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Injured Chaffinch

  • 22-02-2011 5:22pm
    #1
    pops
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 164 ✭✭


    About 3 weeks ago I noticed a male chaffinch which couldn't fly in the garden. I caught it with a towel and kept it in a box with seeds, nuts & water thinking that it's wing which it wasn't holding up properly would heal and I could release it.

    It's still alive, healthy and very chirpy but still not able to fly. I put it into a cage with several perches which it hops about on to get it to do some excercise, but it's wing is still held at an awkward angle.

    I don't like to release it as it won't stand a chance with the cats in the garden - will it heal & if not what should I do?


Comments

  • #2
    Feargal as Luimneach
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,139 ✭✭✭Feargal as Luimneach


    pops wrote: »
    About 3 weeks ago I noticed a male chaffinch which couldn't fly in the garden. I caught it with a towel and kept it in a box with seeds, nuts & water thinking that it's wing which it wasn't holding up properly would heal and I could release it.

    It's still alive, healthy and very chirpy but still not able to fly. I put it into a cage with several perches which it hops about on to get it to do some excercise, but it's wing is still held at an awkward angle.

    I don't like to release it as it won't stand a chance with the cats in the garden - will it heal & if not what should I do?
    From the sounds of it there is likely a fracture in the wing. If he is unable to fly I would not release him. He would either starve or get predated upon fairly quickly. I would take him to a vet and get an X-ray. If there was minimal displacement on a fracture site a splint might work. Anything more serious might not be repairable. At present he is likely to be in chronic pain due to the wing injury, so bringing to the vet would be advisable.
    If the injury is not repairable I would recommend he be put to sleep.
    Good Luck:)


  • #3
    Half-cocked
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,319 ✭✭✭Half-cocked


    Broken wing is usually a death sentence. Before spending a lot of money at the vet, consider what you are doing. If this is an adult bird, it will probably only live another year anyway, most small songbirds only live about 2 years in the wild (there are exceptions - we had a ringed robin that lasted 8 years). Even if you do have the wing repaired, the bird may not last long upon release. Its a tough decision but I never try to help birds with broken wings, I dispatch them humanely.


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