Emergency Bird Care

What to do when birds get hurt

Occasionally you may find that in your backyard birding, you'll see a bird that seems not quite right in demeanor and appearance. It may be favoring a leg or a wing, or sit with puffed-up feathers, not moving. It may have sunken eyes, dull feathers or odd growths. If this is the case, you are looking at an injured or diseased bird and you need to contact the proper authorities for care and rehabilitation. Injured or sick birds pose a problem to your feeders and bird houses because they attract predators and can spread disease among the other birds that visit you.

In most cases, you should never touch an injured or sick bird. However, if the bird appears to be bleeding or seriously injured, you will need to assist it to prevent possible predation or death. There are several important things you have to remember when caring for a sick or injured bird. Not following these tips could result in the bird getting sicker, more hurt, or even dying.

Do:

• Handle the bird with protective gloves and equipment. Birds can carry disease that can make you and your pets very sick.
• Provide a cardboard box with a soft blanket for the bird to rest in while you call the authorities.
• Provide a heating pad on a low setting under half of the cardboard box.
• Wash your hands immediately after touching the bird.
• Immediately make arrangements for a wild bird rehabilitation center to pick up the bird, or for you to bring the bird to them.

Don't:

• Handle the bird with bare hands or without protective eyewear. Birds are wild animals and may try to attack you out of panic or pain. You don't want to get on the wrong end of a talon or sharp beak.
• Let children touch or play with the bird. They could seriously harm an already-sick or injured bird, not to mention that the bird could hurt them.
• Provide food or water. A sick or injured bird needs a special diet and medication that only professionals can provide. If you give it food or water, you could make it very sick and impede its recovery.
• Place the bird in a bright or noisy place. Make sure that the bird is in a dark, quiet place where it won't be disturbed and can rest.
• Try to fix any injuries. In many cases, you will make it worse. Just leave the bird alone until a professional can look at it.
• Let anyone hold the bird on his or her lap on the trip to the rehabilitation center. Place the bird in the backseat, away from any children's reach.

Remember, keeping a wild bird without a permit is illegal. Always turn it over to the proper authorities so that it can be treated and rehabilitated. Never try to care for a bird yourself; a vet will not care for a wild bird without a permit, so most likely the bird will get sicker or die under your care.

If you're careful with the injured and sick birds in your backyard, maybe one day the bird that you helped will visit your feeder with its health as good as new.