Broken wing in lockdown (1 Viewer)

[PetLoverSpy]

Hi,

We’re currently in lockdown, our household in quarantine due to recent travel for medical reasons. A blue tit hit a window and was recovering from the shock when our dog got hold of it for just a second and must have either fractured or broken its wing as it is hanging rather than neatly tucked. It doesn’t appear to have any other injuries, is alert and able to move around albeit not fly, and drank water when offered. It is able to scoot up the sticks we put diagonally in its box. If this is notable, it‘s very bitey when handled.

Obviously the ideal thing is to take it to a wildlife center but quarantine makes that a tad difficult. I tried following instructions I found to wrap the wing (in this case the whole chest since it’s such a tiny bird) and let it heal for 1-2 weeks but it’s gotten the bandage off twice now. Any advice for how to handle a fractured/broken wing in such a small bird? When it’s so tiny, is it best to leave it without the bandage and just give it a safe place to heal for a few weeks?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Fritz73]

A warm welcome to Birdforum

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Baby & Injured Wild Birds - PLEASE READ!

If You Find A BABY Bird (see below about ADULT birds) Is the bird injured (bleeding, broken bones, puncture wounds, been in a cat’s mouth, open wounds, etc.)?If YES, take the bird to your nearest wildlife veterinarian or rehabilitator.If NO, see below. Is the bird fully...

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[delia todd]

Hi Petloverspy and a warm welcome from me too.

You don't say where you are but here's a Google result for some Wildlife rescues in the South of England: https://www.google.com/search?q=wildlife+rescye+south+england&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Alternatively a local vet would normally treat wildlife for free and may know of someone locally who rescues and rehabilitates wild birds. A broken wing is serious, if it's not properly seen to it probably will be unable to fly. A vet is the only one to advise on this, depending on where the break is and how badly it's broken.

Arrangements can be made for the safe collection during your quarantine, I'm sure.

Please let us know how you get on.... meanwhile I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I hope to hear about all the birds you see when out and about.

 

[PetLoverSpy]

Hi everyone,

I had forgotten to update: I did get the bird to a wildlife hospital. I hadn't realized that it was an essential service for common garden birds as well, which is fantastic. Unfortunately our dog's tooth thoroughly destroyed the joint beyond repair and they had to put it down, which was horrible to hear but I'm glad at least it was in good hands.

I'm quite upset about the whole experience, have learned a lot but I'm sad that it came at the cost of a life. I'm far more prepared for the next injured creature we may find (quite likely, tonnes of animals in our area) and have the contact info of a very nearby wildlife hospital now to safely deliver them to.

Thank you,

 

[delia todd]

I'm so sorry about the outcome of this PLS, but I'm pleased to hear that you managed to find a rehabber to help and that can help you in the future too (hopefully you won't need their services again though).

Thanks so much for letting us know.

 

[Jon Turner]

For your information: Blue Tits are very bitey! As a long-term bird ringer, I think pretty much every Blue Tit I have extracted from a mist net has had a good go at some part of my hands. My grandchildren have learnt to be very cautious when they are around a ringing session in case I let them release a Blue Tit! So yes it's quite normal to get a few nips. Sorry the outcome was not the one we would all have liked.

 

[PetLoverSpy]

Hi Jon, I didn't know that! I handled the occasional blue tit as a child (big garden and we didn't yet know what to do with baby birds out of the nest so we'd take them in — learned a lot since then), but then I moved to the Caribbean where the small birds were all very subdued when rescued (we'd have a handful hit the window each year). I must have forgotten how bitey they were. It is quite comforting to learn that though, as since I learned how messed up its wing was I thought that it must have been in excruciating pain for what I perceived to be a passive bird to bite us so much during handling. Makes me feel a little better about it!

The garden is absolutely full of blue tits and we'll be putting up some birdhouses, so hopefully by spring we'll see and hear lots of baby birds. Dog will go on a leash and the cats are indoors anyway so we'll keep them safe!