A Pheasant with the Eye of a Pirate

Working at the Hampton Bays Wildlife Rescue Center: November 16th

Today, while working at the Wildlife Rescue Center, I observed an emergency procedure conducted on a pheasant. The pheasant had apparently been clipped by a moving car.

When the pheasant first arrived at the center, its eye was crusted (from dried blood) and swollen shut. This had to be treated immediately, so Valerie (my mentor) took a gauze pad and doused it in saline. She used this pad to clean the eye until it was revealed.

Although, his eye was still extremely swollen, even after we had cleaned it with saline and removed all the dry blood, it was still swollen shut. There was also a lot of dried blood in the mouth of the bird, as well as in its nostrils, so Valerie used a cotton swab with saline on it to reach those difficult places, and remove the rest of the dried blood. Once the wound beneath his eye was clean, and after Valerie removed the rest of the dried blood, she gave the pheasant fluids.

After the pheasant was given fluids, she gave him 0.32 cc of Clavamox, which is a penicillin antibiotic that is used to treat infections. She also gave him 0.18 cc of Vitamin B Complex in order to strengthen the bird's immune system. Both of these medications were given orally. Lastly, she injected 0.8 cc of Metacam (an anti-inflammatory drug) in order to reduce the swelling that is taking place beneath the bird's eye.

I appreciated the opportunity to observe an emergency procedure being done. It opened my eyes to how "on your toes" a veterinarian or animal care specialist needs to be. This kind of responsiveness is essential when working in an environment where an emergency can be brought in at any moment. The Rescue Center is that kind of environment. Having the chance to observe this procedure and work within this high intensity/emergency situation was crucial for me in my learning process. It helped me to better understand the many different aspects of being a veterinarian, and was a valuable part of my educational experience.