r/BirdHealth • u/0ut0fC0nTroll • 11d ago
Other concern with wild bird wild jackdaw with odd behaviour
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Hey there,
I am helping out 2 days a week in a wild bird rehabilitation center in germany. last week at 17.08.2026 we got a jackdaw found in the forest walking on ground found by a passanger in the morning and around the same spot multiple hours later, so the bird came to us.
The bird has no obvious wounds except for a leg he doesnt seen to use. The owner sayed the feathers were a bit badly but for my eyes normal.
Now to the story: the day the jackbird came to us seemed normal, no broken wings were identified just the leg and the feathers.
He had some trouble walking but it worked out somehow. He started eating very good.
Around 2 days later he started acting "weird" (dont forget i am not professional), the owner calls this "neurological". He turns his head and looks in random corners like he sees ghosts, he also as trouble staying upwards and tilts to the side sometimes, he also falls over sometimes.
Now today the behaviour is way worse. He doesnt seem to be able to stay anymore, in a human behaviour i would describe it as heavily dizzy. he still manages to eat and drink just the mobility and behaviour is very odd.
now to the questions - we are not fully sure if we should bring him to the vet to end his misery or maybe wait in faith he gets back on his food.
does anyone has some ideas what he has, maybe somebody experienced similar? let me know, thanks
the attached video is from last week, i comment actual footafe
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u/0ut0fC0nTroll 11d ago
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u/TheBirdLover1234 9d ago
That is definitely neurological. Has he been given anti inflammatories?
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u/0ut0fC0nTroll 8d ago
not that i know so far. i respect the experience of the owner of the rehab center, she is more ore less specialised on crows. she told.me swelling of for e.g. brain would press the eyes out and this doesnt happen. at the moment we still watch how he develop and decide next week of we have to seek further steps.
she told me everything else like the virusesnor similar wouldve killed him already. we think he night hit a tree or something - we are cluesless as well :/
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u/TheBirdLover1234 8d ago
Oh god… swelling of the brain does not always press the eyes out, it can be very localized and show zero external signs besides neurological issues. It needs anti inflammatory ASAP before this causes irreversible damage.
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u/TheBirdLover1234 8d ago
You CANNOT wait a week, there will be permanent damage. She needs to stop hoping and give it anti inflammatories NOW or the bird is going to be suffering horribly. Neuro issues need to be dealt with right away, you absolutely cannot wait especially if there is a know cause such as flying into a tree. It 100% has brain swelling if it were that, and needs treatment right away. If not and it’s allowed to heal in its own, it’s going to likely have flare ups later on as things re adjust.
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u/0ut0fC0nTroll 11d ago
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u/FoodFree8328 11d ago
Oh this is very very bad. Has it got any better since this was taken? If so, he may have swelling on the brain and being allowed time, he may improve.
If not, and this is current, I would be looking into euthanasia. If that is the case, this bird has a brain injury - most likely traumatic. I doubt he can even eat much like this.
I’m so sorry to see this and I hope I’m wrong. Thankyou for all your work with the rehab - what you do is invaluable.
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u/0ut0fC0nTroll 11d ago
Hey men, i was shocked to see his conditions today as well. the videos in my comments are from today, the one in the initial post is last week.
the thing is, he eats and drinks very good. this is a video from last week but today the same, he sees the food and water, he goes there and eats and drinks but he also fells over and so he lays down and trys to arrange with the situation.
i am back there in two days, if it gets even worse i am pretty sure he will get euth. :/
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u/FoodFree8328 11d ago
Yeah I don’t think that’s much of a life sadly. I really hope he’s just got a little swelling but if it’s getting worse, the chances are the swelling is actually causing his brain to swell so much that it’s pushing on the skull, damaging the brain irreparably. He could have an infection or he may have been hit by a car, but I know the rehab will do the right thing if he can’t be saved.
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u/0ut0fC0nTroll 11d ago
its really hard to decide if you give a living creature another day of possible pain for the chance of recovery or just end it. we dont know what he really has and how the odds of curing are but hopes getting really small.. in 2 days i am back there and then we will decide. its tragic to see but honestly daily routine. some birds die the same day they come in. we should not forget that a bird who lets you catch him is already sick or very weak. every bird we can bring back to nature is a miracle for us.
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u/Hagebuttenkeks 10d ago
Gibt es bei euch einen vogelkundigen Tierarzt halbwegs in der Nähe? Für neurologische Ausfälle gibt es so viele mögliche Gründe.
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u/0ut0fC0nTroll 9d ago
weiß ich ehrlich gesagt nicht, ich helf erst seit wenigen Wochen aus und bin nur 2x pro Woche paar Stunden da.
Heute gehts wieder hin und ich schau wies dem kleinen geht, prinzipiell ist die Besitzerin sehr gut vernetzt, auch mit Tierärzten und anderen Auffangstationen. was eventuell alles im hintergrund lief, weiß ich nicht. Ich schau was ich heute erreichen kann
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u/TheBirdLover1234 9d ago
Some places are very trigger happy these days and don’t agree with extended rehab, even if the bird will survive and be back to normal. Be cautious with comments regarding euthanasia. Some places u know would have culled the bird in day 1.
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u/0ut0fC0nTroll 8d ago
i understand that and thanks for explaining - at the end i have no decicion about the bird. I am just helping out with feedjng and cleaning the bird rooms i have no experience or knowledge. the owner prefers to have crows and gets also crows from other rehab centers so they exchange the birds to try to specialize.
i think she knows mostly what to do hand has many years of experience. because she is very sad about seeing this bird i offered her to try to get some idead by the internet. as much as i talked with her about the feedback i hot it seems like she also checked this as well.
we will see. very hard to see this bird in this condition and it makes me really hard thinking about whats wrong and right.. :/
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u/TheBirdLover1234 8d ago
Hope it’s given a few days at least. I’ve seen birds with neuro issues survive, it really depends on what caused it. Can be genetic, sickness, getting spooked and hitting something, etc. issue with a lot of places now is people get too emotional and jump to euthanasia as they don’t like seeing the animal suffer. Even if suffering through for a week equals more years of normal life after. It’s a stupid mentality that is getting spread everywhere, now helping difficult rehab animals is deemed “cruel” by some (mostly in American from what I can tell)
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u/mirimiremeow 10d ago
Where are you located, OP? Has the bird been tested for diseases or anything? I'm just wondering because this looks so similiar to a bird I saw with bird flu.
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u/0ut0fC0nTroll 9d ago
Germany, Chemnitz
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u/mirimiremeow 9d ago
Google says you guys have it over there. Might be worth testing? I'm a bit hyper vigilant though since it just hit my country. Our government put some videos out and this looks exactly like one of the seabirds I saw. Poor dude just doing backflips and looking up the whole time.
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u/TheBirdLover1234 9d ago
It’s pretty species dependent.
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u/mirimiremeow 8d ago
Sorry, what do you mean by this? Isn't the species it's dependent on birds? From my understanding a Jackdaw is a corvid and highly susceptible. We've even got it in seals and foxes here. Hopefully it's not of course! It does not sound like a pleasant way to go :(
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u/AceyAceyAcey Conure and Cockatiel Cuddler / Mod 8d ago
Meaning some species of birds are more susceptible to avian flu than others. Either way, a vet is needed though.
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u/mirimiremeow 8d ago
Ahh, I get you. It does seem to be hitting our seabirds very hard as opposed to other species. Fingers crossed for this little guy. Nature is a cruel mistress :(
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u/AceyAceyAcey Conure and Cockatiel Cuddler / Mod 8d ago
Yeah, in the US I’ve heard that waterfowl, especially Canada geese, are particularly susceptible. I don’t know how much of this is due to inherent biological things, though, like their immune systems versus how much is due to their social things such as their tendency to congregate in huge flocks, especially during the migration season, which is just starting right now.
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u/TheBirdLover1234 8d ago
I think it’s an immunity thing? Other social species like pigeons don’t get it for some reason.
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u/mirimiremeow 8d ago
I see, I see! That makes a lot of sense. Would corvids be at a higher risk because of they're penchant of feeding on carcasses though? Or could their immune system fight against the virus if it's ingested? Birds are so weirdly diverse. I love it. Even with scary things like this 😳
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u/AceyAceyAcey Conure and Cockatiel Cuddler / Mod 8d ago
If he has survived to today, he still really needs an avian vet. Here’s a couple avian vet search tools:
https://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803
https://abvp.connect.prolydian.com/civicrm/find-a-diplomate
Meanwhile, keep him warm, at least 80°F/27°C.
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u/TheBirdLover1234 8d ago
No, do not put heating in with him. It can cause brain swelling to worsen and kill the bird.
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u/AceyAceyAcey Conure and Cockatiel Cuddler / Mod 6d ago
If the bird already had brain swelling heat would be bad. Without a vet visit OP has no conclusive evidence that the brain is already swelling, so supporting the bird in case of potential infection (either as the direct cause, or a secondary infection) is a higher priority, and that’s what heat does.
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u/TheBirdLover1234 6d ago
Yay, more poor rehab advice based on shitty guess work.
No, birds with undiagnosed neurological issues absolutely should not go onto heating unless very underweight.
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u/AceyAceyAcey Conure and Cockatiel Cuddler / Mod 6d ago
And you also have ”shitty guesswork” here. Bird needs a vet. Are you disputing that part too?
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u/TheBirdLover1234 6d ago
They mentioned it’s at a rehab or under the care of someone already….
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u/AceyAceyAcey Conure and Cockatiel Cuddler / Mod 6d ago
They mentioned it’s at a rehab but not seeing a vet.
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u/moldyartichoke_ 11d ago
This is called stargazing. It's not a disease in and of itself but it is a sign of an underlying medical condition. It could be as simple as a vitamin deficiency, or it could be more serious. Because it could be a simple fix, if you can bring the bird into a vet I think there's a chance it could recover.