OT injured bird, questions

[jimcav]

Any vet-types? this weekend after taking the kids for a quick neighborhood ride, we returned to play catch in the yard and i saw this sparrow-sized bird with a red head land on a sprinkler head. A few catches later I noticed the bird still there--which i thought odd. Then i saw him try to fly and he could not take off--i got closer and saw his right foot was down in the sprinkler and stuck. Here is where i messed up--I knew i could unscrew the sprinkler head from the pvc riser, but thought that all those revolutions would be tricky. instead i decided to use a screw driver to try to pry it open a bit so his leg might come out. I poured olive oil in there and tried but ended up having to unscrew the thing. The bird of course was not calm and in the process of trying to escape, it literally had twisted itself around until the bone of its leg popped out--i mean it was a tiny glistening white thing like a devoured hot wing in a sports bar. My wife took the poor thing to the local animal shelter/wild animal drop, but it looked bad.
So, can a bird survive minus the lower part of its leg (ie if i had just cut it off)?
Can you stupify a bird the way say smoke does bees? As soon as i got near to try to help it was really working to get away, once i was there i held it, but the damage was done. I felt horrible--I wanted to help, and my boys were saddened to see it etc.

[GRAVELBIKE]

Birds' lungs are very sensitive, and smoke would most likely do more harm than good. Try to find a vet that treats birds/exotics, and ask them for advice.

Not sure how well it'll survive in the wild, but I've owned parrots that lost digits, etc, and they did OK (but they were attended to by vets).

[jimcav]

the guy at the animal shelter gave a "we'll do our best" reply to my wife's question on whether the bird would survive. I am mainly wondering what i might have done differently (because i easily could have clipped the tiny leg to free it--but did not think a bird could land missing that--it would have been like cutting at the knee--the lower part of the leg was down in the sprinkler), or if i ever have to try to help an injured bird again if there is a better way to approach or calm them?

[GRAVELBIKE]

If you google 'how to care for injured bird' you'll get lots of useful info.

[mister]

i see birds in the semi-wild* with one leg pretty often...

*as in flying around the whole foods eating areas scavenging for food with the other birds...

[jimcav]

i see birds in the semi-wild* with one leg pretty often...

*as in flying around the whole foods eating areas scavenging for food with the other birds...
we are in suburbia--plenty of areas like that near us
darn, well hopefully there will be no next time, but if there is...

[jimcav]

If you google 'how to care for injured bird' you'll get lots of useful info.
and I for some reason trust info from folks here but i will try to find a good site to review

[vqdriver]

if the question is what could you have tried to "stupefy" it, i might have tried a camera flash. that should stun/confuse it enough for you to approach. but that's off the top of my head, it may very well have blinded the guy.

from what i've seen up at the davis aviary, the key is to gently but firmly hold the bird in one hand and grasp the leg with the other hand. it will (and did) do more harm to itself trying to escape so the point is that you immobilize it as best you can. mind you, these were birds in an aviary so their tags were checked on a monthly basis. they fought like hell to get away, but still not the same as a bird in the wild, so fwiw, ymmv, and all that.

[jimcav]

if the question is what could you have tried to "stupefy" it, i might have tried a camera flash. that should stun/confuse it enough for you to approach. but that's off the top of my head, it may very well have blinded the guy.

from what i've seen up at the davis aviary, the key is to gently but firmly hold the bird in one hand and grasp the leg with the other hand. it will (and did) do more harm to itself trying to escape so the point is that you immobilize it as best you can. mind you, these were birds in an aviary so their tags were checked on a monthly basis. they fought like hell to get away, but still not the same as a bird in the wild, so fwiw, ymmv, and all that.
I think the damage was done as i approached to make my rescue attempt--i was able to hold him with my left most of the time, but needed both hands at times--understandably he was freaking out--guess i am no bird-whisperer

[GRAVELBIKE]

When you trim a bird's feathers/nails, you generally try to wrap it in a towel/cloth. This helps restrict the bird's movement, and offers you some level of protection from their beak. If you were attempting to extricate a bird, etc, it wouldn't be a bad idea to use a towel/cloth.

[ORMojo]

I volunteer at the Cascades Raptor Center, which specializes in bird rescue/rehabilitation.

The first thing we always tell anyone in a situation similar to yours is to try to gently wrap the bird in a soft towel/cloth/blanket, including covering its eyes. Doing so will generally calm the bird and can make handling easier for both you and the bird.

More information is available at these two links:
http://eraptors.org/emergency.htm
http://eraptors.org/emergencyroadkits.htm

[Karin Kirk]

Nice of you to be concerned and to do your best. We are very soft-hearted when it comes to injured birds and what seems to calm them down is to put a towel over them. Then you can lift them up by gently holding them through towel and you can tend to them.

To add a less-sad note to this thread, last spring our cat brought in a fledgling robin. We found the robin, perfectly intact, roosting on the ceiling fan in our bedroom while the cat lounged on top of the dresser and wished she had longer arms.

Before Dave went to put a towel over the bird, he could not resist turning on the ceiling fan, just for a moment. The fan spun really slowly, like merry-go-round speed, while we got some major entertainment watching the bird go for a gentle ride. After we got through with the giggles, we let the bird go. It flew away happily. Phew. :)

[rugbysecondrow]

Sometimes things happen. Not to sound crude, but sometimes you just need to put it down. Sucks.

[jimcav]

Sometimes things happen. Not to sound crude, but sometimes you just need to put it down. Sucks.
not sure if it was because the boys were there, or if seeing a bird fly into the yard, land, and then essentially have a fatal complication just reminded me of how fragile life is and how we are all " just riding along" when...

great info on the towel--should have thought of that--always see the hoods on hawks in movies--duh!