Birds can break their wings in a number of different ways, they can get attacked by a predator, attacked by your house pet, hit by a car or, they can knock into a wall.
If you think that your bird has a broken wing but are not sure, this article will help you figure it out
You can tell if a bird has a broken wing by examining it, a broken wing will be immobilized, bleeding and painful to the bird
Table of Contents
How to tell if a bird has a broken wing:
Birds will try to mask their pain and their injuries, even from you, this is something they evolved to do, it helps to keep predators away. If a predator were to notice that a bird is injured, then the predator would be more likely to attack the bird.
You’d need to examine the wing to figure out if the wing is broken and look for these signs of a broken wing, the signs include:
Screaming:
If the bird acts like it’s in pain when you start to examine the bird, if it starts screaming and trying to get away from you when you touch it, then you can assume that its wing is broken.
The bird will scream if you do something as simple as touch the wing. A bird with a broken wing will be in a lot of pain and will react accordingly
Ability to pull the wing:
If the bird allows you to, gently extend the bird’s limb and see how the bird reacts.
If the wing is broken, then extending the wing will cause discomfort to the bird and the bird won’t be able to pull the injured wing back as well as it is able to pull the uninjured wing back.
Drooping:
A bird’s broken wing won’t sit as normally as the other wing will. The broken wing will be droopy, hang lower than the other, and hang awkwardly when compared to the other wing. Read more here
Bleeding:
If a bird’s wing is severely broken, then the wing may be bleeding and you may notice that the bird has a wound. If the wing is severely broken, the bone may even pierce the bird’s flesh and skin.
Immobilized:
If the bird has a broken wing, then it will not be able to use it to do anything, the bird won’t be able to fly and it will also have trouble moving around because it is in pain.
X-Ray:
The best way to see if a bird has a broken wing is to take it to the vet to have an x-ray taken of the wing.
The x-ray will help you see exactly what’s going on with your bird’s bones without you having to feel the wing for breaks and in turn, cause the bird more pain
FAQ:
Is a bird in pain with a broken wing?
If a bird’s wing is broken then the animal will likely feel pain.
While we as humans don’t know for sure, it is generally accepted that these animals perceive pain in a way similar to mammals so they would feel the pain of a broken wing.
What to do if you see a bird with a broken wing?
Unless you are a certified, experienced avian vet, or unless you are a properly trained and equipped wildlife rehabilitator, it is not recommended that you treat a bird with a broken wing.
These professionals can treat the bird and will have a higher success rate after treating it than the everyday person.
Taking the bird to these professionals is the best thing to do for the bird
Can a bird’s broken wing heal by itself?
Whether or not a bird’s broken wing can heal on its own depends on how severe the break is.
If the break is not severe, then the bird’s wing will be able to heal on its own, if the break is severe then the bird’s wing will not be able to heal on its own.
Can a bird survive with a broken wing?
A bird will likely not survive with a broken wing.
Birds use their wings to fly, flying helps them find food and keeps them safe from predators. If your bird can’t fly to find food then it will starve.
If the bird cannot fly away from predators then it will quickly be caught and eaten by a predator.
In addition, if the wing gets infected, and does not receive care from a human in the form of antibiotics, then the bird can die.
The only birds that have a chance of surviving with a broken wing, if the wing does not get infected, are flightless birds who don’t use their wings to find food or to get away from predators.
Flightless birds include ostriches and emus, they don’t need their wings to fly, and thus, they don’t need their wings to survive
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Sulfur Dust For Chickens, Can A Bird’s Broken Wing Heal By Itself?, How Do Birds Break Their Wings, Can A Birds Broken Wing Heal On Its Own,