poorly blackbird

[chr1stina]

this morning i was lookin out of the window and there was a small blackbird but brown so i assumed it was a female if im correct. i watched it walk around the garden and noticed it was limping so got some bread and threw it for it but it didnt seem interested. i wondered if it had any water so i got a plastic tub and filled it with water. i went outside and walked slowly towards the bird but it didnt move, so i tried to get a bit closer to show it the water incase it was thirsty. i looked at its poor leg and it was awful it had no claws on one and it was so sore. i wanted to catch it so approached it slowly and i nearly got it but it went under the neighbours gate and i lost it. di just wanted to know if it will be ok and will a bird adapt to having just the one leg because i was thinking it might die of thirst or starvation or get eaten by a cat? also, if i do catch it sometime shold i take it to the rspca or look after it my self?xthankx

[B00]

It more than likely will survive, they are very robust. If you do catch it, it'll more than likely die of fright on you anyway. The RSPCA will do nothing by the way, which is normal for them.

[chr1stina]

thank you for your answer.....i guessed the rspca would do nothing...thats what they always do they dont really care. i will make sure theres some bread in my garden and some water so it doesnt starve thank you :-)

[RATTER15]

Only use brown bread and make sure it is soaked, white bread can kill birds when it swells up inside of them!!

[chr1stina]

i didnt know that! thank you so much!!!!!!

[burnhal]

Dont slate the RSPCA- they DO care- a lot. But look at what their description is- Prevention of cruelty to animals- at which they do a cracking job. Looking after a blackbird with a sore leg doesnt exactly come under that job description.
Having said that- birds tend to get around pretty well with one leg. It will either survive or it wont. Putting out bread and water isnt going to make a whole lot of difference at this time of year- there is stacks of natural food about and we are not exactly short of water! Blackbirds much prefer fruit, worms and the like- and they do like the seed that spills from my feeders. Anything you put down is just as likely to be eaten by other visitors to the garden. But if you want a lot of visitors by all means feed all year round- I do- and water is always welcome in dry times. And tidy gardens are not welcoming to wildlife (thats my excuse anyway!!)

[burnhal]

And the white bread swelling up is an absolute myth!!! Bread is more digestible soaked - brown is better than white purely on nutritional value but even brown bread alone is not that nutritional. Read http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/helpingbirds/fee ding/whatfood/scraps.asp for more info.
The things you should avoid feeding are uncooked rice and dessicated cocnut. These DO swell when in contact with moisture- eg inside a bird!!