Last evening a Siskin on a feeder was startled by a clap of thunder and flew
into one of my front windows and bounced onto the deck. It really looked
bad but didn't appear to have a broken neck. It was cool with rain coming
on so after watching 20 to 30 minutes of twitching (the bird not me) I tried
a new approach. I heated up a wash cloth in the microwave (10 seconds each
on 2 sides) and carefully draped it around the fallen bird. The results
were immediate and dramatic; the Siskin was on its feet within 10 seconds.
It sat there until the cloth was cool. I rewarmed it and on second
application normal head movements appeared. Upon third rewarming it flew
off. Now I know all this may have accomplished nothing, but it is also
possible that exposure to cool wind and rain would have finished the victim
off. Keeping the dog, cat, and kids away was probably equally important.
Any thoughts, is the gentle application of moderate dry heat of benefit to
impact victims without fractures?

Charles Vaughan
cev at rocket.com
Woodinville, WA