# need help-injured blackbird



## becca&jack (Jan 21, 2010)

Hi i was just wondering if anybody on here has any advice or experience dealing with injured birds. Thismorning Jack discovered a Male blackbird who seems to have had a run in with a cat or something because his tail is all ripped up. He seems very alert and active but he cant fly more than a meter and certainly cant get out of our garden.

I have been reading a bird forum and the advice given to people on there seems to say just leave it alone. I know from experience birds dont cope well being brought inside and also that the rspca also usually say just leave it alone (even when its a baby pidgeon that has fallen out of its nest on a bridge and is being attacked by crows)

Now i would take this advice happily if it wasnt for the snow! we have atleast a foot in our garden so it must be freezing! it has been finding low off ground plces to perch but these arent well hidden places.

So what do people think? Just leave it and keep an eye on it?

Whats heart breaking is it and another blackbird (im assuming its mate?) are calling to each other none stop


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

becca&jack said:


> Hi i was just wondering if anybody on here has any advice or experience dealing with injured birds. Thismorning Jack discovered a Male blackbird who seems to have had a run in with a cat or something because his tail is all ripped up. He seems very alert and active but he cant fly more than a meter and certainly cant get out of our garden.
> 
> I have been reading a bird forum and the advice given to people on there seems to say just leave it alone. I know from experience birds dont cope well being brought inside and also that the rspca also usually say just leave it alone (even when its a baby pidgeon that has fallen out of its nest on a bridge and is being attacked by crows)
> 
> ...


can you get him to a wildlife hospital? i dont think his chances of surviving will be very good if hes just left.....the rspca should take him if hes injured they only say to leave baby birds because the parent birds will be feeding them until they get their flight feathers


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## Cleo38 (Jan 22, 2010)

Contact you local vet, they may be able to help. Mine were brilliant when I found injured birds in the past.

If he's been bitten by a cat there's a good chance that he will develop an infection so will require treatment. 

Keep him in a dark, warm box & get him either to a vet or local wildlife hospital asap.

Hope he pulls through


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## becca&jack (Jan 21, 2010)

thanks for the advice! there is a vet round the corner so i think i will pop in.

he wouldnt let me near him so ive put a box with torn up paper and some chunks of apple in near where he is hiding. Ill give it another go once ive spoken to the vet

thanks again!


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## hawksport (Dec 27, 2009)

If he is low to the ground the frost will kill him through the night


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## Guest (Dec 6, 2010)

Any luck with him?


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## becca&jack (Jan 21, 2010)

my garden has a sort of small raised wall at one side with thick viney bushes in it and no snow on the floor, and he had been in there. 

All the vet could say is keep an eye on him incase he gets worse 

However i went to check on him before and he is nowhere to be seen:. it could be that he is hiding somewhere because there are alot of bushes in my garden or that he has managed to get out of the garden. Im pretty sure theres been no cats because i checked for small footprints and they dont normally come in because of jack

I have put small chunks of apple around in the bushy bits in the wall and the box is there (not touching the ground its sort of raised on some of the branches) and im going to keep an eye out

I will let you know tomorrow if i see him or not!

thanks for the advice


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## becca&jack (Jan 21, 2010)

:frown:not good news im afraid :frown::frown:

hadnt seen him since i last posted but this afternoon we found him dead in the garden

poor thing :frown: i wish there was more i could have done! i feel so bad


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## Guest (Dec 8, 2010)

Cleo38 said:


> Contact you local vet, they may be able to help. Mine were brilliant when I found injured birds in the past.
> 
> If he's been bitten by a cat there's a good chance that he will develop an infection so will require treatment.
> 
> ...


My vet doesn't help! albeit the last bird we took in were a baby swift! ! OK we should have left it for the mother to recover! but there was no way she could have swooped to it! and by leaving it were it were would have guaranteed it end up as cat food!


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## Noahgrey (Dec 31, 2010)

Small animals and birds that are attacked by cats, usually do not survive. Cats have a bacteria in their Silvia, and in their claws, that when scratched or bitten cause toxins though out the body. Same thing when we get scratched or bite by a cat, we tend to get the area buffy and red. we are too big for the toxins to do anything to us...or maybe just cause an infection, but more so then not it is not fatal in humans.


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## tinamary (Aug 17, 2008)

Noahgrey said:


> Small animals and birds that are attacked by cats, usually do not survive. QUOTE]
> 
> We had many that were brought in to us at the wildlife centre and i have had a few here that have made brilliant recoverys. It depends on how bad.
> We shouldn't ignore them because they may have been attacked by a cat.
> ...


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

To be honest many vets haven't the skill, time or inclination to help much beyond pts hence their disinterest 

It's usually best to call local rescues for advice, though some will not touch feral pigeons as they class them as vermin! So if you have no success, keep ringing around 

Sorry to hear about Mr Blackbird, at least you tried to get help, more than many would have done. *Hugs* Sweet dreams little bird ...


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## Noahgrey (Dec 31, 2010)

tinamary said:


> Noahgrey said:
> 
> 
> > QUOTE]We shouldn't ignore them because they may have been attacked by a cat.Its worth a chance.
> ...


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## tinamary (Aug 17, 2008)

You didn't say ignore the situation but someone with less experience could have taken it that its not worth taking one anywhere as they don't survive often.


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