Ever had a sparrow hawk in desperate need of some warm fluids but it's stressed out and moving, and restaining would cause more harm to inject SC?
In practice we have found that placing a mug of boiling water (obviously not so close the bird could get to it) works really well, the steam from the water is inhaled and generally is just enough to give the bird the basic fluids it needs so it can function normally and then eat. Doing this two or three times per day for a couple of days is generally all thats needed.
This tip was passed to me years ago by the late Mr M Corner MRCVS.
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Thanks for all of your comments Katielou - this tip is based more for the wild fractious birds of prey and for situations where handling the bird (quite often when you are on your own) is dangerous - obviously placing an IV line would be the best approach but when there is high risk to staff, high cost (which is covered by the practice) and no wildlife hospitals/ exotic specialists for 40 miles or open at 3am and it can just help enough to save a life.