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Found Kestrel with broken wing (1 Viewer)

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The last Merlin I had was in similar condition (but not as extreme) and we summised it had been 'discussing issues' with a short-eared owl. If the kestrel's wing is a break to one of the 'arm' bones - it could be a collision (vehicle?) - best ask the Original Poster where it was found?
 
Personally, I think KN's advice is excellent, I can't understand why anyone would want to censor this thread? As for ignorant or inexperienced people making the wrong decisions - surely one can't seriously consider such a tiny minority, the advice given is correct for the 99.999% of people who aren't quite so stupid!

Realistically, what are the prospects for a one-winged kestrel - should it survive - in the UK? If it's very lucky, a sympathetic falconer may take it on. It would live it's life out tethered to a block - at night it would be safe in mews, during the day it would be placed outside on a 'weathering ground'. This is possibly the best option - raptors are inately lazy (as we see it) and spend most of their time roosting anyway, so it wouldn't be too bad a life. Falconers tame birds by 'manning' - the process of taking the bird to and from the mews will calm it down sufficiently so that it eventually accepts the process and doesn't panic - I rehabed (though I couldn't, obviously, release her) a one-eyed sparrowhawk when I was a kid that had been handled so often by vets, etc., she became so tame she would occasionally tuck her head under her wing and sleep on my fist. Believe me, this is rare with a bird as neurotic as a spar!. She accepted her surroundings and was, pressumably, reasonably happy.

Unfortunately, most rehabers in the UK have very little appreciation of the needs of raptors, and the poor kestrel may eventually be shoved into an aviary, possibly with other species, to live out the rest of it's life grovelling around on the floor, or perched as high as it can possibly get by hopping from perch to perch - a dismal thing to witness. Is this any sort of life for a raptor? Surely it's not simply enough to preserve the life of a bird, a great deal of thought must be given to the quality of life the bird has to subsequently endure?

For what it's worth, I'd use a 'priest' (a piece of wood, weighted at one end - fishing shops and shooting suppliers sell them) to kill any bird if I hadn't any previous experience. As Tim suggests, breaking a bird's neck is very swift, but I've seen it go horribly wrong when someone who's not been shown the correct method attempts it for the first time. Hold the bird tightly in one hand (or wrap the body in cloth), then rap it swiftly and firmly over the head with the priest. As KN suggests, you can't really hit it too hard - it may look messy but the bird will be dead!

Jonathan
 
CJW said:
There seems to be too much emotion and not enough practicality on this thread.
Personally I'm with KnockerNorton but would have chosen a different method of despatch to the one he recommended.
It's never a pleasant thing to have to do but if you have the ability to rise above 'girlie emotions' it is more often than not the best course of action.
Click to expand...


That is incredibly insulting.There's no need to make broad based attacks on gender.

I joined this forum thinking it was a place where people could discuss birds, enjoy birds, etc. But this thread has turned into 3 PAGES of how to kill a bird. The fact of the matter is that Knockernorton's FIRST PIECE OF ADVICE was to put the bird in a bag and beat it. He did not know how long the original poster had the bird, or how long that person had waited for a return phone call. I can tell you from experience of having 3 American Kestrels of my own (I'm a licensed falconer), that the bird did not seem to be in that much distress, based on those pictures, and what Baccalynn had told us.

This isn't a joke, but many of you are turning it in to some kind of joke. maybe some of you would know better than to kill the bird right off, but I would imagine people who have no idea what is going on, come to this forum for advice, and this is the kind of ludicrous things that people are telling them. Well done.

Knockernorton, if you truly worked for a bird rescue, like you claim to, you would be able to give better advice. This type of advice is psychotic, and not remotely humane.

This thread is making me sick to my stomach, that people have such a lack of respect for an animal, is utterly disgusting. There are a select few people that have actually tried to make an effort, and keep this thread on topic and professional, while others are trying to make it into their own personal agenda, and making personal attacks that have nothing to do with the thread.
 
pygmy falcon said:
That is incredibly insulting.There's no need to make broad based attacks on gender.
Click to expand...

I think you misread it - I think he meant our individual 'girlie emotions', male and female. It wasn't directed at you or anyone else imo. (could be wrong!)

pygmy falcon said:
I joined this forum thinking it was a place where people could discuss birds, etc.
Click to expand...

thought we were, unless you have an injured badger too??? I'm get me bat....

pygmy falcon said:
fact of the matter is that Knockernorton's FIRST PIECE OF ADVICE was to put the bird in a bag and beat it.
Click to expand...

no, read it again. My FIRST piece of advice was to take it to a vet. Do please read before posting in haste....

pygmy falcon said:
Knockernorton, if you truly worked for a bird rescue, like you claim to, you would be able to give better advice.
Click to expand...

no, I don't think i did, actually. Again, you really should read before jumping on people's cyberbacks. Poor.

pygmy falcon said:
This type of advice is psychotic, and not remotely humane. .
Click to expand...

yeah, about that, I'm still waiting for your advice on how to do it better. You don't seem to know though.

pygmy falcon said:
and making personal attacks that have nothing to do with the thread.
Click to expand...

such as calling people psychotic and disgusting? Pots/kettles, PF, pots/kettles.
 
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saluki said:
Personally, I think KN's advice is excellent, I can't understand why anyone would want to censor this thread? As for ignorant or inexperienced people making the wrong decisions - surely one can't seriously consider such a tiny minority, the advice given is correct for the 99.999% of people who aren't quite so stupid!

Realistically, what are the prospects for a one-winged kestrel - should it survive - in the UK? If it's very lucky, a sympathetic falconer may take it on. It would live it's life out tethered to a block - at night it would be safe in mews, during the day it would be placed outside on a 'weathering ground'. This is possibly the best option - raptors are inately lazy (as we see it) and spend most of their time roosting anyway, so it wouldn't be too bad a life. Falconers tame birds by 'manning' - the process of taking the bird to and from the mews will calm it down sufficiently so that it eventually accepts the process and doesn't panic - I rehabed (though I couldn't, obviously, release her) a one-eyed sparrowhawk when I was a kid that had been handled so often by vets, etc., she became so tame she would occasionally tuck her head under her wing and sleep on my fist. Believe me, this is rare with a bird as neurotic as a spar!. She accepted her surroundings and was, pressumably, reasonably happy.

Unfortunately, most rehabers in the UK have very little appreciation of the needs of raptors, and the poor kestrel may eventually be shoved into an aviary, possibly with other species, to live out the rest of it's life grovelling around on the floor, or perched as high as it can possibly get by hopping from perch to perch - a dismal thing to witness. Is this any sort of life for a raptor? Surely it's not simply enough to preserve the life of a bird, a great deal of thought must be given to the quality of life the bird has to subsequently endure?

For what it's worth, I'd use a 'priest' (a piece of wood, weighted at one end - fishing shops and shooting suppliers sell them) to kill any bird if I hadn't any previous experience. As Tim suggests, breaking a bird's neck is very swift, but I've seen it go horribly wrong when someone who's not been shown the correct method attempts it for the first time. Hold the bird tightly in one hand (or wrap the body in cloth), then rap it swiftly and firmly over the head with the priest. As KN suggests, you can't really hit it too hard - it may look messy but the bird will be dead!

Jonathan
Click to expand...

give that man a pint, landlord.
 
pygmy falcon said:
That is incredibly insulting.There's no need to make broad based attacks on gender.

I joined this forum thinking it was a place where people could discuss birds, enjoy birds, etc. But this thread has turned into 3 PAGES of how to kill a bird. The fact of the matter is that Knockernorton's FIRST PIECE OF ADVICE was to put the bird in a bag and beat it. He did not know how long the original poster had the bird, or how long that person had waited for a return phone call. I can tell you from experience of having 3 American Kestrels of my own (I'm a licensed falconer), that the bird did not seem to be in that much distress, based on those pictures, and what Baccalynn had told us.

This isn't a joke, but many of you are turning it in to some kind of joke. maybe some of you would know better than to kill the bird right off, but I would imagine people who have no idea what is going on, come to this forum for advice, and this is the kind of ludicrous things that people are telling them. Well done.

Knockernorton, if you truly worked for a bird rescue, like you claim to, you would be able to give better advice. This type of advice is psychotic, and not remotely humane.

This thread is making me sick to my stomach, that people have such a lack of respect for an animal, is utterly disgusting. There are a select few people that have actually tried to make an effort, and keep this thread on topic and professional, while others are trying to make it into their own personal agenda, and making personal attacks that have nothing to do with the thread.
Click to expand...

Well I feel the need to agree with another very well put post by Pygmy Falcon - I think that's one experienced lady I would gladly ask for help and who's advice I would gladly follow - Something tells me that I'd also follow her advice via email/private communication should I need help with an injured bird in the situation Knocker has described.

Thanks again for your professional input PF, please don't be deterred from staying with BF - it can get a bit rough as you've seen :gh:
 
deborah4 said:
Well I feel the need to agree with another very well put post by Pygmy Falcon - I think that's one experienced lady I would gladly ask for help and who's advice I would gladly follow - Something tells me that I'd also follow her advice via email/private communication should I need help with an injured bird in the situation Knocker has described.

Thanks again for your professional input PF, please don't be deterred from staying with BF - it can get a bit rough as you've seen :gh:
Click to expand...

Pygmy Falcon has only ever been involved with the treatment of cats and dogs, apparently.

You ,might like to ask her more about her falcons though, and where they came from, and what she does with them.
 
Last edited:
KnockerNorton said:
Pygmy Falcon has only ever been involved with the treatment of cats and dogs, apparently.

You ,might like to ask her more about her falcons though, and where they came from, and what she does with them.
Click to expand...



Wow. Although I had the decency and maturity to take this to PM, as well as apologize for personal attacks, you still have the audacity to come back into the forum and be a jerk. What you fail to mention here, is that I said that when I go to work as a vet tech, I work with dogs and cats. Not that I only work with dogs and cats. As I mentioned previously, I have a lot of experience with raptors... healthy ones, and non releasables.

As far as bringing up falconry, and in an immature way I might add, is the fact that, yes, my falcons do take wild quarry. The wild quarry I referred to was non native, invasive species. When my falcons catch something, it is dispatched quickly and humanely. I would not deny this information to anyone that asked. My point was merely to say that this is not appropriate forum fodder. Nice try. What is the point of you calling me out like that? Are you trying to get people to come after me with flames and pitchforks?

I thought we could be mature adults about this, and keep it in the PMs, and stop with the personal attacks, but instead of responding to my PM (you know, the one where I apologized for personally attacking you?) you come back here, and try to start an argument with me again! What's your deal?
 
pygmy falcon said:
Wow. Although I had the decency and maturity to take this to PM, as well as apologize for personal attacks, you still have the audacity to come back into the forum and be a jerk. What you fail to mention here, is that I said that when I go to work as a vet tech, I work with dogs and cats. Not that I only work with dogs and cats. As I mentioned previously, I have a lot of experience with raptors... healthy ones, and non releasables.

As far as bringing up falconry, and in an immature way I might add, is the fact that, yes, my falcons do take wild quarry. The wild quarry I referred to was non native, invasive species. When my falcons catch something, it is dispatched quickly and humanely. I would not deny this information to anyone that asked. My point was merely to say that this is not appropriate forum fodder. Nice try. What is the point of you calling me out like that? Are you trying to get people to come after me with flames and pitchforks?

I thought we could be mature adults about this, and keep it in the PMs, and stop with the personal attacks, but instead of responding to my PM (you know, the one where I apologized for personally attacking you?) you come back here, and try to start an argument with me again! What's your deal?
Click to expand...


You brought up falconry, actually. Do keep up. You said in post 66 that you had 3 american kestrels. I suggested that deborah4 asked you where they were from and what you did with them, as I suspect that it may not chime with her opinions on what is humane when it comes to raptors, and seeing as you've both publicly slated me for the past 2 days for being inhumane. That's all. I mentioned nothing in the PM re falconry, although i'm sorry that I busted you as a cat/dog technician - I didn't realise that it might be sensitive info. My bad. Certainly no personal attacks there though, although i notice that your attacks were public but your apology was private. But i see you're back to form with the name-calling.

what methods do you use to despatch your pet kestrels's victims quickly and humanely though? That's what we've been discussing, so I'm still interested to hear.
 
Last edited:
KnockerNorton said:
You brought up falconry, actually. Do keep up. You said in post 66 that you had 3 american kestrels. I suggested that deborah4 asked you where they were from and what you did with them, as I suspect that it may not chime with her opinions on what is humane when it comes to raptors, and seeing as you've both publicly slated me for the past 2 days for being inhumane. That's all. I mentioned nothing in the PM re falconry, although i'm sorry that I busted you as a cat/dog technician - I didn't realise that it might be sensitive info. My bad. Certainly no personal attacks there though, although i notice that your attacks were public but your apology was private. But i see you're back to form with the name-calling.

what methods do you use to despatch your pet kestrels's victims quickly and humanely though? That's what we've been discussing, so I'm still interested to hear.
Click to expand...


Busted as a cat/dog tech? That is one of the lamest things I've ever heard. I'm quite happy with what I do, and I don't appreciate the comment.

I said 3 times in this thread that I'm a falconer. I was never hiding that. Anyone with a brain or wikipedia can figure out what I do.

Quit badgering me for information that I previously stated over and over and over that I am not going to contribute to this forum.

You are a bully, KnockerNorton, and I'm done playing into your games here. This forum is not the popularity contest you seem to think it is.
 
pygmy falcon said:
Busted as a cat/dog tech? That is one of the lamest things I've ever heard. I'm quite happy with what I do, and I don't appreciate the comment.
Click to expand...

was trying to be light-hearted.

pygmy falcon said:
I said 3 times in this thread that I'm a falconer. I was never hiding that. Anyone with a brain or wikipedia can figure out what I do.
Click to expand...

I know, so why jump on me for mentioning it then?

pygmy falcon said:
Quit badgering me for information that I previously stated over and over and over that I am not going to contribute to this forum.
Click to expand...

you can PM me, as I've said. I don't quite get why it's a secret. If you can share good practice, I'm sure it would be useful.

pygmy falcon said:
You are a bully, KnockerNorton,
Click to expand...

jerk, immature, psychotic, inhumane. All aggressive words used by you to describe me, and I'm the bully? If you don't like my asking you to justify your harsh attacks on my advice by backing it up with something more tangible than 9 yrs with cats and dogs, then quit jumping on me!
 
Wow indeed ... falconry an off topic subject and as far as I know that IS BF rules.

As for ''publically slating'' K.N for being 'inhumane' on the contrary, I have been constantly insulted for repeatedly insisting people contact the nearest available Vet/rescue centre for advice if they find an injured bird and being called ''ignorant'' etc etc for saying so.

Really, stop slinging mud at those that disagree with your personal point of view KN, it's doing you no favors whatsoever
 
Can we get away from tit for tat bashing... we didn't mind the thread when there was genuine info being posted but it's all got a bit silly now.
Probably best for everyone to take a break from this thread (which several had promised) unless there some genuinely worthwhile contributions.

Yeah, everyone wants the last word but try to restrain yourselves.
Thanks,
Admin
 
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