Help Fledgeling brought in by cat

[fairywishes]

Hi
I am hoping for some advise :0) My neighbour just bought to me what looks like either a thrush or a sparrow fledgeling it has all its feathers but not a full tail. My husband who is a vet just checked it over and said although it's got no punchture marks from the cat its not got a full tail of feathers.

Its hopped and flapped around the kitchen floor and i've now put it in a box wrapped in a nest type design where it seems settled.

He brought home a squidgey cat perscription wet diet with some pipets but obviously its not opening its mouth to be fed its obviously shocked and scared.

I'm in the falkirk area but not sure where to take it or how to help it my husband seems completely uninterested in it and says it needs taking to a wildlife centre but obviously they are all shut for the night.

I was a veterinary nurse and use to take in rescue wildlife eg bats and ducklings but its been 15 years since i was in practice and i never really had much luck with baby birds they always seem to die.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Cazzie]

Oh dear!... sorry to hear about that. Suprised yr hubby isn't of more help tho??

Well if it's not injured then it's in shock and with a full compliment of feathers (minus the tail ones lol) then it's got a good chance if not too traumatised. Best to leave it in a quiet warm place for a while to recover - box covered over with a towel or similar. In the mean time look for yr nearest wildlife centre and contact them - most have an out of hours emergency phone line.

Sorry can't be of much more help, but keep us posted ok

[Naturenutz]

Hi, there is always a high mortality rate, i guess its the stress and possible fright its been through , but on accasions they can do well . First of all you need to find out exactly what bird it is and then you can look at a diet. Do you have a photo,or someone who can id it properly . ? I can help you with a diet if its a sparrow as my brother raised one last year successfully.

[fairywishes]

lol re my hubby not being of more help i could slap him :0(
I just gave him a gilt trip about his inaction but as he says wildlife is best left to the wildlife experts.

He says it looks more like a thrush to him at first he thought it was a wren but then changed his mind to a thrush due to its colouring. I personally thought it was a sparrow. He says its tail feathers are there but not long so its still young.
I'll get some pics later on once its less stressed.

He brought home some pippets and hills perscription a/d wet cat food which is for invalid animals after surgery its high in protein and fat.
Its calmed down quite abit but unfortunatley its not eating or doing the gaping thing baby birds seem to do with their mouths.
Given the chance it keeps escaping the box and trying to hop come flap and fly round my kitchen.

Maybe i should try it in a larger box with the teatowel scrunched into a nest in the corner and with some food mushed up for it to self feed how can i tell when its old enough to self feed.

I should really learn more about how to rear these injured/young birds constantly getting them brought to my door but my hubby does very little bar pass them on or put them down :0(

[galanthus]

Firstly there is a lot more difference between a thrush and a wren than colouring, one is tiny one is fairly large. Are you able to put the bird outside but in a safe enclosure to see if mum comes to it's aid ? If not I'd suggest keeping it in the box and keeping it dark and quiet and getting it to a rescue centre type thing in the morning.

Otherwise try the rspca, they sometimes helps even if not by collecting it they can offer to pay vet fees. Good luck and welcome to WAB

[Cazzie]

hehe... sorry wasn't having a go at yr hubby

Errr yes the identity is a bit mystifying to say the least lol! It could even be a fledgling blackbird if it has a speckled breast, but the size would sure help ID it.

Well it's a good sign that it's lively and trying to escape, but it would be beneficial to try and calm it down a bit and keep it secure for now. As for trying to feed it, just give it an hour to passify then try with the pipete and I'd suggest just some sugared water at the corner of it's beak and see if you have any success in it taking some.

Welcome to WAB btw!

[Hedgehoggy]

Hi there fairywishes

As has already been said, most Wildlife Rescue Centres are open 24/7, so perhaps it would be worth ringing around now to give the fledgling the best chance of survival.

If no luck with a local Wildlife Centre, try ringing the SSPCA Animal Helpline 03000 999 999 | Scottish SPCA. I’ve heard many good reports of the Scottish equivalent to our RSPCA - they'll probably have a list of your local centres too.

My vet is fantastic at treating all wildlife, and completely free of charge, including meds. He also has a small network of species-specific carers too. Perhaps this is something you could encourage your hubby to look into, if only to save you further future stresses!

Hope you have a happy outcome with the little mite.

*I agree, a photo would be good to give a positive id*

[fairywishes]

sorry for the poor pics i used my mobile phone and bluetoothed them

[fairywishes]

Originally Posted by galanthus

Firstly there is a lot more difference between a thrush and a wren than colouring, one is tiny one is fairly large. Are you able to put the bird outside but in a safe enclosure to see if mum comes to it's aid ? If not I'd suggest keeping it in the box and keeping it dark and quiet and getting it to a rescue centre type thing in the morning.

Otherwise try the rspca, they sometimes helps even if not by collecting it they can offer to pay vet fees. Good luck and welcome to WAB

unfortunatley there is no safe place to hide from the cats in our neighbour hood there are about 6 on our street we live on a new housing estate.

I've no idea of its nests whereabouts it was brought to my neighbours door by her cat :0( which usually kills them but on this occasion it didn't.

[Picidae]

Looks like a young Dunnock.

I agree with others, you need to get it to a Vet ASAP. Birds will invariably suffer from fatal infections if injury is sustained from a cat attack and will need to be treated with antibiotics. Even if it isn't apparent that there is injury, it's best chances of survival would be with a proper rehab.

A vet will pass bird on to wildlife rescue centre, once treated with precautionary antibiotics, where the bird can be hand raised and released into the wild.