"wildlife rehab" editionAbout three hours ago I found a bird (House Finch). He was trapped inside and (presumably) bumped into a bunch of windows in an attempt to escape. I found him conscious but concussed on the floor on his back. Right now he's sleeping in a bed made of paper towels inside this box. I opened the box up an hour ago to improve his quarters by adding more bedding and moving the original box into the current (larger) box but he remained asleep. He had moved into a corner and looked like he was getting some pretty good sleep, but the fact that a bird was undisturbed by me was a little concerning.Is there anything else I should do to improve his situation? Should I attempt to insulate/warm the box further? It's ~70F indoors.If the opportunity arises I'll take some pictures of him to post in the thread, but I'd rather not needlessly open up the box to disturb him right now. In the morning I think I'll give him a little dish of water.
I just leave the box open top and put it outside in a secluded area where birds don't hang out, like by my front door.Half the time I come and find poop in the box and it's empty, a good sign of recovery. Other half, a dead bird. But I think they would have died no matter what I do so at least I gave them a better chance than lying unconscious on the ground (usually these are ones that hit my glass door)
>>4847750Shit, I put the title in the wrong field like a retard>>4847962He pooped (and briefly moved around in the box) about three times over the night. Hopefully a good sign. He's still asleep, but I plan to leave the box open outside once the sun comes up (or if he wakes up) so the darkness of the box doesn't mess with his sleep schedule.
>>4847981If it's moving around and pooping I would take it out of the box and hold it, give it a chance to fly off. If it doesn't then put it back in for an hour or so and keep trying. Just be careful picking it up, maybe wear gloves in case it get scared and bites. Even though it probably won't hurt it might surprise you and you drop it or something. I have made this mistake...
>>4848004That's what I've been thinking, but I peeked inside to see if he was awake, but the times I peeked inside (last time was a few minutes ago) he was still sleeping with this head tucked away in his wings. Last evening he was laying down, but now he's resting on his feet. I feel reluctant to wake him up or pick him up, as it might disturb his sleep or stress him out.
>>4848009also, sunrise is soon, so I guess he'll be waking up shortly.Should I bother giving him food/water? I might sprinkle some of his preferred foods outside just in case.
>>4848011People usually say not to feed birds you have in custody, if it doesn't leave after bringing outside you could give it a little food and water. A plant saucer works good for birds to drink from, at least healthy ones know how to stand on the edge and tilt their head back to drink. But don't try to make it eat.
>>4848012>>4847750Brought the box outside and opened it up to see if he felt like flying. He woke up momentarily and stumbled around, but then fell back asleep. I think I will keep him in the box for a few more hours. I also added a little shot glass of water in case he feels like hydrating, but I'm not sure how he'll handle that in the dark.Currently he's back to the usual "shuffle around, fall asleep for a few minutes, shuffle around, repeat" routine. pic is him asleep just earlier when I took him outside, illuminated by a red light.
>>4848020Update: I've turned on the lights in the room he's in (dimly) just so he can see and he once again shuffled around a bit in response. He's gone back to resting though.
>>4848027>>4847750My plan for the weekend is as follows (for future reference/anyone interested):Having closely inspected the box under white light, I've noticed that the "poop" I observed is not like reference photos I've found online. I suspect this was actually vomit (somewhat watery, brown, and has little undigested bits). My understanding is that this is a common symptom. To help with this I will provide a dilute electrolyte solution with ~10g/L glucose (to replace the current drinking water, which is DI). I will simulate daytime with dim interior lights (diffused through paper towels and a thin towel) during the day and provide a dark/quiet environment at night. Still unsure what level of sound mitigation is critical; will he be bothered by the sound of my keyboard/mouse from across the room? the house? For now I am manipulating this PC under a hand towel to dampen noise (currently using MX browns, but the mouse is fairly clicky). I have not yet changed his bedding; I imagine it would be a good idea soon, especially after he stops vomiting as much, but I think I will wait a little more before bothering him again. The material I used for this was a handful of large kimwipes/cloth-likes, so hopefully it shouldn't catch this claws or feel too rough.In the case that his condition does not improve over the weekend, I am considering euthanasia (via oxygen displacement) as I have some pure nitrogen on hand. Still not entirely sure how long to wait, however.If anybody has input, it would be greatly appreciated.
>>4848037You are fucking crazy. If you truly care about animals there are better ways to help, like working towards nature being less polluted.
>>4847750yesterday, I found a baby quail in the middle of the roadI picked it up and set it in some bushesI am the KING of wildlife rehab. Let darwin sort them out.
>>4848037>>4847750I'm sad to report that he died. I assume the cause of death was traumatic brain injury. For future cases, I will improve the padding along the inner the sides of the box to reduce the risk of further injury (he would often rest against the wall).>>4848192I think you misunderstand, I'm not doing this out of some grand vision about "saving nature". I simply see it as somewhat my own responsibility to help him out, given I am (although indirectly) the cause for his predicament. If you accidentally push over an old lady carrying groceries on the street, you help them back up. If you get in a car wreck, you go and check on the other people involved. You probably don't immediately run away, ignoring them, in order to become a charitable orthopedic surgeon or to donate your savings to your local public transit system. I don't think that's "crazy.">>4848200That's generally my ideal approach as well, but you should realize that it doesn't apply equally to every situation. In this case, it was an unavoidable and random accident. In terms of "darwin," his death may have set back his species many decades. The thread of prophecy may have been severed.
>>4848310So you were typing under a towel out of guilt.
>>4848337Not so much guilt, but a sense of responsibility for a creature I care about. Do you not care for the lives around you?
>>4848342I called you crazy because how you act makes no sense. Like the products you buy from shops cause a lot of suffering to birds, so you don't care about birds.
>>4848354What products are you referring to?
>>4848357Finding out is much more effective use of time than what you did. Many ways to care.
>>4848361Already done.
