When to treat subcutaneous emphysema (ruptured air sac) in wild finch?

[horselove]

Yesterday I found a finch (adult female) unable to properly fly but otherwise appearing healthy, I kept her on the porch for safety and monitoring, and this morning she had a large air bubble, approximately the size of her skull, on the back left of her neck. This evening the bubble had expanded so bare skin is visible on the right as well, and when i picked her up for closer examination i could feel that the underside of her chest is now essentially one large bubble. She is still active, eating and chirping, though her left wing has been steadily pushed further and further from its normal resting position over the course of the day. I haven't been able to find much info about when to treat or not treat this, and while I'd like to get her flying back to her mate asap, there is of course a risk of infection if I puncture the skin to let the air out. I also cannot be sure if the difficulty flying has another cause, in which case she would need time for her wing to heal anyway. Picture is from this morning.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you contact a wildlife rehabber in your area? That would be best.

 

[horselove]

Can you contact a wildlife rehabber in your area? That would be best.

I have given an injured bird to one before, but assuming no other injury I can care for the emphysema better simply because they're stretched so thin

 

[Wyorp Rock]

A ruptured air sac would affect the ability to fly...

 

[horselove]

A ruptured air sac would affect the ability to fly...

Yeah it's clearly pushing on the wing I'm just not certain if there's a separate musculoskeletal issue that would need fixing by someone who knows how to set wings. If it's only the air sac affecting flight I can keep her fed and safe until it heals and I can either let the air out or wait for it to reabsorb enough that she can fly

 

[horselove]

Update: this morning, the air bubble had expanded to cover the abdomen with a new bald spot on her belly and she was panting when handled (previously had only been breathing a little heavily), so we punctured the neck and belly with a hypodermic needle, and most of her skin is now actually touching the muscle again. managed to avoid hitting any blood vessels but she appeared to be struggling for maybe twenty minutes after, just sitting and breathing heavily. manually pushed the last visible bubble down from the underside of her neck to under her right wing (couldn't get it to the puncture without applying more pressure than I wanted to), and she is now active again. Left wing is still sitting crooked. Pictures: after photo of the neck, abdomen before and during draining.