Evie chose a duck as her patient. He was taken to an examination table where he was diagnosed with a broken wing. We were sent to the x-ray room to see just how bad the break was. The tech showed Evie an x-ray of a mallard wing. Evie particularly liked looking at the bones and finding where the wing was hurt.
Next, we entered a room where Evie assisted in attaching a bandage to the bird's wing. The bandage was also wrapped around the bird's body to help hold its wing still and hold it in close so it could heal.
Before the duck could be placed in a cage in a room with other animals, he had to go to the parasite station to determine if, beyond the broken wing, he was healthy. Evie made sure to hold the duck quite carefully as we waited.
At the parasite station, Evie learned about tapeworms, maggots, and fleas.
Then she looked at lice in a microscope. Thankfully, her duck was parasite free.
The last step was to place the duck in a cage where he could begin to heal. Then it was time to say goodbye.
It was a lot of fun getting a chance to see the inside of the rehabilitation center and giving Evie a chance to learn about how wild animals recover after they are found sick, injured, or too young to survive on their own. It was a great follow-up from last summer when we brought our own wild baby bird to the rehabilitation center and later helped release some other birds that had finished their recovery.
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