Sorry this post is rather long -
I have been looking after a blackbird who was tipped from the nest by some boys and manhandled for a good few hours and whose parents are dead. I have been feeding her worms and mealworms and bits of apple for 12 days keeping her in a wooden cage on the lawn through the day and in a large cat cage in the summerhouse overnight - and over the last few days have started letting her loose in the garden.
She is quite strong and healthy looking now and yesterday flew up into the trees and stayed there overnight for the first time ..which looked initially promising.
She was on the patio this morning at 5am and I fed her - as although she picks up the mealworms etc ok - I doubt she could find any food herself. She is not alarmed by human contact or handling and has bonded with me - unfortunately .
She was very alarmed when she first went outside yesterday without the cage and flew to the back of the garden seat where she sort of tilted her head over to one side and froze for a while staring into the sky with her mouth slightly open for about 8-10 seconds. She was normal again when I held her and put her on the ground where she started straight away pecking for food. But - she did the same thing in the exact same spot again this morning - and then was completely normal - I felt she was mesmerized with fear at something she thought she saw??
She does not do much but peck at the soil and largely stays in one place and doesn’t fly much at all or go into trees through the day- although she can fly fairly ok. She is doing less and less. Actually she is more bright and animated when she is in her outdoor cage.
She also seems quite sleepy every couple of hours and regularly tucks her head in and sleeps where she is and completely sitting flat down - like a duck.
I wonder if all this it normal - or is it just because she is young and is only 12 days out of the nest and will get more independent and birdlike in a while. She is more like a timid puppy at the moment.
I still pop her back in the cage on the lawn if I am going out for any length of time as there are a couple of cats who some to our garden and she would be a sitting target as she has no sense of danger. I also have a cat who obviously will not be allowed out for a while.
Could she have suffered some brain damage when she fell. - or are these things just the lack of parental guidance. Both problems can never be remedied.
She is very sweet and I am upset thinking of her either being put to sleep - or being mauled by a cat - by getting lost and starving to death………but I cannot keep her in a cage permanently - or for much longer - and I wouldn’t want to - either for her or for me- and it is against the law anyway I believe.
Has anyone else had any similar experiences /dilemmas as this and what is the right thing to do….. should I give her a longer chance - she just sits in the bushes hardly moving bar throwing a few leaves about. Will she ever be safe left on her own - she is totally unfazed by the sight of my cat or by noise or sudden movement.
It is breaking my heart as she is such a darling.
Any advice or thoughts or different perspectives would be most welcome - thanks for reading this - hope it all makes sense.
HELP Blackbird with tilting head and very placid to handle. 
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