At this time there are usually 3-5 externs working everyday with 2-3 supporting staff members to handle high stress/a**hole patients. The night before every shift we are all assigned to one major task: ICU birds & raptor feed, ICU mammals and all outside mammals, bears & fawns, Aviary & Acclimators, Reptile Room and meals, baby raptors/Pick up & Exercise. In addition to these major tasks, we have a list that has routine chores as well as variable daily chores that change depending on what craziness is going down that day. So we'll breakdown my day today, a routine Monday.
7:00am - jump outta bed, wash my face...kinda fix my hair, throw on the least smelly clothes & make a quick breakfast (cereal, a shot of apple cider vinegar, and sometimes eggs and always coffee) & throw something together for lunch - ordering my protein powder tomorrow so it'll soon be protein shakes all day, erryday.
7:55am - roll into the hospital, tying up my hair & downing the last sip of coffee & inhaling a donut if they are still there.
8:00am - check the board and I'm on ICU birds & raptor feed (which isn't until 4pm)
...fool around, stash size small gloves (they always go fast), grab a radio & get into ICU
from 8am - noon I'm weighing all the birds in ICU, changing feeding schedules/updating patient charts, cleaning cages, warming up formulas/stocking up on dried & live insects and updating staff on everyone's progress, giving meds & fluids put out by vet staff. Checking in new patients coming in and getting them set up/weighed and fed. Occassionally I hear over the radio that there are potential problems in the bear pens but I'm stuck in ICU for the morning so I don't really care and go back to taking selfies with my fav baby birds ;) Most likely I'll be on bears the next day so I'm happy for the break.
young Northern Flickers Colaptes auratus
11:45am - rehab rounds, all externs/staff/volunteers gather in ICU to update everyone on what's going on with everyone's tasks etc. Staff reminds us of priority tasks and mistakes made the night before that will NOT be made again.
Noon - 1st lunch which is just more coffee & gatorade & trail mix by the handful
from noon to 3 I'm doing odd jobs off the board - hosing pens, making different diets, CLEANING, helping other externs with their jobs, browsing for the bears & fawns (and subsequently picking ticks off of me) and getting grumpy that my hair is now coated in bug spray...again...why do I try?!
2nd lunch happens in here when I have down time during a tour and I snag something more substantial to eat and hydrate, hydrate, HYDRATE!
stop to take pics of Edie, cuz I mean look at how pretty she is!!
she's especially fluffy today because it's been raining off and on and she keeps preening
3pm-6pm I'm assigned to Aviary and acclimators so every 30 min I'm headed up to the aviary to check on all the birds/mammals that are usually self feeding but might need food offered here and there.
4pm - raptor feed starts and so I juggle weighing out mice for raptors and running up to the aviary to check on my patients there. While weighing out mice/fish for the raptors, I find out no one pulled rats the night before so now I have to thaw rats for our eagles & vultures...this is guarantees that I'll be lagging on my aviary duties and might get out a little later. I also won't be able to help clean and close so everyone else has to pull my slack.
Thankfully, raptor feed goes smoothly, one red tailed hawk is on mouse school so I also get to select three mice to be sacrificed haha I'm cleaning and tidying and taking random pictures for friends & my blog as I go...sometimes video of the animals I think my friends would like to see later (tonight it was the kestrels, I'll edit tomorrow and email out). My team is awesome and planning to grab dinner at 7pm so they help me wrap up my chores and we are out the door by 6pm flat to shower and get to the restaurant to celebrate & say goodbye to two of our best externs (one of whom was my trainer) and we're all begging to get to bed by 9pm. My legs KILL! but they also look killer now ;) haha
Things don't always go so well and everyday my schedule varies and we rotate through the major tasks. But I'm on my feet and moving for most of the day and laughing/joking with my fellow externs and housemates (some are on vet rotations) and sending pics/emails to friends/family and intermittently responding when I get a second.
More videos & pics on my next post - it's waaaay too late - I need to get up early and get to the store to get some thank you/goodbye flowers for my trainer and maybe get some work done :)
Gnite world! Enjoy your Friday/my Tuesday =/ Someone go to Happy Hour for me and send me a pic...blaaahhhhh!! :) :)
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