Poorly Jackdaw

[Gwenoakes]

Found a Jackdaw just sitting in the field it had been there quite some time and not moved.
Had a look at it and no obvious signs of injury, legs, wings, feet etc look OK.
I had to move it as the cats were very interested in it. Have put it in a cardboard box with paper on the bottom and lots of hay for warmth, also given it some water. It is on top of the rabbit hutch in the wash house outside.
I do hope it will be OK. I thought perhaps some peace and quiet would help it. It didnt put up any resistance when I picked it up, so not very hopeful it will be alive in the morning.
Keep your fingers crossed for the little birdie. He/she is very pretty when you get close up.
If it does survive overnight I will need to know what to give it to eat, so any suggestions gratefully received. Thought I could put it in with the chickens if its still with us tomorrow, then let it go a bit later.

[melons]

poor little thing, I'd be a bit cautious about hen company, I have no idea if Jackdaws suffer with Coccidiosis or not, but it would be a disaster for your girls if it did.
Everything eats bread, maybe try a little bit of that?
They are very pretty birds, their eye colour is amazing.
Good luck with it.

[wendy]

I have raised a clutch of 3 blackbirds from tiny hairless babies and I used chicken whiskas. Of course any crawlies I could pick up from the ground also. Anything other than chicken I am afraid, gave them upset tummies.
Wendy

[Mo]

I used chicken whiskas.

I didn't know they made it for hens!

[Gwenoakes]

Didnt think of that desease, thanks. If he/she survives the night he/she wont be having a transfer of accommodation tomorrow.
Chicken whiskas it is then, thanks.

[wendy]

The one for cat's as opposed to chickens....What are you like MO ?
Wendy

[Gwenoakes]

Well he/she is still alive and soaking wet as it ended up in the water!
Have to go into town this morning, so think I will take it to the vets and see what they say. It wont drink or eat, at least off me anyway.
It is now in the cat basket after I have dried it off with kitchen roll.

[seahorse]

poor thing may have eaten poisoned bait , hope it gets better

[Gwenoakes]

Just had a look on the net and it says not to put them on hay which is what I have done . So got rid of the hay and put a couple of towels in there, also one to cover the cat basket as well.
Had a word with the vet receptionist and they say if I take it in they will pts, regardless of what is wrong with it!
It is standing up a bit now and also has its eyes open, so am going to go with it a bit longer to see if it will recover. It has fresh water and some Whiskas chicken cat food.
Only problem I have is I am going away this weekend and do not really want to take a bird with me! The stress would be too much for it anyway I am sure.
Any more suggestions please, do you think it would be better for the bird to pts? Bit out of my depth here. The vet receptionist did say to put it under a bush outside, but if I do that I know the cats will have it. Thanks.

[wendy]

Hi Gwen.
I think it is an uphill struggle that you more than likely won't win.
But surely it is worth trying rather than PTS straight away without giving it a chance. I thought vets had an arrangement with the RSPCA to treat wild animals, maybe I am wrong.
How long are you going to be away?. As if it is just overnight I am sure you can leave it, with plenty of food, water and seeds, crumbs etc strewn around. I would assume you aren't interacting with it a great deal, as it is a wild animal, so for a good few hours wouldn't be a problem.
If more than overnight, maybe a neighbour could just look in on it, if you leave it in the shed or something.
What a stupid suggestion to leave an adult bird that cannot fly, under a bush. Thats a suggestion for baby birds, so their parents can feed them.
Talk off the top of their heads some times don't they.
Good luck
Wendy

[melons]

Oh I'd give it your best shot, my vet once mended a crow with a broken wing for me, it made it, & he never charged me a penny.
Probably the least handling the better, so give it plenty of food & water & leave it in peace, it has a bit of a chance then.

[Mo]

I've been out looking at my chickens and definitely don't have whiskers.

Best of luck with the bird.

[chucky egg]

Hi
I don't know where you live but found this sight on the web recently. You should find a rescue place in your area that can advise or even take the jackdaw from you.
I found one for a local hedgehog rescue for my sister - she found a baby wondering around a supermarket. Bless. Really useful sites though.
http://www.animalrescuers.co.uk/html/wildcents.html
Wendy
Ps good luck

[TassieDev]

Hi
It sounds like you are doing the right thing - general principles are to keep warm, quiet and in a darkened place for say the first day to reduce its stress levels.
Has it eaten any food?
If you have it for any length of time its a good idea to provide a perch of some sort, appropriate to its foot size. This will keep its feet in the right position and also stop it getting dirty feathers. I guess being a chicken keeper you probably already know that one though!
I wasn't sure exactly what a jackdaw was , but i just looked it up and it says they like to eat eggs and chicks. I'm sure you have some eggs on hand? Could try feeding it that.
One of the problems with sick wild birds is they often don't eat because they dont recognise the food as they're used to eating bugs or whatever! But if these guys eat eggs it could be a go-er (maybe serve in half an eggshell too)
I am not sure what the story is there with wildlife care - here we have volunteer organisations that do it (I used to work at one). On the page I found about Jackdaws it implied the RSPCA there might be able to help? It might be worth calling them. In Aus you would hand it over to a wildlife carer - in fact technically (in Western Australia anyway) you aren't really allowed to have wildlife in your care unless you are a registered wildlife carer.
That's pretty bad about the vet. Vets here vary a lot in their knowledge of wildlife here, but I am sure they would all at least take a look at it and try to help. Some may charge you for it, but at least they'd examine it!! The thing is if it has been attacked by another animal it will probably need antibiotics. I know you said it didnt look like it had any marks on it, but it can in some cases have small puncture wounds that aren't apparent as they close over very quickly. Fingers crossed it doesn't though!
Are you sure it isn't a juvenile still learning to fly? As I say I don't know anything about Jackdaws, but they appear to be members of the crow family. The crows here leave the nest before they are independent of their parents and before they are expert flyers.
Maybe that's what the vet receptionist was getting at when they said leave it under a bush (or am i being too generous!!)
I don't know how far from your house you found it, but you could try looking around that location around the same time of day as you found the bird and see if you can see any others there that could be parents.
All the best of luck with it!!

[wendy]

Hi
I would doubt there would be any baby birds this time of the year. It is usually done and done with by November.
Wendy