Hello, we have a family of butcher birds that have made friends with our unit block. In the last few months, a young butcher bird has become a regular fixture - it has an injured eye - it's not missing, but swollen and the eyelid often sweeps over it. We have determined that the bird is blind in the eye as it must crane its head around to see what's on its left side. We have observed that it's not good at hunting because of the lack of vision on one side. Our neighbours are feeding it raw kangaroo, chicken and raw ground beef. It's quite friendly (like its family) but a bit of a loner.
Should we contact a vet to see what can be done for the eye, and should we keep feeding it? I realise there may be a wide degree of opinions expressed in the comments, but I can say that we (all neighbours) would rather keep the bird comfortable and healthy than the alternative.
My opinion would be to let nature take its course. Unless you can be referred to a wildlife friendly vet, the likely outcome will euthanasia. If you check the link below, you should find a wildlife rescue service near your area, who might give better advice Artificial feeding, while in the short term may help the bird survive, its long term future will make it reliant on human intervention, which may not always be available (neighbours may move on etc.). It could be a simple fix (perhaps a foreign object and antibiotics?)
http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/forum/Bird-rescuerehabilitation/What-do-if-you-find-injuredsick-bird-check-here-first
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Many thanks, Dale. I'll wait and see how it does - we haven't seen it today so perhaps nature has taken its course.