Urgent It can't walk, it can't fly... HELP!- Sad Update Post #24

[Sky&Sunshine]

So this morning i rescued a little thrush/songbird from a cat. So I put it in a small box in a quiet place. (this is how i treat shock.) And then after checking it over i realized that i was worse than I thought it was. One leg is broken. It just drags behind it. A part of its back is very wounded. (there was a bit of blood) As well as that it can't fly, it is missing its tail (there is absolutely no trace of a tail) and its missing half its wing and body feathers... what do i do?! I shifted it out to the green house, put it in a little dish in a nest of hay so it can rest. It still struggles and flaps a little. I gave it some water but i don't think it has drunk any. I used a bit of collidal silver gel which should help with the healing but thats all. What do i feed it? What do i do about the leg? How do i treat the wounds? Any advice is so much appreciated! I honestly don't know what to do!

 

[greys4u]

In my opinion, with all of its wounds, the best thing is to let nature take its course

 

[Sky&Sunshine]

yes well i was hoping it would die, but now that i have taken it... it just doesn't die. it can kinda fun quite fast even with its leg. its doing ok, like its not in shock.

 

[Sky&Sunshine]

i mean run not fun

 

[Just-passn-thru]

some food & water would help , give it some of your parakeet and finch food, bread crumbs some egg hard boiled crumbled . it need energy to survive. keep it warm will help with shock and healing .give it a chance it my come around . if he survives you could get some wild bird food. for now you birds food would work especially the finch food

 

[Sky&Sunshine]

some food & water would help .

Its got water, but i have no idea what to feed it? It don't think it will eat seed like the last bird i rescued which was a finch. Will it eat a worm?

 

[Just-passn-thru]

cracker crumbs anything soft and crumbled. it will eat seed... Ok if its a real thrush , I googled what they eat , It said they like snails smashed

 

[camelotshadow]

Its the cat saliva that may be more dangerous than the injuries which do seem to be pretty bad.
Might survive the injuries but it could die from the saliva bacteria in the wounds.
There's a chance though so keep it quiet, warm & try to give it fluids/

If you treat the wounds it could introduce stress. If it allows maybe wash them & pat some hydrogen peroxide.

Do your best as likely a wild life place is not going to want to treat it.
It needs vet care & antibiodics.

Maybe @Birdbabe & @iamwhoiam can help with food as they have raised wild birds.

Good Luck

 

[rocky'smom]

you may need to feed this little one. try some human baby cereal with a little warm water. it should be medium thin and use a little spoon. hold the bird as gently as you can and tap the spoon on the side of the beak. I would call in the AM your local Dept of Natural Resourses for rehabber.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

@Birdbabe ?

 

[rocky'smom]

Wild life (bird) rescues | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

 

[Sky&Sunshine]

ok thank you everyone, i will see if i can feed it! I found some little white butterfly catterpillars. will it eat those?

 

[iamwhoiam]

Thrushes generally eat worms, snails & slugs but look through here and see if there is anything helpful even though info seems mainly for very young birds: Hand Rearing Garden Birds etc. (Small Passerines) (Techniques)

I rescued and raised a house sparrow but they are generally seed eaters, although as a baby Spee got a cat food mixture.

Hope the little guy survives. Contact a rehabber when possible.

 

[rocky'smom]

I think I would stick to cereal just to be on the safe side, almost all birds will eat grains of some sort. if you don't have baby cereal in the house oatmeal would work in a pinch.

 

[iamwhoiam]

You may want to post something on the starlingtalk board. The Starling Talk Message Board • Index page You will have to join first.

 

[Sky&Sunshine]

Thrushes generally eat worms, snails & slugs but look through here and see if there is anything helpful even though info seems mainly for very young birds: Hand Rearing Garden Birds etc. (Small Passerines) (Techniques)

I rescued and raised a house sparrow but they are generally seed eaters, although as a baby Spee got a cat food mixture.

Hope the little guy survives. Contact a rehabber when possible.

thanx!

 

[Dartman]

Get baby parrot food and mix it up yourself if he refuses to eat and stuff him full carefully if you have to if it looks like he'll pull through. We raised a tiny barely feathered female house finch we rescued from a crow that way. She had a hurt wing but it healed on it's own and she fledged and bonded to us and was here and happy for a year and a half till she got a chill that eventually took her out. Also with a cat bite there is a very real danger of a bad infection setting in that can take him out in a day or less so get him to a vet or get some antibiotics for him to give him a fighting chance, plus see if they can help that leg somehow, poor little tyke.
Good luck and hope it works out for him.

 

[iamwhoiam]

As for wounds, you can get vetericyn. There are different versions so do a search. I have the wound and skin care hydrogel but there is vetericyn plus, verticyn antimicrobial, etc. Is this a mature thrush or a baby/fledgling?
Keep us updated.

 

[Birdbabe]

Just seeing this, warm baby bird formula will be OK in a pinch. The cat saliva worries me too, if antibiotics aren't started within 24 hours, it will become irreversible. A wildlife rescue is your best option, but your trying so that's very commendable. Hope the baby is OK.

 

[camelotshadow]

Wildlife rescues don;t seem to be all that responsive to taken care of little wild birds but its good to try. Thank you for taking the lil guy in & keeping it warm & trying to save it.

Guess its been 24 hours & probably more with my delayed post posting but this article says penicillin is best antibiotic & warms against baytril as its not effective.

Wound management in the avian wildlife casualty

Cat bites may range from tiny puncture wounds to lacerations. The muscle underneath a puncture wound may be lacerated due to the action of the teeth in immobile muscle (relative to the skin). Many wounds cannot be detected with the naked eye and the need for antibiotics may not be recognised in cases where there is no evidence of a puncture wound or scratch [18]. Septicaemia is a common sequel to a cat bite, while other routes of infection have also been suggested. Birds may ingest organisms from cat saliva-coated feathers during preening leading to gastrointestinal disease and septicaemia [18]. Cats carry Pasteurella multocida on their gingival tissue and teeth and antibiotics are therefore always indicated in any bird attacked by a cat [19], [20]. In addition to Pasteurella spp, a mixed aerobic/anaerobic population has been recovered from the majority of cat bite wounds [18]. Selecting the right antibiotic (or antibiotic combination) is therefore of vital importance. Penicillins have been cited as the antibiotic of choice due to their efficacy against P. multocida[20] and their broad spectrum of action. Fluoroquinolones, such as the much-favoured enrofloxacin (Baytril) should not be used on their own as they lack action against anaerobes and provide incomplete coverage against Streptococci spp. For infected bites clavulanate-amoxycillin or combination therapy with penicillin, or clindamycin, and a fluoroquinolone is recommended. Ideally culture and sensitivity testing should be performed, but this will often be impossible for time and cost reasons.


Guess it would be good if those with cats kept some penicillin for birds available for times when getting to a vet is not possible as it might save the birds life.