i had a nest of 3 baby cardinals in my backyard. the nest collapsed in some bad weather. the 3 baby birds scattered across our lawn. one died of indigestion problems. the other is alive and being fed by the mother cardinal. but the last one is hidden in the bushes and the mother has not spotted it and has not fed it. we know not to touch the baby bird. but we know that its starving and needs to be fed. what should we do?
*please do not answer this question if u are at all unsure of your answer* **thank u**
chew up worms and spit them in it’s mouth, or mash them up and drop in tiny bits if you must.
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If the mother is feeding the one baby, she is probably feeding the other baby, you just aren’t seeing her doing it. Or you are staying too close to the other baby, and preventing her from feeding it.
If you really believe that the mother has abandoned the baby, call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. These people have the training and the resources to feed and care for the baby bird.
Do not take the baby bird yourself and try to feed it. If you don’t know how to do it, you can injure the baby. Also, native birds are protected in the US, and you need the proper permits in order to keep one.
former volunteer – Avian Rehabilitation Center
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it depends where u are from i guess…but in eastern usa the carinals eat worms that the mother brings back..unfortunatly she will abandon the baby because it can not fly yet…she probably knows it there. But she wont feed the nest and the one on the ground.. if i were u i would put it back in the nest if u can reach, but then u have the chance of the parents abandoning the nest all together. Or you can go get it and bring it in..feed it worms(smooshed up) and keep it warm..eventually it will get big enough to fly.
former volunteer – Avian Rehabilitation Center
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just take a towel or napkin and place it back in the nest. if you do intend to handfeed it it will be ALOT of work.
former volunteer – Avian Rehabilitation Center
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Put the baby back where the mother is feeding the other one.
Just touching the bird is not going to keep the mother from feeding it. If the baby bird is where the other one is, then the mother will feed it unless it is injured. If you can secure the next back up and put both birds back in it, then that would be better.
If all this is impossible then you can feed the bird small pieces of dog food soaked in water. I raised an abandoned nest of sparrows that way. This is not the ideal situaiton. The Ideal one is to get the mother to feed it.
former volunteer – Avian Rehabilitation Center
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Leave it alone…the mother will find it. This is a normal process for fledglings, they stay hidden in scrubs, grass, etc. and beg for the parents to find and feed them. You need to watch continually to see if the parents are coming to feed. Keep in mind, they will sometimes be very secretive as they do not want to attract predators to their chicks. Also, if you are anywhere near the babies,,,they will not come. You need to watch from afar where the birds cannot see you. If the parents are truly not feeding (keep in mind it may take a while between feedings as the parents have to gather food not only for the babies but for themselves as well) you need to get the bird to a local wildlife rehab.
ornithologist (bird biologist)
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