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Death of PH chicks
Topic Started: Apr 12 2009, 12:48 AM (1,260 Views)
moving
Advanced Member
:(
Dr. Sharpe--
Do you have an opinion on the cause the PH chicks' deaths??

Would there be any action, which could be taken prior to next year if the cause were found.

I'm thinking of the German Stork chicks deaths of a couple of years ago, where they found an infestation of a particular fungus in the straw which the storks were using for nest building. In that case I believe they did destroy straw that was shown to be infested, and they removed much of the material from nests and sprayed them prior to the nesting season.

It seemed to work, and I didn't read of any stork chicks dying last year.

Jim
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Eagle Guy
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I saw what everyone else saw, so there is no way to know what caused their death, or even if it was the same cause. The first one could have had an infected yolk sac and the second one got stuck under the gull wing that appeared to be in the nest bowl. Or they both died from something in the food. Or a multitude of other causes. After repeated failures they will likely move their nest, which could be good for them, but bad for us because it would likely no longer be online.
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Luana
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Aloha Dr. Sharpe --

I have a question for you regarding the sad events on the PH nest this year. Is it possible for the eagle parents to know in advance, so to speak, if there are abnormalities or health issues with their offspring? The reason I'm asking this is because on Friday afternoon (10th) around 2:30 or so Hawaii time -- 5:30 your time, I observed K-10 step on his chick 3 times with his right talon. The chick popped up after each step but appeared much more unsteady than usual after the event. This may be nothing if the chick was deep in the bowl and K-10 wanted to brood, but I found it unusual as all the parents seem to be very careful and slow when moving around their chicks on the nest. Unfortunately I was not able to record this, but I'm sure many people were watching the nest and may have seen this as well.

Thanks to you and your great staff for all you do for the eagles. <3
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Eagle Guy
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The chicks tend to get kicked around quite a bit by the adults when they are small. They stick their heads up when the adult is trying to step over them and they get wacked. I don't think it had anything to do with the cause of death.

The adults may be able to tell something is not right, but they wouldn't kill the chick because of a perceived problem. Their job is to raise as many chicks as possible.
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moving
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:D Thanks, Dr. Sharpe.

I guess we won't know the exact cause of the chicks' demise.

I hope it is not a repeating problem and that next year this pair will continue their history of successful chick rearing.

Jim
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salmonman
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Has anyone considered trying to recover the chicks for an autopsy?
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KarenTX
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In one of the earlier questions someone asked about retrieving the chicks and Dr. Sharpe gave this reply:

No, we won't be retrieving the carcasses. By the time we could have reached the nest (2 days for me) I don't think there would have been much left. Also, a necropsy rarely determines the cause of death for our birds.
--------------------

Peter Sharpe
Institute for Wildlife Studies
Bald Eagle Restoration Program
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