Help! Found a Bird That Can't Fly

Maverick95

Maverick95

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Being a big animal lover, my dad brought home a bird that he almost ran over with his truck when leaving work. He tried to get it to fly and it would flap it wings butcouldn't lift off. He brought it to me and I've put it in a cage with some bread crumbs and a dish of water. It is resting on a bit of soft toilet paper. The bird is leaning to the right but its legs feel strong. Does anyone have any positive advice to help this bird? I don't expect it to live very long, but i do want to try and help it as much as i can.
 
Mavelick95 said:
Being a big animal lover, my dad brought home a bird that he almost ran over with his truck when leaving work. He tried to get it to fly and it would flap it wings butcouldn't lift off. He brought it to me and I've put it in a cage with some bread crumbs and a dish of water. It is resting on a bit of soft toilet paper. The bird is leaning to the right but its legs feel strong. Does anyone have any positive advice to help this bird? I don't expect it to live very long, but i do want to try and help it as much as i can.
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a big problem with birds is broken bones. the problem is that they heal so fast that unless they are set right away they heal crooked and the only way to fix it is to rebreak the bone. Hmm. sorry i know that wasn't very helpful, but do you know if it has anything broken?
 
Keep it in a quiet area and throw a towel over the cage. This will help reduce its stress. It may have hit something and may just be slightly injured. If you have bird seed throw some in for it too. Leave it alone for the night and check on it in the morning. The less stress you cause it the better. If it's not better in the morning you can contact wildlife shelters who may take it in.
 
My family used to care for orphaned birds that people dropped off at the local SPCA so I can give you a couple of tips.

At the very least the bird will be very scared by being exposed to such close human contact. You need to give the bird a chance to calm down; the best way to do this is to get a small box, (shoe boxes work well) put some dime or nickel size breathing holes in it. Take the bird and gently put it into the box then put the lid on so it doesn't escape. Next take the box and put it in a closet somewhere for 1-3 hours.

Being in the dark with no noise will help calm the bird down. If it can't see or hear anything it will not have cause to freak out so much.

After some time has passed you can try to release the bird if it seems to be doing better. If you plan to nurse the poor thing back to health then you can buy some puppy formula and mix it into a paste like substance that has the consistency similar to that of oatmeal. Take a wooden chopstick or the blunt end of a wooden BBQ skewer and put some of the formula on the end of the stick. (If the consistency is right the paste should stay on the end of the stick). Don't use the sharp end of the skewer to feed for obvious reasons.

If the bird seems injured then you also have the option calling the local SPCA and asking them if the can examine the bird and advise whether it needs veterinary care. Whichever approach you take start off by putting it in the box for a while to keep it calm, that is very important.

Last but not least, if you handle the bird you should use disposable latex or vinyl gloves for your protection. Some of these birds do carry diseases so avoid direct contact and always wash your hands thoroughly.

Best of luck!
 
I definetly thought of the animal shelter with previous rescues, but they won't do anything for wild birds.

Thankyou everyone for the advice. I did the shoebox thing when i got it. I just went to check on it and found the poor thing almost upside down. When i gently turned it back over, its neck was still backwards. I VERY gently tried to move his head a bit and he moved it back in place. But he starts to flap his wings and flips over again. Sadly i think he is on the edge of death and is breathing heavily. He twitches and flips around but there seems to be nothing i can do to help more. I can't watch his pain so i will let nature take its course, he has food and water, but i will check on him again in a bit. Thankyou everyone for your input and i will definetly use more of your ideas next time. Thankyou!
 
RIP little bird.....
 
Sorry about your bird :(
If ever you run into the problem contact Diane Babeckess. She lives in Stayner Ontario and she rehabilitates all orphaned wildlife regardless of zoning. She helped me with my Raccoons.

Again. Sorry about the little guy. Its never easy.
 
Next time something like this happens, just take the animal to the Toronto Wildlife Centre. It's down by Downsview. They're actually equipped to deal with injured and orphaned animals. I took a baby possum down there whose mother was dead (baby was found clinging to it), and they knew how to take care of it. Great people.
 
I tried taking bird to places like that before but each one has said that there is nothing they can do because it is a small wild bird. But if you think TWC might help, i will definetly call them next time just in case they may be able to save it.
 
Bread offers no nutritional value to animals. I literally face palm when I see people feeding bread to birds/geese at the park.
The cheapest grade of cat food has 8947894 times more nutrients than bread.

When you say it can't fly, is it perhaps because it is still young?
If it looks like it is an adult and should know how to fly by now, then perhaps there's something wrong with one or both of its wings.
If the flight feathers fell/got ripped out/damaged then it won't fly for a while.

Bring it to an animal rescue center near you and they'll be able to take the best care for it possible. If there is damage and it is permanent, they'll decide the best option for the animal.
If they believe it will heal and be able to fly again, they will keep it in their care until they are ready and then release back into the wild.
 
stormcat said:
Next time something like this happens, just take the animal to the Toronto Wildlife Centre. It's down by Downsview. They're actually equipped to deal with injured and orphaned animals. I took a baby possum down there whose mother was dead (baby was found clinging to it), and they knew how to take care of it. Great people.
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+1

I have been there and have supported them a dozen times by bringing them some supplies that they listed as needed on their website.
They are great people who really want to help these animals.
 
Mavelick95 said:
I did the shoebox thing when i got it. I just went to check on it and found the poor thing almost upside down. When i gently turned it back over, its neck was still backwards. I VERY gently tried to move his head a bit and he moved it back in place.
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Strange... We caught a bird, put it in a shoebox and tried to nurse it to health. Found it the next day with its neck bent backwards and dead... Oh well least we tried.
 
DaveOke said:
Strange... We caught a bird, put it in a shoebox and tried to nurse it to health. Found it the next day with its neck bent backwards and dead... Oh well least we tried.
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Exactly what happened to my one today! Weird. Maybe its a bird thing....
 
I heard that Brooke killed a bird and ate it raw.
 
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