broken legs

[HunterPaul]

just been talking to mitch and couldnt answer his question...so naturally came to the forum.... any austringers out there had a harris hawk preferably male....who broke its leg, had it pinned ...rehabilitated ....then went on to fly and hunt it succesfully for many years to come without further problems to said leg? would love to hear from as many as poss...

[Kanati]

i have writen this in a previos post, but Yes I have had a Harrishawk have pins (three of them) in his leg. It was end of season and he had all summer without hunting and on high calcium food, some exercise so he didn't get too unfit (i would normally fly through the molt) and he took his first two rabbits last week. the leg seems as stong as ever and I have no worries about it. My vet (who is a specialist) said that for the bones to fuse in birds take about 3 to 4 weeks because they heal faster then you dog or cat would. Mine case was pretty bad so we left the pins for an extra week and then kept him off the leg as much as pos, for a further week before letting him into the aviary. we did not tether him as this would cause more stress to the leg the free lofting. Any questions...feel free to ask :)

[Osiris]

................... My m8s bird who i fly now and then broke his leg, had it pinned, however......... is now being rehabilated but we have to wait until moult has finished. his leg seems to be ok though. The avian vets say he should be fine to go back and fly and hunt. will have to wait and see.

How did your m8s break its leg???

[HunterPaul]

bated from bow perch Osiris, its an add on to mitches thread
broken bones... thanks for the info lads....

[Tr1gger]

My friends female broke her leg, its been a bit touch and go but she has pulled through. the only problem is that her leg is pushed out to the left. We are currently trying to hunt her this season and we shall c how it goes however the chance of the bird hunting depends on how bad the break is. this female had a bad break and had 5 pins put in her leg. U hav to look at the leg once its healed properly and c how bad the damage is. How powerful his foot is etc thier is a lot of factors and u should think hard about if u think that thier is a realistic chance the bird c can hunt again.

Hope thats helpful

[HunterPaul]

very helpful mate...what Im after is someone whos bird broke a leg 2 or 3 seasons ago...just to get an idea of what to expect further down the line...but I really appreciate the feedback..

[UKJay74]

okay i have a male harris hawk that has had a broken leg but not pinned he has gone through rehab (freelofted and moultedthen trained to free fly) i havent hunted him yet but his leg has healed quite nicely with his grip in the same leg the same as used to be and no real harm done ....

if anyone has this problem for gods sake take the vets advice and leave it to heal dont hunt the bird and make sure you get regular checks and a go ahead to hunt from the vet ...
i have seen some mishaps from broken legs and incorrect treatment and only with good intervetnion has the bird managed to get back on the game or least ofall fit enough to fly and poss hunt again

[UKJay74]

as a follow on

if anybody even has an inclin that their brid has a boken leg get hold of a vet asap also get it out of the cold as the shear shock of it in the bird can Kill if dealt with correctly then you should have your hunting hawk back sooner rather than later and with most breaks the heal is stronger than the initial bone maybe sprout can confirm this specially if done right with the healing process

[Osiris]

My friends female broke her leg, its been a bit touch and go but she has pulled through. the only problem is that her leg is pushed out to the left. We are currently trying to hunt her this season and we shall c how it goes however the chance of the bird hunting depends on how bad the break is. this female had a bad break and had 5 pins put in her leg. U hav to look at the leg once its healed properly and c how bad the damage is. How powerful his foot is etc thier is a lot of factors and u should think hard about if u think that thier is a realistic chance the bird c can hunt again.

Hope thats helpful

What birds that Tr1gger??

[HunterPaul]

mitch spoke to a few specialists who were very helpful with his problem, and according to them the break shoukld heal stronger than the bone was originally...and he should be back hunting this season...they say that they havent had any recurrance of problems with broken legs in birds they have treated.... but I would still like to hear from anybody who has had a bird with a broken leg who has then gone on to fly his bird for a couple of seasons without it being a problem.... this thread has been up a week or so, and still nobody has come forward with this knowledge ...and as these vets say it is a common problem in harris hawks , i would think there would be one at least on the forum that can enlighten us first hand.... not a my mates bird story...but a yes my bird harry, story... love that ppl that call there harris' harry...

[Graham Stuart]

5 years ago my FHH flew down and crabbed my mates MHH of his arm, he must have gripped like mad as she hit him as him leg snapped like a twig, it was pinned in several places(costing around a grand)and healed nicely, he hunted her 4 months later with no ill effect and for several seasons thereafter, but sadly he died this season after getting an infection in his crop that wouldnt respond to vets treatment..

[HunterPaul]

bitch to hear of his loss but thanks for the info on the leg thing....

[Sprout]

In theory the leg should heal stronger than original as the callous packs the bone out. One short term complication is if any callous is excessib=ve and envelops the tendons restricting their ability to close/open the foot but if the leg has been correctly repaired with minimal movement across the fracture site this shouldn't be a problem. Long term there shouldn't be any thing to worry about if the short term is all ok!
As said in an earlier post, young HH are particularly prone to these injuries so it is essential to minimise leash length when tethered to prevent this.

[Big JoeJoe]

Alright mate
A couple of years ago I had a large female harris (2lb 6oz flying weight) that had a broken leg. took her to the vets in Tarpoley who pinned it, they did a great job and it didnt take that long to heal (was expensive though) and she went on to fly a season and half catching loads of rabs some phesis and an adult brown hare without any problems with her leg. This hawk used to hit her prey very hard. Unfortunitly she broke her wing whilst hawking in Scotland and died from the injury at the vets.

I've got a female harris at the mo thats got a broken didget on a major talon, which she got hitting a rabbit just as it hit thick wooded cover. It was a mess when I seen it (she didn't let go of the rab though). That was five weeks ago. The Vet said she should be flying next week. The didget is still swollen due to the callous thats formed around the break but her grip is as good as ever. Will keep you posted on her progress.

All the best
Joe

[Tanith]

As long as the fracture has been set correctly and once it has healed along with rehab and good diet the bone is as good as new. So there should not be any problems.