Sponsored by the Lafeber Company Student Program and hosted by LafeberVet, Rebecca Duerr, DVM, MPVM, PhD presented a virtual dinner presentation on oiled wild bird care for the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine Exotics Club.
Many people have been curious about the way we at International Bird Rescue were able to clean the birds affected by the San Francisco Bay Mystery Goo Spill in January 2015.
Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that comprise a small percentage of dietary lipids ingested by humans and animals. The name “omega-3” refers to the location of the double bond closest to the methyl end of the hydrocarbon chain, and may be alternatively referred to as “n-3” in the literature. Chief among the omega-3 fatty acids is…
Rebecca Duerr is the Senior Director of Research & Veterinary Science for International Bird Rescue in California. She completed her DVM, Master’s in Preventive Veterinary Medicine, and PhD degrees at the University of California at Davis, with graduate work on the care of oiled common murres and on the critical care nutrition of marine birds. Dr. Duerr also has a long-standing interest in avian pediatrics and has worked with several California wildlife rehabilitation organizations. She co-edited the second edition of Hand-Rearing Birds, and she also contributed chapters on seabird medicine and orphan care in Medical Management of Wildlife Species: A Guide for Practitioners.
Imprinting is an important, natural part of a young animal’s development where it learns to recognize its own species. Imprinting utilizes the senses of sight, touch, and sound. Imprinting via sound probably begins in the egg during the pip-to-hatch stage when the parent and chick vocalize back and forth. After hatching, sight becomes an important factor in imprinting as the chick’s visual ability improves. The chick associates the images it sees with the sounds and tactile sensations with which it is already familiar.
It is not enough to prevent imprinting on humans…
