Marsha McClelland
New member
Hello. I'm Marsha McClelland. I live in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio but am visiting my son & Granddaughters in Mogadore, Ohio, in Suffield Township. I sought this group out because I really need some help.
I have what I think is a baby Robin that needs help, really bad. I know his parents threw him out of the nest & wouldn't take him back because of his problem so I nursed him back to health.
I was reading at this site about air sacs so that's why I am asking for help, here, & hope it's okay, being, this bird is of a different feather than those this site's about.
He has two air sacs on each side on his back that take up almost a third of his tiny body & connect to his crop area & it looks like one great big bubbly mess.
After eating his crop expands into the same transparent looking bubble. The crop & each bubbled side on his back has two sections. So all around his head is surrounded by what looks like five bubbles after he eats. I hope this can be popped, too, somehow like the success story at the thread here called, "Incredible inflatable bird (air sac rupture pics)"
I can't take this little fighter to a vet because they will probably destroy him as he'll need constant care they won't be able to give. He's such a fighter & when he wants to eat he's loud & up in the air standing on his own letting us know. Between feedings, though, he seems not able to use his legs that well as I think it may be because he's just so young. At least, I hope that's the reason. They flop at his sides in the most uncomfortable looking way that worries me most of the time. When he wants to scurry under the grass I have in his box or to a corner, he gets there with no problem, though. He just seems so wobbly.
I'm not sure he's even a Robin. He still has fuzz on his head & body with black & grey or white looking pin feathers, like streaks, & his wings have those same feathers & they're covered. Down his back he has those same black & white or maybe it's grey, I can't tell, feathers that look like a mohawk & the rest of him is naked. His tail is square & short. He has yellow on the sides of his beak.
He shoots little sacs of poop out when I feed him. I don't even know if he's a him but he feels like one. Those poops don't seem so little compared to him as they're almost as big as his head. It's white with a black tip in a protective sack, now, that's he's recovered.
He wasn't pooping at first when he was found & it started out just white & runny. No sack.
I looked at pictures on the net but it didn't help me identify his species. I think it's a Robin because I've had him three days & the diet I've been giving him has made him strong so I think I guessed right. I hope I have. I read if you feed them the wrong diet it would be toxic.
I had a very hard time getting hold of anyone at first at the wild life rehab centers & didn't even know we weren't supposed to feed abandoned or injured birds until I got on the net & learned. If I followed that rule, he would have starved by the time I received a call back & died.
I have called every rehab center in my area & some outside, for help, to no avail. Our main expert here in Ohio is Fran Kitchen but she's camping. When I was younger Fran worked with me to educate me in helping injured & abandoned birds but that was 16 years ago so I am rusty & at a loss & no one will help me by giving advice as by law they say they are not allowed.
I spoke this morning to a vet I was referred to & they said I could bring him in, they called it, surrender, but I know they'll euthanize him. If this bubble can't be corrected he won't be released in the wild & I can't bear to take him to the vet knowing his chances will be slim to none to be loved & cared for.
He eats every 45 minutes & I am worn out after three days & nights. My oldest Granddaughter has been helping me but I have the nights to tend to by myself. I have recruited help & they are coming to take shifts.
I would gladly buy a licence just to save this little guy & any others I come across to get past that law if anyone can advise me on this.
He was unresponsive when my son first brought him to me three days ago. He found him, almost, under a bushy pine tree. He had heavy labored breathing & no voice. No chirping until 24 hours later. He could not even sit up. Still doesn't sit that well but is doing better & better.
I first got water in him & he seemed to revive a bit so I could get some pureed worm into him. He's eating chunks now & I smash organic apple & insects my Granddaughter gathers. I just added a bit of tomato & would appreciate any suggestions for his diet. I'm watching his poop carefully so it remains healthy looking & in the sack. The only insects so far are ants as I'm afraid to harm him with flies or mosquitoes.
He seems to be needing fed every 45 minutes as he starts begging so I have been setting an alarm all through the night & I can't wait for the recruits to come. I feed him until he stops opening his mouth & hope I'm not over feeding him. I need help with those bubbles & advice on his diet, please. I can't believe no one will advise me under these circumstances so my hope is in you here who care & are expert.
He's a feisty little guy my Granddaughters call Erwin & all my family & friends are telling me that his only hope is being with us at this point. He looks really gross as the last person stated who just saw him. I could upload a photo I think, so I'll go work on that.
I have what I think is a baby Robin that needs help, really bad. I know his parents threw him out of the nest & wouldn't take him back because of his problem so I nursed him back to health.
I was reading at this site about air sacs so that's why I am asking for help, here, & hope it's okay, being, this bird is of a different feather than those this site's about.
He has two air sacs on each side on his back that take up almost a third of his tiny body & connect to his crop area & it looks like one great big bubbly mess.
After eating his crop expands into the same transparent looking bubble. The crop & each bubbled side on his back has two sections. So all around his head is surrounded by what looks like five bubbles after he eats. I hope this can be popped, too, somehow like the success story at the thread here called, "Incredible inflatable bird (air sac rupture pics)"
I can't take this little fighter to a vet because they will probably destroy him as he'll need constant care they won't be able to give. He's such a fighter & when he wants to eat he's loud & up in the air standing on his own letting us know. Between feedings, though, he seems not able to use his legs that well as I think it may be because he's just so young. At least, I hope that's the reason. They flop at his sides in the most uncomfortable looking way that worries me most of the time. When he wants to scurry under the grass I have in his box or to a corner, he gets there with no problem, though. He just seems so wobbly.
I'm not sure he's even a Robin. He still has fuzz on his head & body with black & grey or white looking pin feathers, like streaks, & his wings have those same feathers & they're covered. Down his back he has those same black & white or maybe it's grey, I can't tell, feathers that look like a mohawk & the rest of him is naked. His tail is square & short. He has yellow on the sides of his beak.
He shoots little sacs of poop out when I feed him. I don't even know if he's a him but he feels like one. Those poops don't seem so little compared to him as they're almost as big as his head. It's white with a black tip in a protective sack, now, that's he's recovered.
He wasn't pooping at first when he was found & it started out just white & runny. No sack.
I looked at pictures on the net but it didn't help me identify his species. I think it's a Robin because I've had him three days & the diet I've been giving him has made him strong so I think I guessed right. I hope I have. I read if you feed them the wrong diet it would be toxic.
I had a very hard time getting hold of anyone at first at the wild life rehab centers & didn't even know we weren't supposed to feed abandoned or injured birds until I got on the net & learned. If I followed that rule, he would have starved by the time I received a call back & died.
I have called every rehab center in my area & some outside, for help, to no avail. Our main expert here in Ohio is Fran Kitchen but she's camping. When I was younger Fran worked with me to educate me in helping injured & abandoned birds but that was 16 years ago so I am rusty & at a loss & no one will help me by giving advice as by law they say they are not allowed.
I spoke this morning to a vet I was referred to & they said I could bring him in, they called it, surrender, but I know they'll euthanize him. If this bubble can't be corrected he won't be released in the wild & I can't bear to take him to the vet knowing his chances will be slim to none to be loved & cared for.
He eats every 45 minutes & I am worn out after three days & nights. My oldest Granddaughter has been helping me but I have the nights to tend to by myself. I have recruited help & they are coming to take shifts.
I would gladly buy a licence just to save this little guy & any others I come across to get past that law if anyone can advise me on this.
He was unresponsive when my son first brought him to me three days ago. He found him, almost, under a bushy pine tree. He had heavy labored breathing & no voice. No chirping until 24 hours later. He could not even sit up. Still doesn't sit that well but is doing better & better.
I first got water in him & he seemed to revive a bit so I could get some pureed worm into him. He's eating chunks now & I smash organic apple & insects my Granddaughter gathers. I just added a bit of tomato & would appreciate any suggestions for his diet. I'm watching his poop carefully so it remains healthy looking & in the sack. The only insects so far are ants as I'm afraid to harm him with flies or mosquitoes.
He seems to be needing fed every 45 minutes as he starts begging so I have been setting an alarm all through the night & I can't wait for the recruits to come. I feed him until he stops opening his mouth & hope I'm not over feeding him. I need help with those bubbles & advice on his diet, please. I can't believe no one will advise me under these circumstances so my hope is in you here who care & are expert.
He's a feisty little guy my Granddaughters call Erwin & all my family & friends are telling me that his only hope is being with us at this point. He looks really gross as the last person stated who just saw him. I could upload a photo I think, so I'll go work on that.
