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Re: Dispatching Injured Birds



Any bird that is found incurably injured is a potential museum 
specimen. I believe that cervical dislocation on small bird is more 
likely to damage the specimen.

A thoracic squeeze is just as effective and less traumatic to the 
squeezer, although it may take a bit longer than breaking the bird's 
neck. Firm pressure applied with thumb and forefinger to both sides 
of the breast will usually put the bird down within a matter of 
seconds.

If you do get a dead bird specimen, wrap it in a paper towel and put 
it in a Ziploc bag and freeze it immediately, being sure to label the 
bag and the specimen with information about when and where the bird 
was found. Then contact your local college, museum, or nature center 
about donating the bird to them for research and/or study purposes.

This all may be uncomfortable to discuss, but it is indeed important 
to act humanely and to look toward using the deceased bird for a 
useful purpose.


BILL

----------

>Cervical dislocation is a humane and easily performed method of 
>euthanasia for birds and small mammals (easy mechanically but 
>perhaps not emotionally for the inexperienced).
>
>The suggestion of paper bag and auto exhaust is NOT a good idea.
>
>I can be more specific regarding proper technique if desired.  Maybe 
>private e-mail is appropriate.
>
>Jack McLain
>Durham, NC
>
>
>
>At 09:47 AM 1/24/2002 -0500, Carol Williamson wrote:
>>Hello all,
>>A colleague spoke with me yesterday about a bird who had flown into her
>>window. She could see that it was injured (bleeding about the mouth and
>>lying on 1 side). She observed it for a while and it eventually got into
>>an upright position. She felt it was suffering because of the bleeding
>>and because it was shaking all over. Wanting very much to put it out of
>>its misery, she knew only the advice to break its neck, which she just
>>could not bring herself to do. Sadly, the bird died, but it took almost
>>an hour. She asked me to ask what humane methods you would recommend
>>when this type of situation arises. Someone once told me he put a badly
>>injured bird in a paper bag and held the bag at the end of his car's
>>exhaust pipe so the carbon monoxide would put it down. My colleague
>>asked about putting the injured bird in a bag and putting it in the
>>freezer. Would that be a less horrendous death?
>>
>>Suggestions are welcome.
>>
>>Carol Williamson
>>Durham, NC
>>carolw@sandler-recht.com

-- 

BILL HILTON JR., "The Piedmont Naturalist"
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History
1432 DeVinney Road, York, South Carolina 29745 USA
hilton@hiltonpond.org, (803) 684-5852, eFax: (503) 218-0845

Please visit our web sites at http://www.hiltonpond.org and
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"Never trust a person too lazy to get up for sunrise or too busy to
watch the sunset."					BHjr.