Golden Eagle Battles A Big Meal And Lead Poisoning

The following story about a golden eagle was shared with us by Wild Friends at Best Friends Animal Society in Utah.

In late February a golden eagle was found on the side of the highway with a very large crop. He was unable to take flight. Once DWR officers rushed him to Wild Friends at Best Friend’s Animal Sanctuary, we were able to offer medication and some quick X-rays. Thankfully there were no signs of vehicular trauma.

After a quick blood draw and some subcutaneous fluids of LRS, he was able to rest. We started him on some medication, including our medication for lead poisoning, while we waited for blood work to come back.

By the next day, the crop had not gone down at all. We worried about crop impaction. Surgery was our next option, and thankfully our vet clinic could fit us in that day. They pulled almost an entire jack rabbit out of the crop and closed it up. A small amount of dead tissue in the crop had to be removed as well. There was a bone farther down on the X-ray that we thought would also need to be surgically removed, but we decided to wait. It did dissolve on its own.

We reweighed the eagle after the crop was emptied. The intake weight of 4.3 kg (about 9.5 pounds) had dropped to only 3.3 kg (about 7.3 pounds). The crop weighed one third of his body weight, making it obvious to see why the eagle had trouble flying away.

After the surgery, we did not want to put too much pressure on the crop for about a week. We started tube feeding small amounts several times a day, still making sure not to stretch the crop too much. Tube feeding included EmerAid IC Carnivore with a plethora of other medication for lead poisoning, anti-inflammatories, and antibacterial, along with medication that provided lubrication and helped food move through the crop.

Blood results came back showing elevated lead levels. If we had waited to start lead treatment until we had the results back a few days later, he most likely would not have made it. Gastrointestinal stasis is not as common a symptom of lead poisoning as other symptoms, but it may have saved his life.

Soon we slowly started to offer small, cut-up pieces of raw meat that would not stretch his crop too much. He was then transitioned onto mice with smaller easily digestible bones. And once medications were done after two weeks, we worked him up to a full feeding and he was moved out to a larger flight aviary with our other eagles.

Tragedy struck again though, after a few weeks outside. The crop tore open, and we had to start all over again. He had another surgery and another few weeks of being cage bound with small feedings. Extra time inside ensured the surgical site was healed. It has now been more than two months in care, and atrophy really has taken a toll on his body.

Spring came, and with it we were able to move all of our eagles up to our 100-foot flight aviary. It took a total of six months in care for our eagle to make full flights and finally be released by the DWR team that helped transport him to Best Friends.