How to help an Injured Bird?

LisaLou1982

Hi All

Wondered if anyone had any experience or knew what to do?

I found an injured bird on the path to my house this afternoon at about 6pm. No signs of broken wing/leg, it was sat on the path and looked in shock. At first i decided to leave it there, but was keeping an eye on him til the heavens opened and i noticed hed gone. Turns out hed moved about a meter towards my gate to try and get some shelter

I didnt want him to get caught by a cat or worse, as he still looked in shock so ive put him in a box with a bottle of warm water to keep him warm and a little bowl of water so he can have a drink. Ive also put a tea towel over the entrance to the box so its dark but have left enough gap so he can get out if he decides hes happy to fly.

So, i guess my question is what to do? Obviously i cant take him to the vet until the morning. How long do birds stay in shock for? I cant think of anything that he might have flown into as theres nothing really that wouldve hurt him around where i found him, and i know he hadnt been there long as he wasnt there when i came home 30mins earlier.

Would you expect to see obvious signs if a cat had gotten hold of him? I couldnt see much except a small dot of red on his beak which might have been blood but could be something else.

I just want the poor thing to be ok!! I think he might be a young Dove...

Money_maker

Just to add that birds won't move in the dark so the tea towel may need moving tomorrow. Could have been a cat attack, he may have flown into a window or something.

Shock can kill so best leave him in peace for tonight.

LisaLou1982

Thanks Money maker. I'll leave him now - i went out to have a look and he hasnt moved but i guess thatd make sense since its night time!

The box is on its side, if you know what i mean, so he can fly straight out - the tea towel only covers half of the gap so he can definately get out no problem.

Really hope its ok - im feeling very maternal towards it! lol

zaksmum

Is the poor thing still with us this morning?

harveybobbles

For the last 3 months we've had a blackbird outside with a damaged wing. He can't fly, just hops along the ground.

I've tried to catch him and have a look at his gammy wing, but he just hops off. He's still going strong. Looks healthy. i'm guessing he manages to keep away from cats - or has a very protective partner.

If I phoned the RSPCA, they'd come out, catch him and neck him.

Fire_Fox

harveybobbles wrote: »

If I phoned the RSPCA, they'd come out, catch him and neck him.

Sorry but maybe that is the best thing for him, he will struggle to survive a cold or wet winter if he can't get off the ground.

bazster

I managed to catch a dove with an injured wing one afternoon using a butterfly net which I keep for evicting bugs from my conservatory. Like the OP it was a Sunday, so I put it in a cat box covered by a towel and left it 'til the morning.

It was still alive so I took it to the vet (our vets is brilliant and doesn't charge for wildlife). It got quite stroppy when the vet took it out of the box, so she popped it in a dog run and said she'd just keep an eye on it for a while before deciding what to do.

I never went back to ask after it, I don't want to know if they put it down.

princeofpounds

If a cat had had a go at him he would probably be missing a good number of feathers at the least. More likely it either hit a window or is ill.

There isn't really much you can do apart from keep them warm, dry and calm. They are pretty fragile creatures.

zaksmum

I found an injured seagull once with a broken wing. Poor thing kept trying to fly but just crashed back onto the sand every time.

I rang the RSPB and they said there was nothing they could do even if it could be caught.

Froglet

A trip to the vets for their expert opinion is the only thing you can do.Any wildlife that can be caught is clearly not well at all.

Years ago one of my lovely female blackbirds who used to do such a brilliant job of raising young in and around my garden,started to get problems with her feet and claws and was having a job to stand up straight and walk properly.But she remained able to feed and fly.However eventually she couldn't even fly but still came up to me for food,though i couldn't catch her.She would sleep under mine or a neighbour's bushes.

Of course the inevitable happened,a cat got her and left her in a terrible state ,thankfully my neighbour found her and she went on a one way trip to the vets.So if this bird is that poorly a vet is the only one who should say what her chances are.There is a disease going around affecting pigeons and doves which causes them to become lethargic.

scaredy_cat

http://www.helpwildlife.co.uk/eastmids.php

are any of the rescue centers near you?