I found an injured House Finch, wing damaged.

[vmirjamali]

Hi today I was on the way to the GYM and found a bird trying to run away from me and I noticed it was not flying so on closer examination I found it's wing was damaged. Seems like some bird attacked it as only a part of it's wing was damaged.

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I need to know how do I set it's wing so it can recover. I know it may never fly but I still need to do what I can while I can do it. I have 2 parakeets also so I'm sharing their food with it at the moment.

Please tell me as much as you can and in detail on what to do. I will not take it in as they won't treat it here in San Diego.

Thanks!

P.S: It's too cute so please let me know fast so I can increase the chances of allowing it to live.

[Maggie-NC]

Thank you for rescuing this little finch. This is a link to the Starlingtalk forum and they have good information on repairing legs and wings. http://www.starlingtalk.com/fractures.htm#legsplint and another link from our forum which pertains to a pigeon but the wing repair is basically the same. http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=28127

Do you know what caused this injury? I wish you knew what caused the injury because if this bird was caught by a cat it could cause it to die because a cat's saliva is toxic to birds and they need to be given an antibiotic very quickly. If you can locate a rehabber in your city, they should have everything needed to take care of it. I am concerned about the location of the break because it looks like it is at the shoulder and that is not always the best place for a fracture.

If you can locate a vet who is knowledgeable about birds, they may be willing to repair the wing for free and even refer you to a rehabber.

[Pidgey]

You might try putting some masking tape around those long, jutting feathers and the tail altogether. That would hold the wing in approximately the right place.

Pidgey

[Maggie-NC]

I don't know if you are familiar with what to feed a finch. This looks like an adult because it already has some red showing among its feathers. Finch are seed eaters and do very well on any type of finch seed that you can get at a pet store. They also like mealworms and absolutely love fruit like grapes and bits of apple plus vegetables like kale. You can also soak quality dog/cat pellets and they will eat those. Just soak in warm water until soft but not soggy.

[Charis]

She is in San Diego.
I think the bird needs antibiotics.

[vmirjamali]

I'm a he but putting that aside. I'm going out to buy some gauze, what do you think I should tape the gauze to the gauze with? Just normal tape or anything stronger? Lucky he's very active in the box he's in atm and seems to have eaten some of the seeds on the bottom already.

Around how long will it take for it to start chirping again? Any idea's?

Also my bird's (2 tame parakeets) are in the room with him, so i'm hoping he'll respond to their voices in one way or form. So far they haven't attacked or tried to play with him which imo is a good thing (They are allowed to fly around my room, there is a cage they just use it at night for some reason though.).

[little bird]

Howdy, SIR, in case you are not aware, house finches in Ca. are a protected bird and must be turned over to a Vet or a licensed Rehabber. In this case, I think the bird was attacked and most likely in need of antibiotics. I suggest you get it to a Vet ASAP.
PS keep your keets away from the finch. Wild birds have different immunities and diseases than caged birds....don't risk losing your keets!!

[TAWhatley]

Hello and welcome to Pigeon-Talk! Thank you so much for assisting this male House Finch! You might want to try calling Project Wildlife .. it is a HUGE wildlife rehab organization in San Diego County with literally hundreds of satellite locations/volunteers. Here's a link to their website: http://www.projectwildlife.org/

Terry

PS: Coban or vet wrap should work well for taping up that wing ..