go for the cracked corn I put out. I was wondering, is it a good or bad idea to throw fresh spinach leaves into the pool?

On a separate note...thanks for all you do...you're an inspiration for me to hang in there when I get so overwhelmed.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Rockie said:


> I was wondering, is it a good or bad idea to throw fresh spinach leaves into the pool?


Almost all ducks love to gobble up fresh greens from the water. I think it's fine.

Terry


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

...oh, and 'Misu'...I used to put small globs of Misu in her feed tray, and she liked it.

And certainly Fresh greens, yes, whether torn into small pieces or what...it can be hard for the young ones to brouse on full leaves that are not attetches to anything, since it is hard for them then to tear of comfortable sizes to swallow.

I fed mine quite a bit of Cilantro and Watrecress and occasional Parsely or Italian Parsely, and I stripped the little leaves from the stems for her on any of those...also various kinds of small Sprouts...sprouted Grains, bean Sprouts and so on...


Phil
Las Vegas


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## Pigeon-girl1988 (Mar 20, 2005)

I feed mine layer pellets i know it's not the best but thats all they have at my feedstore besides scratch. I never feed them scratch or seeds as my male pekin has a severe weight problem. I also have a crested duck her name is Fiona and she is blind in one eye. She is very sweet and loves all people heck she thinks she is a person. I have 4 ducks in all 1 white pekin, his two daughters (white pekins x blue swedish) they are both black and white and look like they are wearing tuxedos, and 1 crested rouen. One of my black and white girls layed her first egg this morning I was sooo exited as she had a rough start in life, she was attacked by my dog and almost died she now has a permanant limp but is very happy. Sorry to ramble on and on about my ducks but I love them very much.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hey Pigeon Girl .. I'm glad you love your ducks .. I love mine too. Here's a good site for duck info including nutrition: http://www.metzerfarms.com.

Terry


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

...oh...and Blackberries...and Rasberries...she liked fresh ones best, but frozen and thowed were also enjoyed...

I think that about covers what I used to feed mine...

(...and what I generally was feeding me too...Lol..)

I think 'green' Seeds, Seeds not dried yet...are something they brouse in the Wild...


Phil
Las Vegas


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Hi Terry, I don't know how I missed this when you first posted the pictures but I'm glad I found it today. The pictures of your little ducks are so cute (I put one of the shots on my desktop this morning and it looks good) and I was happy to read that the little sparrow got ok. 

You truly are a super moderator. I so enjoy all your posts although how you find the time to help all of us out I'll never know. I am also curious if you are familiar with a well known rehabber in the Charlotte, NC area (first) named Lessie. I do not personally know her but have studied many of her writings and followed her advice. She was the person who told us that little wrens can't tolerate cornstarch and put our group onto the Passerine diets. It sure helped, not only with the wrens but sometimes if a baby pigeon seemed sickly I would mix some in with the Exact. She, like you, seems to be a remarkable lady.

Again, many thanks. Maggie


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hi Maggie,

I'm glad you enjoyed the photos. There are few things in this world that are cuter or more precious than a fuzzy little duckling!

I don't recognize the name, Lessie, from anywhere .. sounds like a wonderful wildlife rehabber though.

Terry


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