Urgent help needed with a young swallow

[Countrysider]

HELP!

We always have lots of swallows nesting in our barn. This evening I found one in the water trough desperately trying to get out.

I fished him out and dried him off and he doesn't seem any the worse for the experience. The only problem is he won't fly.

He's looking around and flapping his wings but everytime I try and launch him into the air he flaps his wings like mad but doesn't seem to be able to make any height and ends up on the ground again. He balances quite happily on my finger but as we've now been trying for about an hour and a half to re-launch him I'm beginning to think we need to try something else.

The other birds keep swooping around us calling so they're obviously trying to encourage him but he just doesn't seem to be able to get airbourne.

At the moment I'm working on the basis that I should probably try and put him in a bush (he seems to be able to hang onto twigs, branches etc) and hope he sorts himself out given time.

Please, please, please if anyone has any ideas I'd be really pleased to hear them.

[Farplace]

He will be stressed, tired and possibly cold. If you can put him in a bush or similar, as high as possible, and leave him for the night, he should be ok.

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by Farplace

He will be stressed, tired and possibly cold. If you can put him in a bush or similar, as high as possible, and leave him for the night, he should be ok.

Sorry, disagree with this advice! How is an adult Swallow nesting in the Barn going to find an unfledged youngster in a bush outside? Put him back in the Barn on a highish rafter or even better get a ladder and return to the nest where the distressed adults are flying from. If it's cold, it's likely it will die of hyperthermia if you leave it outside for the night.

I'm assuming it's a youngster that jumped too early btw rather than an adult! If it's an adult, then it's obviously injured/ill and needs veterinary care.

[faz]

faling that keep in a closed box /cage coverd up at a temp of 37degrees let him go in a high place in the barn let him get his strenght bak and rest over night

[Countrysider]

Thought you might like an update but firstly thank you Faz for the advice and Picidae I think the little guy was older than you were imagining. I'm used to seeing the swallows around and close up in the nests so by my reckoning he was certainly old enough to be out and about.

Whilst I was posting frantically asking for help I'd left the little fella sitting on a stick in a large box on our garden table. After about an hour when I looked in on him he seemed much happier - he was sitting upright and looked very stable instead of a bit wobbly.

We had another trial flight and this time he managed to keep going for a little while before nose diving into the ground. At the next attempt he sailed up into the bushes and landed on a branch where we left him. I really felt with his last flight that he hadn't just been swept there by the wind but that he'd 'flown' there.

I didn't look too closely for him this morning because I didn't want to find his little lifeless body on the ground. That would have just been too sad. I'd like to think that once back with his family (who were all flying around encouraging him) he was back on track.

[Picidae]

Countrysider, Swallows are able to fly straight from the nest with no problem so either your bird was fully fledged (and thus should have had no problem flying) or, it was younger and came out of the nest too early and should have been returned to nest site, or it was an injured adult! It you are saying it was not a juvenile or at least fully fledged enough to be able to hawk it's own food, then it was suffering from an injury IMO. Hence my earlier advice.

[Countrysider]

Picidae.hisit's problem was that it had been struggling in the water trough for a while before I found him and was just simply worn out. He was soaking wet, except for its head but didn't have any visible injuries. Once he'd dried out he certainly flapped his wings and walked up and down my finger with no problem. Eventually once he did fly he seemed to be fine. Having had a little TLC for an hour or so he was strong enough to go back in the wild. I'm fairly sure we're in between broods at the minute so he hadn't just come out of the nest.

[faz]

alls well that ends well

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by Countrysider

Eventually once he did fly he seemed to be fine.

Well, you came on the forum to ask for help/advice - if you didn't want to take it that's up to you of course. However, I can only repeat that a fully fledged uninjured Swallow can fly around with no difficulty once they leave the nest. If it had fully recovered from the water dunking, it should have flown off with no problem at all. They don't make short flights into bushes after nose diving into the ground repeatedly!

but everytime I try and launch him into the air he flaps his wings like mad but doesn't seem to be able to make any height and ends up on the ground again. He balances quite happily on my finger but as we've now been trying for about an hour and a half to re-launch him I'm beginning to think we need to try something else.

Further more, repeatedly doing what you called 'trial' attempts after the bird had probably half drowned and needed to recover in the quiet on it's own in a darkish environment overnight ie. in the barn in a high position safe from predators etc, without being subjected to repeated attempts to 'launch' it would have been the kinder option IMO. It's only Swifts that are unable to take off from the ground and 'need launching' and even then, if repeated 'launches' aren't working fairly quickly, there's obviously something wrong with it or it's too young to fly! If it was still not fully recovered this morning a Vet visit would have been recommended. I'm not surprised it eventually made it to a bush, it was probably very stressed and scared but this does not mean it was OK. It could well have ingested water into it's lungs and suffering from mild hyperthermia, the outcome of which could be pneumonia.

A bird that can not fend for itself is not fit enough to be released into the wild - in this case a Swallow that is unable to fly properly and hawk around catching insects. IMo You at least had a responsibility to check on the bird this morning, despite you wanting to guard your sensitivities in the event it may not have survived the night.

Anyway, people join the forum for lots of reasons other than help with birds they've found injured/or otherwise, so hope you continue to participate in the forums and enjoy finding out more about wildlife

[Countrysider]

You don't have to be offensive. Obviously you know all there is to know about the subject.

I wasn't a member of this forum but a member of a gardening forum I belong to suggested this forum as someone on it 'will be able to help you'. I immediately registered and asked for help. Someone gave it and I took it.

You disagreed with that advice but I did what I did in good faith. Maybe I didn't do the right thing but at least I tried. Maybe I should have just left the poor thing to drown - on second thoughts no, you wouldn't have been happy with that either.

With people like you on this forum I don't think I want to belong to it.