For swifts with the following injuries, experience shows that only euthanasia remains:
Swifts that show defects of the forelimb, shoulder girdle, body or skull with hopeless prognosis,
Swifts with traumatic or otherwise caused loss of vision in one or both eyes,
Swifts with irreparable defects of the large plumage,
Swifts with soft tissue injuries that preclude restitutio ad integrum.
To achieve deep anaesthesia, the affected patient is injected subcutaneously with 160-200 mg/kg body weight Ketamine hydrochloride. With intramuscular injection, 80-100 mg/kg body weight Ketamine hydrochloride is sufficient, but the birds react much less painfully to subcutaneous application in the knee fold than to intramuscular injection in the breast muscle.
Subsequently, 10-20 mg Embutramide ("T 61") is administered intravenously, intracardially or intrapulmonally. If euthanasia cannot be performed immediately, adequate analgesia (Meloxicam p.o.) must be provided for the injured bird.
A swift must never be euthanised without prior anaesthesia!