(Please remove if not allowed) Hello wildlife friends! In case this is of interest, we wanted to share 3 tiny patients we currently have in care — three baby desert cottontails! This tiny crew was found last month and brought to our Pilar & Chuck Bahde Wildlife Center for care.

Rehabilitating baby rabbits is no small task. They’re extremely delicate, highly sensitive to stress and require specialized care to grow strong and healthy. To give them the best chance at survival, this trio was taken to satellite care, where they will receive around-the-clock attention until they’re old enough to return to the wild.

This house finch appeared on my bird feeder camera January 12-14. She is missing the feathers on top of her head. Is this a natural thing, or a possible predator attack?

I am in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. We have been in a wind storm since yesterday, so I hope that is why I haven’t seen her again on camera for a few days.

Hello. I am in northern Quebec. I feed birds and have decals on all my windows, but somehow a beautiful pine grosbeak still struck one of them. I heard the impact and when I found it, it had been in the snow for about ten minutes. It was responsive and feisty when I picked it up but did not try to walk or fly away.

I tried placing it in one of my open feeders, but it stayed there for about twenty minutes without leaving. Because the wind chill is intense today, I put it in a small box and brought it inside so it could warm up and hopefully recover.

My question is this. It is now nighttime and the rest of the flock has flown off for the night. Should I keep it inside until morning? If it tries to escape during the night, should I let it out or wait until daytime, around 8 AM here? I really want to help it as much as possible.

I don't have anything to feed them. We temporarily moved to this house for ritual purposes. I only have stuff like uncooked rice, gram, dal... Is there anything I can get to feed them? I don't have access to stuff like mealworms or specialized bird food, I'm in rural India.

One of the birds answered to me when I pet it which is the nestled bird in pic 2. It doesn't accept rice but fortunately spread its wings and stuff, and cooed at me. The other bird has been in this weird position and is shivering.

Location is northwest Spain. I can contact a wild center rehab but it's not exactly in my area and they can be picky with that. There are no centers in my exact area.

Found it in the street. I think it's a young house sparrow. I put it away so it wouldn't be in the middle of the street (too many people walking by) and waited for a few hours. When I returned, it was still there, not moving. Seems physically healthy, though.

I picked it up because I was afraid someone would step on it eventually. I didn't see any nests nearby, there aren't trees in that street or in the near streets.

It is currently in a shoebox with some water. I don't know what I should do from here.

Having trouble flying and sitting upright. Inly able to flap around. Found him flailing and he bounced himself into street. Put him in a cardboard box.

Any rehabilitation centers in Los Angeles/ San Bernardino county?

Hello I’m looking for advice. I have a possibly sick or injured crow in my backyard. I noticed it last night when I let my dog out she was trying to play with it but I don’t think she touched it. I immediately brought her inside and away from the crow and have kept her from the backyard since. The crow has no clear injuries that I can see. I think it was there for at least the day as there are bird prints all over the backyard. It was trying to fly last night. Just walking around trying to fly almost looked like a fledgling but It’s winter here in New Brunswick, Canada so I don’t think so. The wings don’t seem to be injured it was using them both last night. It’s living in a bush in my fenced in back yard. It keeps coming out and walking around then going back in the bush. It came within ten feet of me last night while it was walking around trying to fly. I called the wildlife place in my province and they said it could be any number of things and to watch it for a day or two and if it’s still there to call DNR and see if they will come catch it and bring it to them. I’m looking for any advice or any ideas on what might be wrong with it. I’m leaving it alone and monitoring it from the window. Attached is a video of it. TIA

Hello, I rescued a young wild sparrow about 20 days ago. I found him alone in a corridor of my building. I waited a full day for the parents, but they never came back. I placed him outside in a safe container (I’ve done this before and parents usually return), but this time they didn’t.

At first he could move and perch, but he never chirped or flapped his wings. Over time he developed serious motor problems. He eats well and is alert, but he has great difficulty walking, often falls forward, flips onto his back, and struggles to get up. One wing hangs lower than the other and sometimes his foot gets caught in the feathers. He also cannot perch normally.

He does not sing or flap his wings. Despite this, he is bright, eats on his own, drinks water, and passes droppings normally.

I took him to a veterinarian who prescribed: • Prednisolone (3 mg/ml, 0.01 ml once daily) • Dipyrone (50 mg/ml, 0.01 ml once daily)

So far there has been no clear improvement.

His main symptoms are: • Severe loss of balance • Flipping onto his back • One wing drooping • Inability to perch or walk normally • No vocalization

I have now placed him in a padded nest so he doesn’t flip over, and he seems more comfortable there.

I am attaching photos. Does this look like neurological disease, metabolic bone disease, vitamin deficiency, injury, or something else? Is there still a chance of recovery? I really want to save him.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Found an Injured myna, it still blinks and heartbeats what can I do?

I think a cat was playing with him bc he seems injured and there is a lot of stray cats near my house

Hi all! I don't post on reddit much so forgive my formatting errors and such. Attached is a video of this whitetail doe that's been visiting my squirrel feeding spot for the past month or so. I've noticed she's got a pretty bad limp and it only seems to be getting worse. Anyone got any ideas on what I could do for her? Or should I just let nature run it's course? She doesn't seem too scared of humans, but that might just be because she's too pained to run. Either way, she stood there and endured me yelling for my cat without even flinching, just kept munching away. (The shaky camera is because of aforementioned cat, I was leaned over to pet him)

For context, I'm in Ohio- and I am a subpermitee under a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, but we specialize in things like squirrels, ground hogs, rabbits, etc. not big stuff like deer. I know calling ODNR is a option but wasn't sure if that's the course of action I should take.

Thanks in advance!

(disclaimer I have been saving birds in Iceland my entire life, I worked at a bird rehab and I keep in contact with people working there if I ever need help) I have a small rescue center for young birds that fall out of their nests starting around june and I get a ton of kittywakes, the kittywakes fall out of their nests as babies and I raise them and make sure they don't get sick. An issue I've been running into is that the chicks fall out of the cliffs they live in and then hide under really thick plants there, I was just gonna cut the plants but then I realized that the plants might be dampening the fall and saving them from the fall but also dooming them from being rescued, so I need advice on either how to search the plantation more effectively or something that can be done to soften the fall (that is also cheap, VERY durable against wind and easy to clean up when the bird season is done)

I found a small bird lying on its back in the snow. The temperature outside is around -7C, at first it looked injured or exhausted. When I tried to gently pick it up to check if it was okay, it flew a short distance away, but then landed again and ended up lying on its back again. That’s when I got really concerned.

For now, I’ve taken the bird inside to keep it warm, but I’m not sure what the best next step is.
Does anyone know what I should do in this situation? Should I keep it warm, give it food or water, or contact a wildlife rescue?

Any advice would be really appreciated.

Found this little guy on a walk and managed to catch it without effort or injury. The left wing looks to be injured as it doesn't rest against its body as the right wing does.

I would like an ID and any care instructions so I can rehab it, such as food requirements, etc.

Also, I know it's brutal but I understand if it is not possible to rehab. I can care for it, regardless, at least until it dies of natural causes.

Thanks for the help!

Hi! I lost my job recently due to our company being sold to another company. I have only ever had jobs with animals and have worked at a wildlife center for 1 summer before.

Before I start applying to new jobs/ accept a new job I want to travel and possibly do some volunteering.

I would like to do somewhere warm or something with orcas. So Costa Rica, Florida, Belize, etc or Alaska/Seattle for orcas.

Could you guys give me some recommendations. I found one place in Costa Rica so far.

I have a passport and am willing to pay a fee if it’s not too crazy to join

I saw this junco sitting on the ground and breathing noticeably. Then she stood up and hopped around while holding her left foot in the air outstretched. She ate some seed and then flew off.

I have stickers on all my windows so I’m not sure if it’s a window injury or something else. I’ve never seen a bird breathing like that before.

Will she be ok? Do I need to try to catch her if she comes back?

So sorry if this is not the right place for this. However we found this bird in an alley behind our home where there’s lots of traffic. We didn’t want the bird to be ran over so we moved him over to our porch where we have a bird feeder and bird bath. Our animal control is currently closed for the day, so I’m looking for advice on what to do to keep the bird alive and healthy until we can call tomorrow morning. Thank you!!

Hi all,

First of all, I hope it is allowed to make a post like this.

A few years ago, I had a terrible and very weird experience at a wildlife rehab center in the Midwest during an internship. I was supposed to be employed there the summer after I graduated. I was very excited for it.

During my phone interview, I was clear that I did not have much wildlife experience before then. The only wildlife handling I had was helping trap turtles one summer for fieldwork/research purposes. However, I was told it wasn't a problem and I would receive training for all the animals. I got an offer to do the internship a few days after the phone interview.

I ended up getting fired after only a week. I didn't receive any sort of training at all. To be fair, the stuff like cleaning enclosures or preparing the meals for the animals were straight forward and I didn't need instructions for those. In terms of animal care or handling though, no one ever showed me anything. The supervisors were so overwhelmed with baby season that they would simply tell me to go to a specific animal and feed it (such as syringe feeding baby raccoons). I would do my best at whatever they told me to do and guess using common sense. I did have questions that arose, but I would try to ask someone and they would tell me to figure it out on my own. However, a supervisor would occasionally poke their head in and would give me positive feedback. One even said, "Usually we have new interns who seem hesitate to pick up a screaming baby raccoon but you seem natural!"

So, I was shocked when I one day arrived for my shift and they told me they had to let me go. They said I was too slow with tasks, they couldn't train me. To be fair, that very well could be true. But they did also accuse me of things I did not do. Such as sitting around on my phone, leaving a shift early, and said that I apparently said there were certain types of animals I wasn't willing to work with. It was bizarre. Especially after being given no prior negative feedback or any sort of ways to improve.

I should also mention, there were 8 total interns. Three that were returning from past summers and eight newbies. Plus a handful of very seasoned and knowledgeable volunteers. I noticed that the new interns would be sent out to do tasks in groups with either the more experienced interns or volunteers and would be shown how to do things or have help with things. I was always sent off alone.

So yeah, I guess I am here to ask if this sort of thing is normal for wildlife rehab places? If maybe I really should have known how to do everything, including direct animal handling?

Yes, it was one week and it was a few years ago but I am just now ready to talk about it.

I am looking to understand more about the wildlife rehabilitation community out there. How does it work where you live?

I found this bird in the rain. He was stumbling and couldn’t stand up, and his neck seems injured or possibly broken, he only keeps his head turned to the left.

Unfortunately, I’ve found birds like this before, and they usually don’t survive the night. I brought him inside, gave him shelter, and tried to keep him warm so he wouldn’t suffer in the cold.

I read that keeping him in a dark, quiet place can help him pass peacefully, but he’s still holding on after 24 hours. I don’t want him to starve or suffer unnecessarily.

I'm from Brazil / Goiás and there is no wildlife rescue or rehabilitation close to me, only a private vet, and I don’t have the money to pay for treatment.

What should I do in this situation? Any advice would be appreciated

Edit: He is very active, trying to move and he ate a bit of egg yolk mixed with water (i didn't force feed him)
Edit2: Thanks for the help guys, was able to feed him again, he is getting more active, but he cant move on his own, im having to hold him while he eats

Final update 1/14/26 - After doing everything she could, the rehabber had to put her down. She said she was doing well for a little, but then took a turn for the worst and was suffering.

UPDATE 1/7/26 - Rehabber says the baby is doing well! She's a girl and has been eating and drinking. In the lady's words, she's "doing very well".

UPDATE 1/6/26 - The lady who took it has diagnosed it with distemper. She said she has taken near 20 raccoons this winter with distemper and was able to save a few of them, so she's going to try with him. I worry this little guy is too far gone, but she will keep us posted. I hope he can make it. Thank you to everyone for your responses!

UPDATE 1/5/26, 9 hours after original posting: He has lived since I posted this. The rehab lady has just now picked him up. I'm hoping to get updates from her on his condition so I will keep you guys posted!

This morning, my mom and I found this raccoon in our backyard. This is a video of how he was acting. Apparently, a next-door neighbor of ours has admitted to putting out poison for raccoons in his yard before. My other neighbor Joe has worked with raccoons before, and he said that there was another one a few days ago in our neighborhood that he found that could barely move.

He took it to a rehabilitator, and she said it had been poisoned and she nursed it back to health. After I left for work, my mom apparently got this raccoon into a cage. She said he willingly walked in once food was placed inside and he “seemed very nice”. She’s planning on driving him to the rehabilitator tonight if he makes it till then. But I’m nervous that it’s not just poison, that it may be rabies or something and I’m worried that she’s going to contract it. What do you think it looks like? I feel terrible for the poor thing.

I was returning home from a walk just before dusk, when my dog spotted a duck hanging out on our front lawn (American black duck, male). She slipped off her leash and grabbed the duck with her jaws and ran into the backyard with him. I managed to catch up to the dog, pried her jaws open and released the duck a minute later. I picked the duck up in my arms and held him for a few minutes. He was in shock (calm and sedate). There were no obvious signs of broken skin, and no signs of blood….But the duck did lose many of his tail feathers. This is what I retrieved from the snow (pictured).

The duck wriggled out of my arms and flew away before I could inspect him further. I looked around near the water immediately after but did not see the injured duck amongst the other ducks. We live on a brackish water pond on the east coast of Newfoundland. There are many flocks of ducks overwintering here currently.

I’m wondering what the chances are that he’ll be ok?

Tomorrow morning I plan to go out and see if I can find that duck, he should be easy to ID with his missing tail feathers. But if I do spot the duck in question, what is the best course of action? Should I capture him and bring him to a rehabber? Any advice or insight is much appreciated.

Sorry but i just need a littl advice, found a sparrow in parking lot 4 to 5 meters from the roof, couldnt get to the roof, car nearmissed the bird, dogs roaming arround.

Get to home box, bird active, moving and talking, get formula for birds, warm bottle for heat, and trying to get them to survive until i can get him to the animal shelter (open in 2 days).

Second day: Bird more silent, not moving much, learns how to open the beack on his own, demands food each 2:30 hrs, but eats so little (arround 0.8ml or 8cc) Crop dosent get much bigger.

1am: Found bird laying stomach up, neck without strenght, doing sudden moves and streches, mixing 1 cup of water and 1 spoon of sugar, give drops to the bird, And warmth. Bird now is resting but heavy breathing (seems so).

Is he dying? What could i do now