Bird crash landed in my house - what should I do?

I had a bird land in my living room this morning, it was found by one of the dogs hiding behind a bookcase. As far as I know that's not normal behavior because it could have simply flown up and away from the dog and been out of there in 20 seconds. I offered it breakfast (some bread) and then I left home.

I'm back and it's about 6PM, and the bird is now standing in front of the living room window (which is open) and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. I can go as close as half a foot away from it and it just looks at me, it won't fly away, and it seems that it can't fly. It can run pretty fast however. So it's been there for 10+ hours, the whole working day, and even though it's got every opportunity to leave, it doesn't.

What I've done is temporarily secured it in a box with a mesh over the top for air, and I've provided food and water. This was done to prevent one of the dogs from eating it (he's shown remarkable restraint thus far - and yes, the last time it happened the hapless victim was eaten alive). I'll try to let it go tomorrow morning if it can leave, but what do you guys advise in case it doesn't/cannot fly away tomorrow?

Also, I can't see any visible injuries although I've taken a close look with the KL1 (no I'm not going to go tactical with 200 lumens on it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif)



It has a red underside, with a little bit of brown/black on the chest area. At first I thought it was an injury, but it seems to be too large to be.

Kevin,
The easy answer is to call your vet and find out if they treat injured 'wild' critters. Some vets do, and others will refer you to one who will.

Had a seagull smack into my radio tower in Amityville New York. Managed to get it into a box and over to the vet. In this case they coulden't treat it and it was quietly put to sleep.

Vets know how to pick up and handle wilds and are more skilled at making those kind of calls. Some get paid by the state, and most will accecpt a donation if your state is one that won't.

Not much of an answer, but it's the best I have.

Keep it safe

Jack Crow in Iraq

Kevin,
Does it flap both wings when it tries to flee (when you aproach it) or just one? If it only flaps one wing the other is most likely broken. If so, the long term prognosis doesn't look too good.

Does it take food? You *could* try to take care of it for a while if you've got the patience. AFAIK the bird should be kept warm with no draft from a window, and I think you should feed it rich food like nuts or perhaps meat (what ever it wants to eat). I'm no expert however, so others may have different opinions.

Jack Crow's suggestion about going to the vet is of course the best thing to do, if that's an option to you.

Jan

Thanks for the suggestions and mega thanks to Flashlight, who redirected me to a group of bird enthusiasts who have taken the bird off my hands. I feel better knowing that it's in the hands of the professionals now, because they can do a lot more for it than I could.

Apparently it's a migratory bird that has come a long way and didn't quite manage to take off again after landing at my place.

Mega cheers to CPF as well, whoever thought lights had the power to bring people together in ways never imagined? This is the power of the network.....NOW. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

thats a real pretty bird,,what kind is it?

Re: Bird crash landed in my house - what should I

I normally take in injured animals as we live on acreage and have lots of woods around us. Sometimes they make it, sometimes they don't. If they do, they get returned to the wild as soon as they are able to manage on their own.

Birds can sometimes take a few days if stunned badly. I'm no vet and am just guessing based on what I have seen. I think they sometimes sprain their shoulders when they hit windows and stuff or get snatched up by cats and dogs. Like us when we sprain an ankle, might take us awhile to get back to walking around. These guys have to fly, so it's more involved when something like this happens to them.

I found a Cross Beak (their beaks are actually crossed) a bird about the size of a Parakeet by my bird feeder, it's right wing was badly damaged. So I placed it in a small animal cage with some seed and water.

Birds usually do not survive cat attacks because the bacteria in the cats saliva simply do them in. Even if you can get a little hydrogen peroxide on the wound, once it's in the blood they normally die. Though I do not think it was my cat, cuz he would have killed it right off. I saw the squirrels going after some birds, so I think it was those guys.

Anyhow, the wing eventually fell off which meant that this bird could never be returned to the wild.

I called everyone, I called several vets, animal wildlife refuge places, game department, just trying to find anyone who would want this little bird. Nobody would take it, they were all very polite by informing me that I could be fined $1,000.00 for not being properly licensed to care for injured wildlife, but that they would not turn me in because they thought it was a nice thing for me to do.

That was 2 1/2 years ago and Hercules has been in our living room ever since. Though in the summer I put her out on the porch for sunning and take her cage with me if I'm going to be in one spot working on stuff. She doesn't like being touched, but does like checking things out.

I am glad you found people to care for the bird you found. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Sorry for rambling, I like animal stories with happy endings.

Re: Bird crash landed in my house - what should I

Mike, that's a GREAT story! I have parrots and care very much for animals.

Re: Bird crash landed in my house - what should I

In the winter we have had several owls show up who are just exhausted and starving. We have tried but unable to save any /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif. This summer my children came across a small hawk that was injured. We almost took it to a center in Duluth an hour away but someone called us back and refered us to a local who came and picked it up. Last we heard it was doing well.

Re: Bird crash landed in my house - what should I

I just heard back from the professionals who are taking care of it, it's been put on glucose, water and a diet of live crickets, and it's eating - a lot. They suspect it's just badly dehydrated and tired when it arrived yesterday, but it has no injuries and will be ready to fly again tomorrow. It's been identified as a hooded pitta.

Glad it ended well. Just couldn't leave it out there to fend for itself even though I had no idea what to feed it.

Re: Bird crash landed in my house - what should I

Wow!!! . . . . Kevin, . . .Wow!! What a great story, and what a great thing you did for the little critter. I'm no PETA person, but I do think highly of those who will go out of their way to be humane to a living creature. And a very nice bird it is. Also to mike for caring for a bird that would have ultimately died.

Cudos, guys! Cudos!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/clap.gif

Re: Bird crash landed in my house - what should I

The hurricanes and other storms down here in the South have lead to a number of birds flying into buildings and braining themselves. The number of dead birds piling up outside office buildings has been a concern because of the possibility of West Nile virus. But it is fairly common for birds to do this, usually flying into glass windows (they can't see them), especially after being tossed around in a storm for a while and becoming disoriented.

PETA= People eating tasty animals?

Re: Bird crash landed in my house - what should I

[ QUOTE ]
RussH said:

PETA= People eating tasty animals?

[/ QUOTE ]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crackup.gif

Not quite.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

See here.

Re: Bird crash landed in my house - what should I

KevinL and Mike: /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/happy14.gif

You are really great guys!!!

Chrisse