Emergency!!!!

[sunfishman]

ok, so a bird just flew into and crashed on our front door. it is breathing, and seems to be asleep/near dead. I moved it inside into a box becase the cats around here love a good bird. can any of you tell me what to do besides contact a wildlife rehab agency? the ones around here are awful. it looks like it hurt it's wing, and maybe if it survives, I can try and see for sure. I have a lot of experience w/ vetenairy medicine, but birds are new to me. Help! i really want to help this little guy!

[Trillianne]

Prior experience with this was a bird that was ramming its head into some new construction (came into unfinished house but didn't find its way out on its own)

Most likely its a concussion and will recover with a bit of time on its own. when that happens... you probably don't want it trapped inside your house. So you may want to take it and its box back outside and wait with it for a few minutes and see how it does.

If after 20 minutes or so it doesn't recover, or it does but shows signs of inability to fly away on its own.. then call the animal control for your area and ask them whom to contact. They will know the best place for a wild bird to get help.

[mermaidwannabe]

Awful for not, you'll need to contact your local wildlife rehabilitators. In most states, now, it's illegal to keep wild birds for any reason, even to try to treat them yourself.

Does your veterinarian have experience or expertise in treating birds? You might want to give him or her a call. Chances are, though, they'll also tell you to contact the wildlife rehab. Most vets that treat birds treat pet birds only, like parrots, canaries, etc. It might be illegal even for a private vet to treat a wild bird.

Maybe you can offer to work with the wildlife rehabbers to help jointly treat this bird, since you have some experience. Just make sure it's lawful. You'd be appalled at some of the trivial crap they try to get you for, these days.

-- mermaidwannabe

[Honey Badger 1]

you should have just left it alone. birds fly into things and get stunned all the time, sit a few minutes then fly off. bringing it into your home has all kinds of things wrong with it, bad for you and bad for the bird. parasites on the bird being only one reason. if by some chance it was injured you still should have left it alone. what kind of life would it have if it can't take care of itself. its a wild animal, not a pet, and will never be satisfied as a pet. you should have let nature take care of nature.

[sunfishman]

im sorry, but when the bird is dragging a wing, and is in danger of being killed by cats, i'm not going to let it sit there. it is not in my actual "house" but in the sunroom/greenhouse built onto it. I am well aware that animals can and often do carry parasites, which is why I used surgical gloves and a blanket to place it in the box, which is a small sweater/shoe box and is open, the bird can leave if it can, and i didn't want to call the wildlife rehab just yet in case it was just stunned. if it has not recovered in a couple of hours, I will take it to the wildlife rehab center first thing in the morning. As far as legality, a friend who used to work for the park service told me one time that if a wild animal is in need of medical attention or unable to escape from iminent danger by domestic animals, then someone could assist it, unless it is an endangered/federaly protected species.


what kind of life would it have if it can't take care of itself. its a wild animal, not a pet, and will never be satisfied as a pet. you should have let nature take care of nature.

Did I ever say anything about keeping it? thats like saying if you go to a hospital, then you can never leave for the rest of your life. If birds break or otherwise injure a wing in the wild, then there life is fairly well over. and "nanure taking are of nature" isn't exactly straightforeward. technically, humans are part of nature, and I wasn't disputing the fact that it could take care of itself, I was saying that when it can't fly and is stunned, and a cat is out looking for a meal, then it goes against my morals NOT to intervene. to me, thats like watching someone get mugged and not even trying to help.

[Honey Badger 1]

did i say anything about you keeping the bird? a cage at the animal rehab is no different than a cage in your home. i'm sure if you take to the bird to animal rehab they will gladly take in a common bird to use up their valuable resources. i hear their resources are plentiful.
it drives me crazy when people put human value on an animal. its not like watching a person get mugged, it,s like watching a wild animal get injured. liken it to your dog getting injured and taking it to the vet, ok, i might listen. but liken it to a human being injured and i will just shake my head in disbelief and move on.

[sunfishman]

I didn't say it is an absolute fact, but just my opinion. I am entitled to have an opinion on things. I don't like watching anything, be it human, bird, or other, suffer when I can help it. The way it looks right now, the bird probably won't survive, but the wildlife center said they would gladly take it in if it hangs on until tomorrow. I was trying to find a way to help the animal, not get blasted for wanting to help it. I'm sorry if i rubbed anyone the wrong way.:22:

[Honey Badger 1]

i didn't blast you for your opinion. i only gave you my opinion, which i too am entitled. and for what it's worth, i am sorry the bird may not make it.

[sunfishman]

It happens, and btw, I wasn't trying to come off as angry, I was just sort of shaken about the whole thing and I/m sorry if I was sharp. but I really don't think there is anyone can do at this point but pray. Hopefully, whatever has happened to it's wing can be fixed if it survives, and hopefully the wildlife rehab will be able to diagnose/treat said proplem.

[mermaidwannabe]

I can see both sides of this.

We are stewards of our planet and all its living creatures. Part of good stewardship is understanding that nature was designed to function as it does, and for the most part, we need to leave it alone and not upset delicate balances.

This does not preclude our responsibility to intervene (which is different than interfere) now and then, when we see that our intervention is necessary or can be beneficial. As stewards, that's our right and our prerogative. In some cases, it's our duty.

It can often be a difficult judgement call as to whether we should intervene or not. Each case is different. By and large, I agree with leaving nature alone to function as nature was meant to. But not always.

I think you did a good thing, Sunshein, with good intentions behind it. At most wildlife rehab facilities, once a wild animal makes a full recovery and it is assessed and determined that it has a good chance of continuing to survive in the wild, it is set free. It returns to the wild, and whatever happens there happens.

There's a fine line between intervention and interference. It often gets blurred and can be hard to determine. We, as stewards, can only do our best while learning and trying to understand as much as we can about how our world was designed and meant to function by someone who, in my belief, is infinitely wiser than we'll ever be.

I am expressing my belief here, and in no way attempting to impose it on anyone else. This can be a touchy subject, and we all need to respect where each of us is coming from regarding it.

Mods, if this crosses any lines, I'll understand if you have to edit or remove it.

-- mermaidwannabe

[CassieLEO]

How is the bird doing now?

[mermaidwannabe]

Oh, and sorry I got your name wrong, sunfishman. I didn't realize it until it was too late to edit my post.

-- mermaid

[Cyberra]

I saw a grackle once that had somehow gotten into a convenience store and crashed into the glass door trying to get out. It was really disoriented and could barely even stand. Several times it tried to fly away and every time it dropped right out of the air. Unfortunately, the injuries were too severe and the bird died later that day. We buried it under an apple tree.

[sunfishman]

well, this morning I came out to check on it, and it had passed away sometime that night. I felt his chest and it felt like it had multiple broken bones, instead of just the wing that I thought. At least I can feel better knowing I tried to help, but looking at the bird now, even if it had survived, the Wildlife center would probably just euthanized it, I doubt they could do anyhting for it.

[Cyberra]

Bird bones are light and fairly fragile; an impact with a stationary object can do so much damage that you can't even see. And the broken bones themselves can do even more internal damage. Much of the time all you can do is keep the bird comfortable. At least you tried.

[CassieLEO]

Well, you get my props for caring about another life Sunfishman. Hopefully the birdie didnt suffer too much...

[Trillianne]

Well that's too bad.

[Piscine]

Bird bones are light and fairly fragile; an impact with a stationary object can do so much damage that you can't even see. And the broken bones themselves can do even more internal damage. Much of the time all you can do is keep the bird comfortable. At least you tried.

They are actually hollow.. That is what allows them to fly. thumbs2:

[Cyberra]

They are actually hollow.. That is what allows them to fly. thumbs2:

I'm aware of that. Their construction makes them light but strong... but not strong enough to resist an impact with a very large, very hard, stationary object.

[sunfishman]

they look like a very thin sponge in cross section, and yes, they are light but brittle. Hopefully there won't be any more crash landing bird fatalities for a while