Friends and fellow finchlovers – I know many of you may not believe this, but as I was out for my morning walk today, I came upon an injured European Gold Finch lying along the edge of the forest. I could not believe my eyes at first – I picked it up carefully, and wrapped it in my sweatshirt – and then brought it home. I immediately jumped online to look at some photos to verify my find, and indeed I saw that I had a European Gold Finch in my home. I live in North Dakota, so that is a very rare and unusual find. Who knows how it ended up here! But it looks like the wing got clipped and I don't know what to do! The nearest vet is fifty miles away, and I'm not sure if I should head out right now as it's starting to storm. Any ideas?
Well definitely you safety comes first, Scuddy. I would recommend giving the Finch a warm salt bath. I did so once to a wounded sparrow that I found in my front yard. If you see that there is not a lot of blood loss, then I would carefully wrap some guaze around it and wait till the rain stops till you head over to the vet. Perhaps feed it some sunflower seeds to boot.
I'd be wary about touching the finch – friend. You never know what sort of disease this animal might harbor, (lest I bring up the deadly bird flu!!!) and rubber gloves would be a must if you are going to deal with it at all.
Hmm, I wonder if it was being transported, and somehow fell out of the vehicle or tried to escape. I don't know a lot about bird biology though, I would recommend hydrogen peroxide, but who knows how it might respond! Better to leave it to a vet and just get to one as soon as possible!