Stunned (?) Greenfinch

[googler]

Just rescued a Greenfinch from our patio - heard the 'thud' as he/she hit one of the windows, and picked up off the ground.

No sign of life, head lolls from side to side as I move him/her, so looks like a goner.

Have put him under a cardboard box with an air gap, to see if he does recover - how long is reasonable to give him a fighting chance? Should I try to rescuscitate at all? Splash water over his face/beak, or anything like that?

[feathered-friend]

head lolling from side to side, sounds like a gonner to me too, sad!

Placed in a warm, quiet place stunned birds normally recover within half an hour

[googler]

With not normally handling small birds, it's difficult to tell if the head would normally roll as much as it does.

[Jason Green]

Morning Googler,

Yes, keep him in a box with air holes and somewhere dark and cool. I should think the head would seem limp if it's dead or just unconscious.

Good luck, and well done for helping.

Take care,

Jason

[valleyforge]

As advised, keep the bird in a warm and darkened box for about an hour or so ... if it was unconscious there should be some recovery by then, though possibly not enough for it to be ready for release.

If the bird is dead, then rigor mortis will have set in to confirm without a doubt that there is unfortunately no chance of recovery ... the eyes will also have developed an opaque film over them.

[googler]

Lay him on his breast, side, or back?

One eye closed, the other half open at the moment...

[Jason Green]

Any sign of breathing? I'm not too sure what the eye openness could indicate. Any noises?

I'd suggest you lay him/her on it's side (depending on VFs thoughts!) - but if it seems to be recovering it's probably best not to disturb/stress him/her.

[valleyforge]

Breast or side ... not back.

The signs are not very encouraging, but deeply concussed birds do revive with no apparent lasting effects, so stick with it just a little longer.

Rigor sets in quickly in small birds and mammals ... the legs will go stiff and the head will probably stop lolling as the muscles contract ... then you'll have done all you can do, apart from disposing of the body as you see fit.

[googler]

I looked to see if any sign of breathing, but again difficult to tell, since I'm not in the habit of handling them.

[googler]

Thanks for all the help, but Rigor Mortis has definitely set in. Mr/Mrs Greenfinch has been laid to rest under one of the conifers, six inches under.