Raised and rescued finch found attacked in cage broken wing please help

Question

Finch(chirpy)attacked   QUESTION: Hi, Ive tried getting local vets to look at my Finch I saved from certain death as a fledgling I got her to the point of being released and she stayed around with the other finches and ate food from her cage I left out for her daily. I came home one day and she was torn up pretty bad her left wing was sticking almost completely out(think airplane wing) from her body. Her head had feathers torn out and a few other peck marks I assume. Ive kept her safe since then and the other wounds are healing. However the wing isnt and seems to be hurting her more. I cant find a vet to look at her in my town (st.George Utah) and its killing me seeing her in pain I feel so bad. If she cant fly again I will keep her but either way if she can or cant I dont know how to help her. Its sticking straight out hurting her:(

ANSWER: I hope you have your little finch separated from the others. It sounds like they did the attack when you found her injured in the cage.
From the way it looks, your little Chirpy will never fly again. I would have to see a better picture to see if you can set the wing yourself or if the risk would be higher than the reward. Either way, she's yours for life. The wing will eventually heal but because it may not be able to be set, it will heal how it looks. This won't necessarily cause pain, but the wing is pretty much useless. You can make life easy on her but putting in lots of perches so she can hop around without having to fly. Get some heat on her (a heat lamp meant for reptiles is an excellent choice) and keep the temperature around 32C until she starts to perk up, then lower it to 30C. The heat will help reduce stress and help her body focus more on healing the injured wing. Covering up three sides of the cage will also help with the stress because only one side is visible and therefore, danger can only come from one direction.
I can not tell if the finch is a wild finch or a store bought. If it is a store bought bird, you can purchase her a buddy to keep her company when her wing has healed. If she is a wild bird, you will have a bit more trouble and should keep her cage close to your other finches so she can hear them and chat with them.
If I could possibly get a picture without the bars, I would be able to see the injury better and be able to tell what type of bird it is and be able to give you better advice.

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After attack close up   QUESTION: This is a closer up picture without bars of chirpys wing. What all can I do to make sure she doesnt get infected? Right now even after the attack she is eating her see, blueberrys and peach slices in abundance and still hopping around. I think she has made her wing a little more worse by getting it in the bars and flapping it. Do I need to try and get it bandaged for a while or what do you recommend doing as apparently In St.George Utah the vets dont care about Finchs (how can you turn away a helpless hurt animal and not even try and give a person advice it makes me feel bad that they must have gotten in lots of trouble for it for some reason in the past) As I asked before even though she seems to be very healthy still and happy do I need to get a heat lamp for her? I have kept her in constant contact with other finches the entire time raising her to be let go again however I dont want her to get attacked by hawks again what should I do? I have amoxicillan at home thats fresh if i put some powder on the fruit would that help keep infection away or what do you suggest I do? Anyway Thanks so much for you concern and again heres a picture closer up of her left wing.

Answer

Don't clip above the l   You will have to take the perches out and try and keep her on the floor of the cage. Clipping the feathers on the injured part will take away some of the weight. You should clip no higher than the black line. This will ease the pain a little and should lessen her flapping. For now you will need to keep Chirpy separated from the other birds and put in a quiet room in the house. This will lessen her stress. I would still get a heat lamp for her. She is puffed out and isn't looking so great. The heat lamp is a must for her if you want to give her a chance at survival.
As long as everything around remains clean, I wouldn't worry too much about an infection. However, I would recommend putting some polysporin on the injury once a day until it's healed.
I do not recommend bandaging it at all. Because of how it broke, you would more than likely make the injury worse by attempting to bandage it. Just keep it clean and add polysporin and it should heal on it's own just fine.
Unfortunately, finches are just too small for vets to work on. So there is little they can do anyway. Avian vets can only help when it comes to finches with infections and diseases that can be treated with a little bit of medicine. Bird bones are just too small for vets to work with so I wouldn't be too mad at the vets, it's not entirely their fault that they can't do anything to help your little guy.
Your little bird will never fly again so you have no choice but to keep her. Normally I don't recommend housing wild birds because they often die in captivity but there is no other option here. If you release her, she WILL die.
I will warn you now, finches with broken bones don't usually last long. The stress of the injury is just too much for them and they just don't make it. So prepare yourself for the fact that she may not last long enough for her wing to heal. I'm not saying that this is for certain. I have had birds with broken bones live long happy lives; I am just saying that there is a high chance of death.