On Thu, 6 Nov 1997, Tom Foote wrote:

>
> Michael Ellis, one time head of the Olympia Wildlife
> REhab outfit in Montesano advises not to do this as
> the bird will probably go into shock as a result of
> being held...much better to put it in a cardboard box
> with something soft like a towell and close it up
> (darken it..)
>
> anybody corroborate Michael's advice?
>
> Tom
>

Sorry, no...I can only disagree with it. Whenever we rehabbers found or
were brought a crash victim, we not only picked it up, but rehabbed them
and released them. Of course, we *did* give them injections of
deximethisone to reduce the cerebral sweeling around the brain. After a
period of time, they were weaned off the dex, and slowly introduced back
to food and liquids. It was time consuming, but we usually had success,
unless the bird was in *really* bad shape.

And besides, how do you put a bird into a towel-lined box without picking
it up?

Just my .02,

-Jacki