Post by rory on Jun 9, 2012 4:34:44 GMT
My dad found a sparrow in the middle of the sidewalk the other day on a morning walk. He shooed it over to the side (it was flopping about on it's back) and tried to get it under a tree. He got it there, but then it flopped into the road as he was walking away. Being the animal lover he is, he felt terrible and went over and picked it up (it did not protest - probably scared out of it's mind 
).
I tried calling a few wildlife rehabilitation centres, but they consider sparrows to be "pests" and informed me they would just euthanize her, so instead I decided to give her a fighting chance and kept her in a box overnight with some food and water. I honestly didn't think she'd survive (she looked pretty terrible and all upside down and whatnot), but she did and she was eating, drinking, bathing and pooping. Her balance is getting better - she can stand properly now - and her head is turning back to it's normal state, as it was all twisted sideways (I think she flew into something and had suffered a concussion).
Any suggestions to aid in her recovery?
I want to set her free as soon as possible and have been keeping her in a shoebox that I've created "slots" in the lid so she gets light. I change her box 3 - 4 times a day, add fresh water, seed, twigs and grasses and although she doesn't want to be handled, she tolerates it. She's getting feistier (which is good), and has flown around my garage and landed and I go and pick her up, but her head is still slightly tilted to one side and every now and again (when she's sleepy/night time) I still find her upside down which I don't think is a normal sparrow sleeping position?
Does anyone know if her neck will re-align itself or will she just have to cope with it and readjust herself? Basically that's all I'm waiting on (that, and a clear day so she can actually fly away and not be caught in the rain/a storm on her first day out there again) but if it's not going to go back to normal and this is just the way she'll be, I want to get her back out into the world so she can be the wild animal she's meant to be.
Jack and I thank you for any thoughts/advice!
(my dad named her Jack. Jack Sparrow. He thought he was so clever).
).I tried calling a few wildlife rehabilitation centres, but they consider sparrows to be "pests" and informed me they would just euthanize her, so instead I decided to give her a fighting chance and kept her in a box overnight with some food and water. I honestly didn't think she'd survive (she looked pretty terrible and all upside down and whatnot), but she did and she was eating, drinking, bathing and pooping. Her balance is getting better - she can stand properly now - and her head is turning back to it's normal state, as it was all twisted sideways (I think she flew into something and had suffered a concussion).
Any suggestions to aid in her recovery?
I want to set her free as soon as possible and have been keeping her in a shoebox that I've created "slots" in the lid so she gets light. I change her box 3 - 4 times a day, add fresh water, seed, twigs and grasses and although she doesn't want to be handled, she tolerates it. She's getting feistier (which is good), and has flown around my garage and landed and I go and pick her up, but her head is still slightly tilted to one side and every now and again (when she's sleepy/night time) I still find her upside down which I don't think is a normal sparrow sleeping position?
Does anyone know if her neck will re-align itself or will she just have to cope with it and readjust herself? Basically that's all I'm waiting on (that, and a clear day so she can actually fly away and not be caught in the rain/a storm on her first day out there again) but if it's not going to go back to normal and this is just the way she'll be, I want to get her back out into the world so she can be the wild animal she's meant to be.
Jack and I thank you for any thoughts/advice!
(my dad named her Jack. Jack Sparrow. He thought he was so clever).
