# seagull with a broken wing



## jimbojones

hello.... i live near the ocean, couple days ago i found a seagull with a broken wing (apparently) i am not a specialist but the bird was dragging it in an awkward manner and did not fly away when i approached, so i assumed. I took him home put a bandage over the broken wing to fix it. I saw a little hole in the wing i put some betadine for disinfection. So the question is how long will take for the wing to heal (i know its impossible to tell but at least approximately), also how should i keep him, i mean should i put some big water bowl (except for the small one from which he drinks) so he can swim a little or whatever or it is not necessary and he can manage without water for the healing time. Also what should i feed him i buy him meat and fish, let me tell you this is one picky bird. In short any advice is welcome except for go to the vet and stuff vets are retards they would say we gotta put him down and u gotta pay for that.


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## labradrk

You are NOT helping this bird by doing what you are doing - you are making him suffer horribly. You are not a vet therefore you are not able to diagnose the extent of the birds injuries. The only way to properly confirm a broken wing is take him to a vet for an x-ray. 

Vets legally treat wildlife for free. If it is a broken wing or other severe injuries, they are PTS. Wild birds generally to not recover well from bad breaks to the wings and it would be cruel to put them through months of stressful rehabilitation, only to then have a huge disadvantage when released.


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## AlexArt

If you can catch a wild bird they are usually pretty ill and very weak, especially sea birds, if he did not throw up on you when you picked him up then he will also have not had food for a good while either. If he does have a broken wing it could be that the bones are out of alinement or shattered and infection could have already set into the bone so needs veterinary intervention asap to try and fix it if it can be fixed, if it starts to heal and is not aligned then there is no hope at all for the bird. By bandaging the wing without having any clue what so ever the correct position, if any, is needed to let it heal in the right way, the chances of the bird ever flying again are diminishing with each day you are keeping it, also infections in the bones in birds often lead to respiratory infections too and a slow death.

If you want to help this bird and care about it's long term survival either take it to a vets to put down, they will only put it down if it is the best thing for the bird, or ask if they know of a wildlife rehabilitation centre near you who are used to dealing with injured wildlife, who have the facilities to keep it properly and can assess if it can be fixed or if it does need to be pts, you won't have to pay for that unless you want to. You are only prolonging its suffering by keeping it, it is also illegal to keep wildlife as a pet too, not to mention not fair, even if it does heal which would take around 6 weeks or so, you then need an enclosed flight so the bird can build it's muscles back up before you could even think of releasing it which could take another month. 

The bird is also likely to be really dehydrated, and if it is not eating or drinking much, which is a bad sign, and usually means they are stressed and likely have a raging infection too. This bird needs to be rehydrated, before feeding it as food can dehydrate it even more, with either a drip or oral fluids - giving water to anything which is severely dehydrated can actually make them worse and kill them, they need hartmans solution. Injured wild birds usually also need to be force fed an appropriate food, seagulls are often tube fed, once rehydrated first, by an experienced person just to get it eating again. It will probably need the correct antibiotics and painkillers too. Would you treat a family member who has a suspected broken arm by just bandaging it up any old how and leaving it??!!


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## noushka05

No need to be rude Jim.

Please take it to a vet or better still a wildlife centre. We took a jackdaw with a broken wing to a very good vets experienced in dealing with wildlife. They don't always pts birds with broken wings, the good vets will only put down those birds with little chance of recovery.


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## Phoenix24

Well whether or not it's a troll: If you have taken a wild animal into care because it is sick or injured then you have a responsibility for its care. It is illegal to release an animal that is not fit to survive, and for an injury like a break you must seek veterinary advice.

If you are willing to attempt rehabilitation, the vet will most likely show you the correct way to bandage a broken wing depending on where the break is. The patient will also be prescribed an antibiotic, as often breaks are accompanied by some other damage - be it internal or external. They are unlikely to provide pain medication for a bird, partly because it inhibits healing, and partly because birds actually do not seem to 'feel pain - at least not in the same way we imagine. A bird will try to fly even if the wing is ripped to shreds - obviously causing even more damage in the process.

A broken wing must be aligned the best it can be, and left bandaged for at least 6 weeks. There are different methods of aligning broken bones, and usually its only with larger birds with a good chance of full recovery that a vet may go all out with surgical pinning. For the rest its immobilisation by bandage and hope for the best.

Speaking of which - at best the bird will regain some use of the wing.

Most likely a gull will never recover full use of the wing, and being largely aerial birds this will not be good enough.

I have rehabilitated a gull with botulism so I know it is possible for them to survive captivity, but unless there is a chance of a full recovery it may be kinder to have the bird PTS rather than subject it to the stress of being in human contact.

My advice: take it straight to a wildlife centre (you can call ahead to ensure they will consider treating a gull - not all will) - they will not only be equipped to get a bird like a gull back into shape, but will be able to make a more informed decision about its quality of life during and after potential treatment. They will also have access to veterinary care. 

Most vets, due to costs, will not do much more than the bandaging and antibiotics. I have yet to come across one offering use of x-ray facilities.


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## canuckjill

closed to read


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## canuckjill

I have closed this thread but am leaving it up minus some posts. This is so others may see how important it is for a Vet to examine this bird and any other birds in the future.


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