We found a baby bird out on the lawn and everytime I threw bread out it’d open it’s beak. I didn’t give it any. There are no trees around, but two adult birds but we can’t tell if they’re the parents because they won’t feed it. It ran across the road so my brother led it over there safely but it tried coming back to our side. W e put it back on the other side and all it does is sit there and chirp chirp chirp. What should I do, the adult birds are gone, i’m afraid it’ll get runover or starve.
Call the SPCA or Wildlife and Parks Recreation Department and see if they can take in the baby birds. I am almost positive that they can take the little birds of your hands and care for them properly.
http://www.savethedoves.org/mbta.html
Report Spam/Abuse
Hand Raising Baby Birds
If you decide to try raising a baby bird yourself, here’s what you’re in for:
nestling must be fed every 1420 minutes from sunrise to sunset
an adult robin makes about 400 trips every day to feed its young
if the nestling is a few days old, it will take several weeks before it can be released
adult birds teach their young where to look for food and how to avoid predators – things impossible for humans to do.
You will need to provide a proper diet, clean suitable living quarters, and fresh water every day. Still, despite your best efforts, most hand-raised birds will die. This is the fate of most young birds in the natural world, where 9095% perish before they’re old enough to breed themselves. Call your local vet with bird experience for advice.
Despite the fact that different birds eat different foods, the diet of the young is remarkably standard. Like human babies, birds need protein and lots of it to help them grow at such an incredibly fast rate. For most land birds (robins, cardinals, bluejays, swallows, and woodpeckers) the basic food is meat. Raw kidney, liver, or canned dog food have been used with good results.
Preparation of the meat depends somewhat upon the size of the bird – if it is very small, then the pieces of the meat must also be small. As the bird grows the size of the pieces can be increased. You may cut the meat into strips when fresh and place it in small packages in the freezer to be thawed and used as needed.
Vary this diet with the white of hard-boiled egg cut into strips; and mash the yolk with milk to a thin paste. Raisins soaked in water and drained when plump or dog biscuits soaked in milk may be given to young birds.
Another excellent diet can be provided by mixing the following formula:
1/4 cup lean ground beef 1 teaspoon cottage cheese 1/4 cup canned dog food 1/4 hard-boiled egg yolk 1 teaspoon sand or fine dirt 1 teaspoon dried turtle food
Keep out enough of the mixture at room temperature for a couple of feedings, refrigerate enough for the day. The remainder can be frozen for later use. As the bird grows, gradually add finely cut worms, grasshoppers, crickets, and other insects. A good source of insect can be obtained by collecting the insects beneath an electronic “bug zapper.” Fruit-eating birds can be fed grapes and berries.
Feeding Baby Birds
The food should be at room temperature and fed to the bird by hand or with dull tweezers or forceps. Place one hand over the bird’s back and wings, raise the head into an erect position, and tap the base of the bill lightly to signal that it’s time for feeding. Drop a small amount of food into the gaping mouth. If the bird will not open its mouth, gently force it open. Drop the food well into the throat, being careful not to puncture skin in the throat. Do not force feed liquids. Feed the bird until it’s full and no longer gapes. Keep handling to a minimum.
Housing Your Charge
Nestling should be kept in a warm shoe box. Line the box with paper towels that can be changed frequently, and place in a warm place. Keep the bird out of drafts to avoid respiratory infections. Sick or injured birds should be taken to a veterinarian. As the bird grows, a larger cage will be needed. Old window screens can be fashioned into an aviary.
Releasing the Baby Bird
Test fly your bird indoors; a screened-in porch is ideal. As soon as the bird can fly and gain altitude it can be released back to the wild. The shorter the bird is in captivity, the better. Release your bird in an area with abundant natural food where you’ve seen other birds of the same species.
A Warning
It is against the law to keep wild birds in captivity without proper state and federal permits. Call your nearest game warden or conservation officer for advice before caring for wildlife. Licensed wildlife rehabilitators have been trained to care for injured, sick, or abandoned birds. For information on becoming a licensed wildlife rehabilitator contact your state fish and game agency or write the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council, 4437 Central Place, Suite D-4, Suisun, CA 94585.
http://www.savethedoves.org/mbta.html
Report Spam/Abuse
Your bird probably either fell from the nest trying to fly, or it got pushed out because it was sick. After it has left the nest, its parents are not going to be interested in it anymore–especially if you have touched it and scented it.
You can try feeding the bird ground-up worms or something like that, but you’ll have to feed it until it learns to fly and to eat for itself. It’s really pretty difficult to teach a bird what it hasn’t been able to learn before leaving the nest, though. Add to the difficulty that birds are often covered in lice, and you have a tough job on your hands!
http://www.savethedoves.org/mbta.html
Report Spam/Abuse
Unless you live in a super progressive state, the Humane Society, SPCA, Zoo, etc, will NOT take a bird. A bird rehabber will tell you this: Put it back where you found it. The parents are waiting for you to leave it alone so they can care for it. If there are shrubs or bushes in your yard, put it there so it is not in the wide open. It is fledging, i.e., learning to fly. A baby bird spends 2-3 days on the ground learning to fly UP. The parents care for it all this time. It is a perilous time in a bird’s young life but, evidently, most make it to a high enough branch to be safe and live a good life.
So – do not interfere with Mother Nature. When we humans do that it most often ends in the death of the creature we intended to help. Blessed be.
http://www.savethedoves.org/mbta.html
Report Spam/Abuse