Shakey start but first pheasant atlast

[LongVVing]

Got my first Goshawk back in September and shortly after starting training the bird displayed signs of breathlessness, which I immediately suspected the dreaded Asper. After an overnight stay at Neil Forbes clinic he was put through a series of tests, bloods, xrays, endoscope, ecg + meds.
He was diagnosed not to have Asper and I picked him up the next day. The actual cause of the problem was not conclusive but he improved over the next 48 hrs he was given 4 sets of medication so all I can think is that one of the meds fixed him up they were:

Baytril injection
Metacam
Torbugesic injection
3 weeks Itrafungal liquid

the bill was £539 which for me was worth every penny just to find out he didn't have Asper. Im convinced one of the above meds must have fixed him up.

Well after putting his weight back up then starting the training from scratch he got his first kill last Saturday. A hen pheasant the flight was not pretty but it was his first kill so I was chuffed considering what he has gone thru.
I still need to improve his fitness but we will work through this. Have been reading Berkut's rope training thread and am considering this to catch up on the lost time during treatment.
Didnt have a camera for the kill but here he is at 1lb 8 1/4oz.

Mark.

[SakerJack]

Brilliant , absolutely Briiliant as you say!!! Thumbs up indeed!! Great to see he pulled thru and the results?? Splendid!!
Keep at it,,

[TimDog80]

sounds like you were very lucky there mark and no doubt also the fact you spotted it quicker than most saved your hawk.....really glad for you:D (i been there myself but was not as fortunate as you)

regards
tim

[LongVVing]

Brilliant , absolutely Briiliant as you say!!! Thumbs up indeed!! Great to see he pulled thru and the results?? Splendid!!
Keep at it,,

Ken,

I will have to post up a pic of him with the hood I made from your pattern and the blocks I got from you.
Its not fancy and tooled like your masterpieces but I do like the basic style for the time being as its not too taxing for me.

Mark

[SakerJack]

TD80, you hit the nail on the head,, Mark in ALL my years I have never personally seen positive results from Asper.. As Tim said you saw it early and he is a determined gos,,
Great results!!

[Jiff]

it's times like this youre greatfull to the insurers atleast you only pay the excess, glad to hear youre birds ok, i would have thaught though that a single exray would have elliminated asper! never the less alls well that ends well :yawinkle:

[LongVVing]

sounds like you were very lucky there mark and no doubt also the fact you spotted it quicker than most saved your hawk.....really glad for you:D (i been there myself but was not as fortunate as you)

regards
tim

Tim,

I read your thread about your Gos (sorry the outcome was so aweful) and it was seeing how quickly Asper kills that made me get him straight to the vet the first day I noticed it. It just seemed to get hold of him over night.
I still can't say what it was for certain but something they did seemed to fix him up almost as quickly as he went down hill.

All the best,

Mark

[SakerJack]

Mark,, I would LOVE to see the hood you made,, please post if you can.. Again great news!!

[LongVVing]

it's times like this youre greatfull to the insurers atleast you only pay the excess, glad to hear youre birds ok, i would have thaught though that a single exray would have elliminated asper! never the less alls well that ends well :yawinkle:

He was insured so just had the excess to pay - thanks to golden valley!
They did say Asper can be in the throat, the air sacs or the lungs so they did the endoscope aswell as xrays. As no Asper was found they did the other tests. White cell count was slightly up and heart rate was low although it did come back up after recovery from the stress and treatment.
Im just thankfull he got thru whatever it was.
Thanks for your comments.

Mark.

[TimDog80]

Tim,

I read your thread about your Gos (sorry the outcome was so aweful) and it was seeing how quickly Asper kills that made me get him straight to the vet the first day I noticed it. It just seemed to get hold of him over night.
I still can't say what it was for certain but something they did seemed to fix him up almost as quickly as he went down hill.

All the best,

Mark
mark i know mine was put on metacalm and intrafungal (sporonox) and an another drug but all had to be administered in liquid form in food but he went off his food and slipped rapid!!
did your goss ever reach the loss of appetite stage??

ATB
tim

[TimDog80]

sorry mark i missread it as your bird turned out not to have asper:oops:

[Jiff]

mark, this is a real strong case to put out to newbies and practising falconers alike about the importance of insurance, no insurance you may wait too long, with insurance you can go to the vet as soon as you like regardless of the outcome, luckily it wasnt what you dreaded it might be, but if it had been asper youre bird had every chance because of youre promt action and the confidance that you wouldnt have to sell youre house to pay the bill :lol:

[LongVVing]

mark i know mine was put on metacalm and intrafungal (sporonox) and an another drug but all had to be administered in liquid form in food but he went off his food and slipped rapid!!
did your goss ever reach the loss of appetite stage??

ATB
tim

I was couple of weeks into training and had him coming on a creance close to being loose. I had him free lofted in his mews as he was so steady from the start. I went in one morning and he flew about 4ft from his perch to my glove and crouched on my fist panting like he had loads of exercise.
I took him to langford vet school as they had a guy there luckily from Neil forbes clinic. After examination I drove him straight up to Swindon where a vet called Alberto took him in for the tests and treatment overnight.
He never got to the appetite loss point, which makes me think that it wasn't Asper the vet couldn't find any Asper in the throat air sacs or lungs but treated him for it together with the other meds.
The mews he went in was brand new no other bird had been in it all the wood was brand new and the flooring is concrete with a layer of pea gravel.
I was ****ting myself at the time. It is my first Gos (I have flown Harris's, reds. pere's and gyrxpere's) and I even started to question if I had caused the problem myself.

I am just thankful he came thru whatever it was

Mark

[LongVVing]

mark, this is a real strong case to put out to newbies and practising falconers alike about the importance of insurance, no insurance you may wait too long, with insurance you can go to the vet as soon as you like regardless of the outcome, luckily it wasnt what you dreaded it might be, but if it had been asper youre bird had every chance because of youre promt action and the confidance that you wouldnt have to sell youre house to pay the bill :lol:

Jiff,

I agree totally my Gos was insured with Golden Valley for £105. I have also been on the other side of the wall. I paid £3500 in vets bills back in June when one of my dogs fractured his elbow joint and had to have a major operation. It meant a big dip into my savings and means my future bird plans will be on hold for the time being.

I would imagine that most newbies would be concentrating on a single bird to start with so I would definately recommend insurance. You are probably looking at around £75 to £150 per year in most cases depending on the purchase value you state for your bird.

ATB
Mark

Mark.

[Jiff]

another good point made 3500 quid, there are some of us who couldnt pull that money unless we wore a ski mask and sawed the end off our air rifles :lol: but never the less these things have to be concidered before getting involved with animals in general, i've always had insurance for my dogs given the nature of the sport, now when i concidered getting a bird insurance was on the agenda, i don't sit on a pot of cash and don't earn a footballers sallery, however the money can be found, i figured out that i was spending a fortune on nights out, so i stoped them and put the money i would have spent to one side, this financed my aviery equipment and bird, now i find myself paying 58 pound a month insurance, thats for four dogs and the bird with pet plan, not a bad deal i think, but sacrifices have to be made, i havnt had a night on the town for 4 years now, i like a drink like any other working man, but now enjoy my drink in the garden with the team as aposed to in the pub with people i hardly know, i can get 24 cans for eighteen quid, i can sit in the pub or go out for nearer 60 quid, now that 60 quid pays for my peice of mind, and the cans!..........they get recycled!:lol: