A bird smacked into our window a few days ago, a female Lesser Goldfish. She knocked herself out cold. I picked her up and put her on top our chest freezer so Mr. Darcy wouldn't seize the opportunity to crunch her. I even put a crate over her temporarily in case she "came to" and started flopping around.
Within ten minutes or so, she woke up and hobbled to her feet, swaying unsteadily. Notice her "pigeon-toed" stance. This is a bird with a bad headache.
She was utterly fearless during this dazed interlude, and I wonder how much she had scrambled her brain upon impact...and if she would survive it.
She seemed to go through periods of sleep or pain. Poor little thing.
Dusk fell, and she stayed on the freezer, making no effort to move.
By morning she was gone, although she'd left several droppings behind, indicating she stayed on top the freezer for several hours. I even checked below the deck where the freezer is located, wondering if she'd fallen behind it and died or got stuck, but there was no sign of her.
I know birds who smack themselves unconscious often don't survive due to concussions or other head injuries. I wish this little lady well. I hope she made it.
Hi Patrice, I’d just like you to know that as the world gets crazier, I look forward to your “life on the farm” posts more and more. It’s a balm, a moment of normalcy in an increasingly abnormal world. -a random homeschool mom who has followed you for over a decade.
ReplyDeleteAww, thank you!
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Random Homeschool Mom - I completely agree with your sentiments. I have followed Patrice and her life for years. Her words, experiences, and pictures have become even sweeter to me over this past year.
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Exactly. I just want one corner of peace in my world. Besides the Lord there isn’t anything to grab onto. Your blog and pictures bring calm to my mind. Thank you!
DeleteI'm glad that she apparently made it. Goldfinchs (I grew up calling them "wild canaries) are such pretty little birds.
ReplyDeletePoor bird. I hope she made it with her injuries.
ReplyDeleteTwenty years ago, I worked at a bird rescue in Phoenix and was taught the adage "warm, dark, and quiet". I have had a handful of injured birds over the years (mostly windows!) and scoop them up, put them in a box for a while, and lo and behold, open it up later and they fly off. And then there was the grouse last year that hit so hard it died immediately. My husband "saved" it on the porch and requested it be breasted out for dinner when I got home!! LOL
ReplyDeleteDarling little bird you saved! :)
Something similar happened to me years ago while driving. A bird swooped and knocked itself out on the windshield. It landed in the middle of the road. It's eye was smashed but was breathing. Not wanting it to suffer or get run over or die on the hot pavement, I headed to the nearest vet with the bird 15 or 20 minutes away. He wasn't open that Saturday so I headed to another 30 minutes from there. About the time we passed where our "accident" took place she woke up and wanted out of the truck. I stopped and let her out. She hopped around a few minutes then flew to a low branch in a nearby tree. This was with one eye permanently blind and probably hurting. Daddy was alive then and he told me the bird could live with only one eye.
ReplyDeleteI think your bird probably made it. At that time I was thankful she woke up and wanted out in almost the same exact spot she'd been hit because familiarity with the area was a plus for survival. Your bird has that same advantage. If anything was broken you probably could have seen it. If it was dark she would have stayed put because they don't see in the dark any better than we do. So, odds are she made it.
We had a PARROT fly into our sliding door glass a few years back. We have an itinerant flock of Mexican Redheads here, and one of them believed its GPS over its eyes. 'Sounded like someone threw a work boot at the window! The thing lost half of its beak in the collision, so we figured we'd cage it until we were sure it could fend for itself. You think a wet hen is mad? Try a half-beaked wild parrot with a migraine in a cage! We ended up having to set it loose the next day, as it wouldn't take food or water, but had plenty of attitude to go around. I don't think it made it, as we keep track of the flock's numbers, and it was one short within a day or two. We tried...
ReplyDeleteHi Patrice - I've used a lot of homeopathy for me and my family's health over the past few years and what a blessing it's been. Taking care of infections, viruses, concussions, etc. That said, I've seen quite a few posts on my Facebook groups about folks using aconite (Aconitum napellus) for stunned birds with great results. (Of course, that isn't the end - I know of homeopathic vets and farmers using these remedies on their patients and their animals.......) But I digress now. Thanks for all you share with us!
ReplyDeleteMy mom would put them on a solid surface, with a screen strainer over the top and wait for them to come to. Most recovered and flew off. I think it depends on the severity of the blow. More survive than we know.
ReplyDeleteOur black lab cold - cocked himself on a rebar fence when he was perhaps 5 or 6, playing with the horses. He had a collassol headache, blood running out of his nose and a dent in his skull over his right eye. (Permanent) I didn't think the vet could do anything so we let him be. He died this past April at over 15 years and 7 months of age. Great dog.
(wince) I'm so sorry....
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Thanks Patrice, he lived a great doggy life. Hunted & retrieved upland and waterfowl, played with kids and horses, had acres to run on and 2 stock dams. Kept someone from breaking into the house and only tangled with a couple of skunks and one porcupine in all those years. Harassed barn cats at leisure. Lived a long time for an 80 lb lab. Died of old age. What a life from a dog's perspective.
DeleteStill you do miss them!