# Juvenile house martin with injured wing



## Teresa (Jul 10, 2005)

Hi, I'm looking after a juvenile house martin, probably predator-caught, because he was rescued 3 days ago with a bleeding left wing and most of the primary feathers broken. He had a prominent keel, and that hasn't changed much.
I'm out of my depth here, and would be very grateful for any advice.

He's on 0.07ml TMS a day, and 0.4ml insectivore formula every 2 hours, which is as much as he will take -- he's a very reluctant eater. Are these amounts anywhere near right for him?
He's indoors, in a large carrier with netting side pannels he likes to climb, and a reptile heater at the bottom.

The wound is almost healed now, and there is no infection or swelling. He can flap it perfectly well. He's holding his own, but not putting on any appreciable weight, and I don't know if he's going to molt the broken feathers before the time to migrate south, or even if he can survive that long in captivity. I caught some flies for him (yuk!) but he showed no interest.


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## Teresa (Jul 10, 2005)

I thought he was a house martin from the shape of the tail, but there's also a chance he could be a swift, which would make his chances of surviving in captivity for an extended period even less...


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## pookie! (Jul 22, 2011)

Have you tried to contact some kind of wildlife rescue typed thing? They might be able to help more..


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## Teresa (Jul 10, 2005)

pookie! said:


> Have you tried to contact some kind of wildlife rescue typed thing? They might be able to help more..


We have only a few that deal with protected, endangered species, and only those. I tried the Purple Martin forum, the RSPB and a few others, but they have no info on rehab.


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## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

Teresa, I would guess that with the TMS, you are pretty close to a correct dose with 0.07cc, as this will be 3.36mg of TMS at the most standard suspension rate of 48mg/mL. I am guessing he weighs about 60g, so at 50mg/kg BID dosing this would call for 3mg, q12h (if you do know his weight, the dosing can be fine tuned).

I wish I could help you with suggestions for feeding and care, but I know very little about wild birds. Here is a link for Starling-Talk where they seem to know a good deal about these kinds of birds, if you are not a member perhaps you can join and also post there for help.

http://www.starlingtalk.com/babycare.htm

Good luck,

Karyn


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## pookie! (Jul 22, 2011)

Teresa said:


> We have only a few that deal with protected, endangered species, and only those. I tried the Purple Martin forum, the RSPB and a few others, but they have no info on rehab.


Ahh damn that sucks.. I hope you find something helpful out, dude about me has a good link to that starling website..

Google like mad and try and talk with anyone and everyone who has rescued those types.. 

Good luck <3


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## Teresa (Jul 10, 2005)

Dobato said:


> Teresa, I would guess that with the TMS, you are pretty close to a correct dose with 0.07cc, as this will be 3.36mg of TMS at the most standard suspension rate of 48mg/mL. I am guessing he weighs about 60g, so at 50mg/kg BID dosing this would call for 3mg, q12h (if you do know his weight, the dosing can be fine tuned).
> 
> I wish I could help you with suggestions for feeding and care, but I know very little about wild birds. Here is a link for Starling-Talk where they seem to know a good deal about these kinds of birds, if you are not a member perhaps you can join and also post there for help.
> 
> ...


Thank you so much, Karyn! Yes, his weight seems to be about 60g, but my scales aren't that accurate at very low values.
I'll try Starling-Talk, fingers crossed! Thanks again.


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## Teresa (Jul 10, 2005)

pookie! said:


> Ahh damn that sucks.. I hope you find something helpful out, dude about me has a good link to that starling website..
> 
> Google like mad and try and talk with anyone and everyone who has rescued those types..
> 
> Good luck <3


Yeah, you summed it up: I've been googling like mad!
Thank you for the good wishes, Pookie!


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## Teresa (Jul 10, 2005)

I just got an email back from Jackie at Starling-Talk, and she was really nice and helpful. She said these birds are pure insectivores and require a higher protein content in their diet.
She sent me a link with a diet sheet for several insect-eating species (including some 4-legged ones), which I will include here as it may help other rescuers:
http://www.tamucc.edu/wiki/Main/DietInformation


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Jackie is great.
You might try a tall basket for him to hang on to.

I don't know how he will know how to migrate withut parents to show him. Very sad


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

Teresa said:


> Thank you so much, Karyn! Yes, his weight seems to be about 60g, but my scales aren't that accurate at very low values.
> I'll try Starling-Talk, fingers crossed! Thanks again.


Teresa, try adding a known weight to the scales - like a bag of sugar - then deduct that from the reading


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## Teresa (Jul 10, 2005)

Oh my goodness, *he's not a house martin, he's a swift*!!!!!! And a small miracle too, because swifts apparently eat, drink, mate and sleep on the wing! The usual advice is 'give him electrolytes and set him free asap', but if he can't fly, what choice have I got!

Today I went out to a friend's for a few hours... so I had to take him with me! He loved sunbathing on the balcony, enjoying the mountain breeze, even started preening! And my friend didn't mind seeing a kitchen transformed into a bird feeding station...










He's also eating more now, 6ml per feed, and seems to prefer the kitten biscuits (the coffee grinder was great for turning them into a fine powder, which can then be made into a paste with the other ingredients) to the shop-bought mix. I so hope he can make it!

A handful of blessings:










Thank you for your suggestions, Charis and Quazar. He actually spends most of his time climbing up the netting on the end and side pannels.


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

How are you feeding him?

Phil
Lv


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## Teresa (Jul 10, 2005)

pdpbison said:


> How are you feeding him?
> 
> Phil
> Lv


I'm making him a paste consisting of finely-ground kitten biscuits rich in chicken (40% protein) mixed with warm water, a drop of bird vitamins and a drop of Calcivet (to raise the ratio of calcium to phosphorus in the biscuits).
At the moment he's having 6 feeds a day, 0.65 ml per feed.


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## Teresa (Jul 10, 2005)

Marty is doing FANTASTIC! He's very alert, putting on weight, and he's eager to eat! My daughter's birdwatching friend found us a site specialising in swift rescue and they say we have to feed them only insects, nothing else, but I can't get anyone to supply them -- British suppliers don't post abroad, and the Portuguese ones don't stock them, they only sell that food for insectivores that Marty doesn't like.

It's remarkable how much pigeon-related knowledge can contribute to caring for other species! Lots of things I did 'instinctively' (how to hold him, where to house him and how, how to rub his neck to make the food go down, what supplements to give, etc) were right. All except what to feed him. But he's getting stronger, and I'm going to start catching insects!

He loves his early afternoons basking in the sun and watching the other swifts, even replying to their calls. And he knows his meal times, too: climbs up the side of the carrier towards me and STARES!  He's also started sucking my finger to be fed.

I've sent an email to a lady who rescues and rehabs swifts in the UK, asking about diet and when he's due to moult his primary feathers. Meanwhile I've also found out that he is a young adult, which is a big advantage in terms of eventual release. 

This is the swift rescue site, which includes first aid, rehabber contacts and specialist information for vets:
http://www.londons-swifts.org.uk/SwiftFirstAid.htm


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## Teresa (Jul 10, 2005)

Sobering news:
I was told by swift experts that they only moult their primaries when they get back to Africa in the Autumn, and they advised me to take him to the vet's to have the broken feathers pulled out to encourage growth.

I thought this might be a standard procedure, as with pigeons, but apparently not. Swift primaries are so deeply rooted in the joints that there's a real danger of breaking some bones and causing bleeding during removal. 

He's got an appointment this afternoon. Let's see what the vet has to say.


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## Teresa (Jul 10, 2005)

Guess what, the lady who's been helping me is a member here, AliBlack!

Marty went to the vet's today, and the vet and I are considering a few options. The one that AliBlack favours is feather grafting. If the feather bank has the right kind of feathers and I can afford the operation... fingers crossed!


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## Teresa (Jul 10, 2005)




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## Teresa (Jul 10, 2005)

http://s333.photobucket.com/albums/m381/Skbllz/?action=view&current=DSCNB9609.mp4


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## Teresa (Jul 10, 2005)

Feeding time: http://s333.photobucket.com/albums/...action=view&current=DSCNB9611-Mry-Feeding.mp4


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## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

Teresa, you really are doing a super job with this little guy, thanks for all the updates and going above and beyond for him.

Karyn


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## Teresa (Jul 10, 2005)

Thanks, Karyn!
My work is really made quite easy by his extraordinary resilience and cooperation, and by all the help and advice I've had.

*He went to the vet's this afternoon to have the broken primaries pulled *under anaesthesia, as the grafting option wasn't available. The procedure was very successful, and he's since had two hearty meals and is now settled for the night on his heating pad.
You can tell the wing is sore, as he's careful not to let it come into contact with anything, but, and this is really good news, *some of the feathers that were pulled out at the time of his injury have already started to grow*.

AliBlack's help has been invaluable, not only because of her knowledge about swifts, but also because she's so positive and caring. Everyone has been going that extra mile for this youngster (he IS a juvenile, after all), who is totally unaware of his fan base and is just happy to get his crickets and formula every two hours.


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