Moonlight was found struggling on Moonlight Beach in Encinitas. He was young, grounded due to a wing injury and very thin. The Good Samaritan called our friends at The Shore Sanctuary, and they called us.
It was clear that Moonlight was in pain and would need immediate vet attention. We brought him to Dr. G at Feathers and Fur Animal Hospital, where his x-ray showed no breaks, only a dislocated shoulder. His wing was wrapped and we hoped he might heal correctly enough for release. We do not release ferals who cannot fly – they would have no chance of survival in the wild.
Unfortunately Moonlight’s wing did not heal enough for release. This is not uncommon with shoulder dislocations, as bird shoulders are much more complex than human shoulders. It was decided that Moonlight would become a permanent Moose’s Flock Sanctuary resident.
In the aviary, Moonlight did pretty well except he kept tripping on his wing. We tried taping it various ways and he always got his foot caught under the tape. This started causing lacerations along the inside shoulder of the droopy wing. He was quiet and seemed depressed – it was clear he was surviving but not thriving. After consulting Dr G, we elected to amputate the wing to give him more freedom of movement and hopefully more confidence as well.
The amputation went perfectly and Moonlight recovered quickly. Back in the aviary, he was a new bird. He gained weight despite losing a wing and his confidence soared. He is fully acclimated to being a one winged bird and he loves pestering pigeons twice his size and bathing every single day without fail. He is such a character and we are so lucky to have him here at Moose’s Flock.
