Chatty

Name: Because of her persistent chattering. We originally called her Lady Chatterly but now it's just Chatty.
Date in: 7/12/90
Hatched: Prior to Spring 1990
Gender: Female
Age at arrival: At least 1 year
Came from: Louisville, Kentucky

Story:
Chatty was shot with a shotgun. Her wing was broken from the blast and did not heal correctly. Her wing was frozen at the elbow joint and she does not have full wing expansion. Due to this she has a balance problem and often has broken tail feathers sometimes causing a disheveled appearance.

Chatty "talks" to us all of the time, often begging for food. We frequently determine how much an individual bird should be fed (within limits) by how much, if any, food the bird leaves untouched. In Chatty's case, there are never any scraps. In the fall of 95 she was taken to the vet because of wheezing which we thought was due to respiratory problem. She was found to weigh 996 grams, while the average weight of a female Broad-winged is 490-550 grams. She was simply obese. Broad-winged hawks will build up "fat stores" before their migrations, and we believe Chatty's voracious appetite is a natural tendency. Unfortunately, she doesn't get the same exercise as a flighted, migrating hawk! We put her on a diet of 2 mice daily instead of 3, although she still occasionally manages to "beg" extras from us. Every spring she lays infertile eggs, showing that aside from her wing injury, she is a healthy bird.