Injured thrush advice? (1 Viewer)

[Sither]

Hi there, Im hoping this is the correct section for this....Ive had a young thrush for almost two week now, she was given to me by a neighbour, found very young on the floor obviously something has had a go at here, she has a cloudy right eye (I suspect she is blind or very close) and she had an injured wing. The eye hasnt changed, the wing is still "dropped" but has lifted slightly.
She is currently in a large aviary and seems to be able to fly without much issue. Im wanting her to be free but am concerned that she may not be able to judge distances very well for landing in trees etc with only one eye.....that said I dont want her living in a cage all her life.
My dilemma is should I set her free on woodland close to me but not too close to my garden as there are cats in abundance in my area.
She is becoming tame and I dont want to keep her longer than I have to

Thanks in advance

 

[delia todd]

Hi Sither and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators. We have some general guidelines here for the care of injured and baby birds. If she's flying, what happens when she lands, is she able to find the perch OK?

There are many birds surviving pretty well with injuries, including loss of an eye. It's a different matter with raptors who need good sight to hunt.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I look forward to hearing your news. Please let us know how you get on with the thrush. You could have a word with a vet to see what they think.

 

[Sither]

Hi Delia, thanks for the reply, since posting Ive been banging my head against the wall trying to get help and advice.
My local vet isnt interested and told me to ring the local RSPB
The local RSPB has an answerphone dictating that there is no room at the inn and nobody available to answer the phone
The larger RSPB was next, they advised me to keep the bird as releasing a bird with one eye leaves it very vulnerable to attack.
Im fond of her, shes very chatty, but she should be free....I guess Im torn as I dont want to keep her caged....But I dont want to release her to a probable death.

She seems to be flying and finding the perch without much issue, but Ive noticed that when she is pecking for food she misses 4 times out of 5, I suspect this is due to only having one good eye.

 

[delia todd]

Hi again Sither.

The RSPB isn't really an organisation which cares for individual birds, their remit is towards protecting habitat for birds and wider nature. The RSPCA (or SSPCA in Scotland) is the charity that cares for individuals.

Is there a wildlife rescue centre in your area? You might find one by Googling on your county or perhaps your local vet may have an address. They would be able to advise you better, I think.