Hypothermic Red-Tailed Hawk with Suspected Anticoagulant Exposure
A red-tailed hawk is brought to a rehabilitation clinic in late January after being found on the ground beside a barn for two days. It is sternal, dull, and has a body temperature of 36.1 C by cloacal probe, a packed cell volume of 18 percent, and a prolonged clotting time on a slide test. There is dried blood at the beak and a small puncture wound on the right wing. The clinic has one incubator, one oxygen cage, and a single dose of vitamin K1 on hand. A second hawk with a fresh wing fracture arrives 20 minutes later. The veterinarian is 90 minutes away.
1. Sequence the first hour of care for the hypothermic hawk and justify the order.
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Rewarming comes before aggressive fluid therapy and before any attempt to examine or manipulate the wing, because a hypothermic bird cannot thermoregulate and cold blood returning to the core from chilled extremities can precipitate collapse. The bird should be placed in a quiet, dark, warmed enclosure at roughly 25 to 30 C with supplemental oxygen, handled minimally, and monitored for temperature every 15 to 20 minutes. Fluids should be warmed and given cautiously, because a bird with a PCV of 18 percent is already anemic and overhydration will worsen hemodilution. Vitamin K1 is indicated given the prolonged clotting time and the history of a barn environment where anticoagulant rodenticides are used, but it should be given after the bird is stable enough to tolerate handling and after confirming the dose with the veterinarian, since the single dose on hand may be insufficient for a multi-day course. The beak blood and wing wound should be noted but not probed until the bird is warmer.
2. How should the clinic allocate its single oxygen cage and incubator between the two birds?
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Triage should favor the bird with the greater chance of survival per unit of resource and the greater immediate need. The hypothermic hawk is unstable and needs active warming and oxygen now; without them it will likely die within hours. The hawk with a fresh wing fracture is likely cardiovascularly stable and can be managed in a padded, dark box with analgesia and stabilization while awaiting the veterinarian. The incubator and oxygen cage should go to the hypothermic bird, and the fracture bird should be placed in a quiet, warm, confined space with the wing supported and no food until assessed. If the hypothermic bird stabilizes within a few hours, the resources can be reassessed. The clinic should also contact the veterinarian to report both cases and to plan for additional vitamin K1 and fracture management.
3. What documentation and reporting obligations arise from the suspected rodenticide exposure?
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The case should be documented with the location of found, the history as reported by the finder, the physical findings, the clotting test result, the treatment given, and the outcome. Many jurisdictions require reporting of pesticide-related wildlife mortality or morbidity to a state wildlife or agricultural agency, and the rehabilitator should check the permit conditions. If the bird dies, carcass handling should follow biosafety guidance and the carcass may be useful for diagnostic testing. The finder should be advised to keep pets and children away from the barn area and to contact the state pesticide program if they suspect a bait station was accessible to wildlife.