Injured bird (chaffinch)

[DSJ]

Question to the twitchers out there. I have picked up a chaffinch that was lying on its back and can't fly. Having let it go, I then pick it up 15 minutes later lying on its back again. I suspect it's a wing injury but that is about as exact as I can get.

It's in a shaded box near the rayburn to warm up, with a handful of bird seed to pep it up a bit.

Is there anything else I can do before returning it outside and leaving it to whatever fate may hold for it?

Thank you!

 

[Old Stab]

Any bird rescue places near you.. Have a look online.

 

[Sam The Bam]

When herself found a goldfinch with a broken wing she took it to the veterinarians, he taped up the wing with the wing folded into it's natural position. She then kept it in a budgie cage for a couple of months before releasing it and it flew away jusy fine.

 

[ThunderBox]

My pal found an injured parakeet, as an Aussie bird you can’t kill it but there are no shortages of the nasty cnuts, was on the Sunday before Australia Day, everywhere shut, all the wildlife phone lines giving contradictory information of who to deliver to, what to do.

It died in a shoebox a few hours later.

I personally have no issue despatching a non endangered species that is injured humanely, it has a brain the size of a grain of rice, I’m sure you won’t be judged standing on the thing.

 

[RTU'd]

Either take to local animal centre or put it out of its misery for kindness.

 

[naffnickname]

Give it drops of water to combat shock

 

[Daxx]

I would send it off to the great bird box in the sky.

 

[Cutaway]

My pal found an injured parakeet, as an Aussie bird you can’t kill it but there are no shortages of the nasty cnuts, was on the Sunday before Australia Day, everywhere shut, all the wildlife phone lines giving contradictory information of who to deliver to, what to do.

It died in a shoebox a few hours later.

Was the shoebox under the wheel of the ute ?

 

[BugsyIV]

Right 1st thing first, I am not a vet.
To treat this bird correctly you will need 2 bricks...

 

[Oops]

there anything else I can do before returning it outside and leaving it to whatever fate may hold for it?

I'm sorry to be the bearer of the advice, but returning an injured creature outside to succumb to a lingering end is an act of unnecessary cruelty.
I don't mean that to be a criticism in any way, but throwing it down hard onto a concrete surface is a far kinder way to deal with the issue.

It's bloody rotten, they're beautiful birds, but no living creature deserves to have it's death prolonged when the outcome is sadly obvious.

The Vet is the other option, depending on how 'hungry' they are, therefore how much they'll charge you, for a likely similar outcome, that's a decision only you can make.
Like I say , bloody rotten.
ETA.
Bird watcher/lover and shooting man, yes you can be both.

 

[BugsyIV]

Decapitation is quick and should be a piece of cake of such a little bird.

https://www.arrse.co.uk/community/threads/official-way-to-dispose-of-infected-species.237158/post-6466080

 

[DSJ]

I'm sorry to be the bearer of the advice, but returning an injured creature outside to succumb to a lingering end is an act of unnecessary cruelty.
I don't mean that to be a criticism in any way, but throwing it down hard onto a concrete surface is a far kinder way to deal with the issue.

It's bloody rotten, they're beautiful birds, but no living creature deserves to have it's death prolonged when the outcome is sadly obvious.

The Vet is the other option, depending on how 'hungry' they are, therefore how much they'll charge you, for a likely similar outcome, that's a decision only you can make.
Like I say , bloody rotten.
ETA.
Bird watcher/lover and shooting man, yes you can be both.

Will return it - if it can fly then there should be no issue (if it's shock more than anything else). If not then it won't be going far and will do the necessary. Many thanks for the advice - figured there was not much that could be done, but worth a try (fellow shooter).

 

[A signaller]

If it dies, do as the Spanish do, eat it, they trap and eat millions of small birds every year.
GOOGLE Spanish eating finches.

 

[pimpernel]

I knew of a city couple, bless them. Came to the Cotswolds in their 4x4 and hit a peasant on the A40 heading back home, oblivious to them the bird smashed their radiator grill. Still alive it was discovered when the couple got home, they immediately took it to a vet! The verdict was poor bird needed to be put down, I think it cost them £75 or was that the rabbit that had its teeth filed down!
More money than sense - just get out the bricks!

 

[SkippedOnce]

If it dies, do as the Spanish do, eat it, they trap and eat millions of small birds every year.
GOOGLE Spanish eating finches.

I'm sure it still goes on in Spain and France, but I'd be more concerned about Malta.

'Finch trapping has been banned since 2009 under the Birds Directive, where in May 2018, the European Commission gave Spain a two-month deadline to stop finch trapping altogether. In June, just 8 of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions had suspended the trapping of goldfinches, greenfinches, linnets, serins and chaffinches, where penalties are heavily imposed by the EU if it is found that these species are poached.'

Hunters become hunted in Spain as illegal capture of wild songbirds ends in disaster (euroweeklynews.com)

 

[pimpernel]

Decapitation is quick and should be a piece of cake of such a little bird.

https://www.arrse.co.uk/community/threads/official-way-to-dispose-of-infected-species.237158/post-6466080

You are a sad sad little man. Go back to your box sets you are disturbing the children!

 

[DSJ]

It actually flew - fairly low, but certainly not in such a way to suggest a broken wing. I wonder if it had had the wind knocked out if it due to a collision. I've marked its last known location and will check in 30 mins or so.

 

[A signaller]

It may be that it is old and reaching the end of it's time, we've found a few birds like that in the past that have died shortly after finding them.

we regularly have small birds crashing into the patio windows, about 99% recover, i place them in a sheltered spot in the garden, away from the raptors that inhabit this part of the world, and usually within 30 minutes or so they recover, and fly away. Its the bigger birds, pigeons and collared doves who end up with broken necks.

 

[Sam The Bam]

It actually flew - fairly low, but certainly not in such a way to suggest a broken wing. I wonder if it had had the wind knocked out if it due to a collision. I've marked its last known location and will check in 30 mins or so.

It may be that it is old and reaching the end of it's time, we've found a few birds like that in the past that have died shortly after finding them. Or it may have been starving and the birdseed you gave it helped a little.

A lot of folks put out bird feeders in the Spring and Summer and put them away come winter. We do that only we replace the seed feeder with suet rolled in bird seed to help out feathered friends during the cold times.

 

[shiny_arrse]

It actually flew - fairly low, but certainly not in such a way to suggest a broken wing. I wonder if it had had the wind knocked out if it due to a collision. I've marked its last known location and will check in 30 mins or so.

Birds are known to suffer from shock badly, sounds like you have done the right thing.
Hope you don't find it when you go back to check.