As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Monday, 1 December 2014

Baby kiwi undergoes surgery to fix its crooked beak

Corrective surgery in New Zealand on the tip of the little kiwi’s bill means it will be able to lead a normal life

theguardian.com, Monday 1 December 2014 04.48 GMT

A baby kiwi has undergone two rounds of surgery to fix its crooked beak.

The 594-gram chick that is yet to be named was born in October with a misaligned bill.


Queenstown Kiwi Birdlife Park
It was a complicated birth, with the kiwi undergoing an assisted hatch after staff at Queenstown’s Kiwi Birdlife Park realised it wouldn’t be able to kick free of its shell because it had its foot caught over its head, similar to a breach birth for humans.

Once born, it became apparent the chick’s misaligned beak would hinder feeding and inhibit its ability to survive and grow.

Massey University in Palmerston North suggested fixing the beak with a new technique being developed by veterinary surgeons at its Wildbase hospital.

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