Hello Everyone (2 Viewers)

[Rghazzawi]

Hello everyone,
Late to this thread as well but seems there are still some recent conversations. I rescued a barn swallow from a barn I work at on August 1st. He was thrown out of the nest and never taken back by mama bird.
I brought him home, my husband and I basically rehabilitated him and he was looking sooo amazing but the last few days we noticed decline. Legs were weaker, he wasn’t pecking for his food anymore or chirping as much. We also noticed his translucent membrane (third eyelid) very prominent in one eye an slightly in the other.
Anyway, we got home this evening after a Labor Day cook out and he was not well. Sadly he suddenly passed away in our hands. It was a privilege to be able to be so close to such a tiny amazing creature with such an enormous personality. We named him Murphy and he was so special to us in his short time here. Any experience Or expertise would be so appreciated. Did he have a potential respiratory infection? Was he stressed? I attached a before and after photo of beautiful Murphy. The right photo is when his eyes changed. Thank you for reading this if you did

 

[Kits]

Welcome to Birdforum. It’s hard to say what the problem was.

Maybe enlist the help of a wildlife centre another time.

 

[Rghazzawi]

Welcome to Birdforum. It’s hard to say what the problem was.

Maybe enlist the help of a wildlife centre another time.

Thank you for responding. You’re right. I was worried that the one wildlife rescue we have in my town in Ohio would just put him down and not return him to me which I have heard they have done before but that was selfish of me at this point. I really thought he had a chance. He was thriving. Sometimes things are just out of our control. :’(

 

[delia todd]

Hi Rghazzawi and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators. It may be that the adults sensed this nestling was sick and rejected it, as they wouldn't want to expend a lot of energy feeding it when they had others which were more likely to fledge.

There's no knowing what was wrong without going to the expense of a postmortem (autopsy). A wildlife rescue would have likely given it the best chance. These tales circulate that they just put them down, but they too are walking a difficult tightrope. It may happen with a sick non-native species, as they are not allowed to release them back to the wild, even if they recover. In the breeding season their facilities are often full to overflowing with baby birds and other small creatures. They don't have the resources to keep non-natives on their premises, so what to do with them.

Native wildlife is a different matter, they will try their best. A badly broken wing, that is unlikely to mend in a way to allow them to fly is a hopeless case really, so the kindest thing for them is euthanasia.

We have some general guidelines here for the care of injured and baby birds, which I hope you will find helpful if you are ever faced with a similar situation again.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I look forward to hearing your news.

 

[Chris G6 UXU]

Hello and welcome to the forum, enjoy and all the best.

 

[Lisa W]

Hi, welcome to the forum. I think you will find us a friendly and helpful group. Sorry to hear that the bird didn’t make it.

 

[Rghazzawi]

Hi Rghazzawi and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators. It may be that the adults sensed this nestling was sick and rejected it, as they wouldn't want to expend a lot of energy feeding it when they had others which were more likely to fledge.

There's no knowing what was wrong without going to the expense of a postmortem (autopsy). A wildlife rescue would have likely given it the best chance. These tales circulate that they just put them down, but they too are walking a difficult tightrope. It may happen with a sick non-native species, as they are not allowed to release them back to the wild, even if they recover. In the breeding season their facilities are often full to overflowing with baby birds and other small creatures. They don't have the resources to keep non-natives on their premises, so what to do with them.

Native wildlife is a different matter, they will try their best. A badly broken wing, that is unlikely to mend in a way to allow them to fly is a hopeless case really, so the kindest thing for them is euthanasia.

We have some general guidelines here for the care of injured and baby birds, which I hope you will find helpful if you are ever faced with a similar situation again.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I look forward to hearing your news.

Thank you for your kind words, and knowledge on this. Yes, it definitely makes sense that he was thrown out as I continued to see the other fledglings at the barn as the days went on leave the nest shortly after. There was something wrong. He just seemed so strong a few days later after we got him eating again<3 although he should have been ready to take flight shortly after and he wasn’t. he wasn’t going to be able to migrate nor care for himself as he was never properly taught by his mother. Next time I will do the better thing and take him in. He had the best 4 weeks with us and so did we. We may have needed him more than he needed us. His purpose was served 🤍 thanks for visiting us buddy. I now have a new favorite bird and I’ll never forget it. Thanks again!

 

[Rghazzawi]

Hi, welcome to the forum. I think you will find us a friendly and helpful group. Sorry to hear that the bird didn’t make it.

Thank you so much<3 I love birds and will continue visiting this forum. )

 

[Fritz73]

Hola! Welcome to Birdforum