# HELP! Sparrow w/ broken wing rescue



## GartenSpinnen (Sep 8, 2011)

My mom found a sparrow (Spizella passerina) with a broken wing today and asked me if I wanted it because I enjoy rehabilitating wild animals when I find them injured. I have to admit birds are by no means my specialty, but I could not turn down helping it out because if not it was doomed to die. I was thinking I needed to wrap the wing down to make it secure and unmovable to prevent further injury, but its incredibly difficult trying to wrap such a small wing on a small bird without inhibiting breathing and that sort of thing. So I was trying to weight out whether it would be more beneficial for this bird to have its wing wrapped or go unwrapped, what would cause the absolute least amount of stress?

I figured that maybe leaving the wing go as it is and cutting off as much disturbance and contact to the bird so that it is not startled may be better for right now than trying to further startle it to get it wrapped. Maybe I am wrong... like I said I could use a little advice from a bird keeper on this.

Right now the little fellow is in the cage with a shallow water dish and as much bird food as he could ever hope to eat. The cage is a medium sized bird cage, but I removed all the accessories leaving just the bare cage to prevent as much further damage as possible. The cage is also covered with a black blanket to block any view of us moving around as to minimize stress as much as possible.

There was some bleeding but it stopped and I can not isolate the area at this time, because doing so would cause more stress and at this point there has been a lot and I don't want to over do it, I know well how bad stress can be when working with injured animals so that is my main worry.


I think he has drank some of the water I have in with him but unsure about whether he has eaten. If he happens to live it is close enough to winter that I do not think he would be able to migrate south in time with the rest of the birds, so I know I will have him through winter and am prepared to offer him whatever he needs to be happy, but am concerned that not having any fellow birdies around may be stressful for this fellow in itself. If he attains the ability to fly by next spring I was wondering if it would be possible to let him go, but doubt it due to captive conditions having a dis associative effect on him to his natural environment.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, some peeps think I am a bit nutso for rescuing such a common song bird, but I like him, and if he pulls through I want to name him Jack Sparrows


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## Crysta (Sep 9, 2011)

try contacting a local wildlife rescue center. I dont know much about them, but if the wing is broken it should be done by a professional.


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## LeilaNami (Sep 20, 2011)

First I'll say that if birds are not your speciality, take it to someone to whom it is.  Bird are incredibly difficult and sensitive during rehabilitation.  Keeping a flight bird in a medium size cage, regardless of decor, could impact the injury even further.  I rehab mammals and reptiles but birds are even difficult for me.  The best thing for this bird, especially since you aren't sure how to treat a broken wing, is to bring it to a rehabber OR find a rehabber willing to teach you and monitor your care of the animal.


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## telaranabella (Sep 23, 2011)

Depending on where you are located in Michigan, I may be able to help you find a local rehabilitator. I've volunteered in bird of prey rehabilitation for a number of years. I would really recommend getting him into a clinic because there may be damage besides the broken wing. Additionally, if the wing heals wrong flight may be a problem in the future so knowing exactly where the break is would be important before binding the wing down (if a wing wrap is needed at all). Best of luck with him though.


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## Shrike (Sep 26, 2011)

OP, what did you end up doing?


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