Baby Goldfinch needing help

Hi

My son and I found a baby goldfinch yesterday with one wing missing.  It looks like it has just fledged and a cat perhaps got to it, though there is no blood or anything, it almost looks like the bird was born without a wing.

We called all the local vets and they said all they would do if brought in was to humanely euthanise the bird which we felt was extreme as actually it was quite alert and very much alive.

We have kept the bird in a box and fed it water with a paintbrush and also a mix of dog food paste with water which it is eating quite happily.  We were half not expecting it to last the night but it is very much awake this morning and so we seem to have adopted a baby bird. 

If we let it out in the wild it wouldn't last a second (so many cats round here).

Did we do the right thing? What do we do now?

Beth 

  • This is a really difficult dilemma. The general advice is to let nature take its course and to try not to interfere but that’s very hard. I would suggest that you make contact through this link and hopefully they can give guidance on feeding etc but I’m not sure what the law is on keeping songbirds from the wild.
    https://helpwildlife.co.uk/

    Sorry not to be of more help, I tend to hand wildlife in need over to re-habbers as I don’t feel I have the skills and knowledge required.
  • I'm not of much good either with advice on goldfinch, or any wild creature care for that matter.

    My guess if it had been born with only one wing, the harsh side of nature has kicked in and the youngster has been left to predation, and that could be why the vet suggested euthanasia as being the least painful step rather than left for predation.

    That's the harsh reality of nature to keep strong blood lines.