Oh dear

My sponsor called me tonight and after seeing the pictures of this little guy on the blog post, he said that he should have a tail by now. I kinda thought something was funny looking about him given his apparent age and it's that he doesn't have hardly any white fluff on him. Which would mean he is older than he appears and, as my sponsor pointed out, should have a pretty good tail by now. From his experience and other falconers he has known, feathers that have been pulled may not always grow back. Some have grown in again soon after pulling, others never have. He suggested I take a closer look at the bird and see what might be going on.

I casted him in a towel and took a look at his little tail stub close up. The center is a red sore but there are no quills anywhere on the tail that I could see. So I'm guessing his tail was entirely plucked. I pulled each wing out and they're pretty scraggly, I would expect a little more growth, but looking on the inside of one wing, it's pretty bare. This cat really worked him over and played with him a bit. I think I'll keep him a little while longer to see if his tail starts any regrowth but I'll definitely call the rehabilitation center tomorrow and see what she says about him. Maybe she can take care of him and if he grows feathers back I might have him back. I don't know how all that works.

I'm sad for his set back on his early life and also sad I'll probably have to part with him. He'll be better off with the care the rehabber can give him. They say raptors suffer a 65% rate of death in their first year. This guy was close but at least he has a shot at it, thanks to some good neighbors.