Hi Rusty,
It must be much too late now, but I thought I should make a note in case you or anyone else has a similar situation again. You hopefully noted that it takes a few weeks for an adult bird to regrow tail feathers lost outside its normal molt cycle. However, an otherwise healthy bird does not need to be rehabilitated for such a reason. They can fly and do very well on their own. If yours was unable to fly, then it likely had some sort of minor wing injury or lost enough flight feathers that it impeded flight. Tail loss is a much more common occurrence that you might think, and even baby birds do just fine when they leave the nest with only tiny stubs of tail feathers. Bird banding biologists regularly see adult birds like robins, blue jays, catbirds, sparrows and others with no tails. They are usually lost due to an encounter with a predator.
I hope your finch recovered and made it safely back to the wilds. I'm not sure where you live, and I know there are many areas without licensed wildlife rehabilitators. It can be tempting to rehab birds yourself (it's so nice to see them up close!), but if there is a rehabber in your area, they have the ability to handle this sort of thing. Did you know that it is actually against the law in most places for individuals to keep wildlife?
Sorry, I don't mean to be critical. I know that anyone who does this has the best intentions. Best human intentions can often be very bad for a wild animal. That said, it sounds like you were doing the right sort of thing, and I really hope you were able to get him up and flying again!
I'm a professional, but I'm no expert.
