I played the trumpet and French Horn in school. Gave my trumpet to a neighbor boy who wanted to play in school. Never had my own French Horn.... back in my day the school supplied one. Wish I had one now.
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Help Needed - Rescued House Sparrow Health Concerns
- Thread starter raluca
- Start date
- Joined
- 4/30/17
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- Real Name
- Pearl
My dads a trumpet player, and of course he collects different trumpet like instruments to play at gigs. Many antique trumpets, Flugelhorns, Eufoniums, pocket trumpets, french horns and more at this house! Honestly, most of the instruments names sound like they came straight out of a Dr. Suess book!
@Featheredfuffs
Honestly, most of the instruments names sound like they came straight out of a Dr. Suess book!
This cracked me up! I needed that!!!
Honestly, most of the instruments names sound like they came straight out of a Dr. Suess book!
This cracked me up! I needed that!!!
I played a flugelhorn in marching band in high school. When I tell people that they look at me like I made it up.
@iamwhoiam : hi - so sorry for the late reply, I got down with a terrible flu this week and haven't been myself.
Oliver is pretty much the same as the last report, but still he has me worried. This week, if he falls during the night from his perch, he will resign to sleeping on the cage floor. Not sure if this is good or bad. The vet said to continue with the vitamins and cut down on the diet, he thinks that there are too many calories for the activity that he is doing - he wants me to stop giving him the insect based pate or the fruit based one, but more millet based seeds and more vegetables (rocket salad and carrots). He recommended a new mix of seeds for wild birds, should be here soon, it's shipped locally (this brand Lillebro - Top quality food for wild birds
I am still waiting for the Mazuri Insectivore, but that was expected, as it ships from the States.
He hated his new platform, of course, and after half of day of strong resisting and refusing to come for food, I gave up and took it out
In the meantime, I managed to get an appointment for this next Monday with the associate dean of the Veterinary Medicine University - he is specialized with exotic and wild birds, he's the best that I could find. I am just trying to get a second opinion for Oliver, I mean I really need to know we tried to give him the best chance there is.
All my best to Spee
Oliver is pretty much the same as the last report, but still he has me worried. This week, if he falls during the night from his perch, he will resign to sleeping on the cage floor. Not sure if this is good or bad. The vet said to continue with the vitamins and cut down on the diet, he thinks that there are too many calories for the activity that he is doing - he wants me to stop giving him the insect based pate or the fruit based one, but more millet based seeds and more vegetables (rocket salad and carrots). He recommended a new mix of seeds for wild birds, should be here soon, it's shipped locally (this brand Lillebro - Top quality food for wild birds
I am still waiting for the Mazuri Insectivore, but that was expected, as it ships from the States.
He hated his new platform, of course, and after half of day of strong resisting and refusing to come for food, I gave up and took it out
In the meantime, I managed to get an appointment for this next Monday with the associate dean of the Veterinary Medicine University - he is specialized with exotic and wild birds, he's the best that I could find. I am just trying to get a second opinion for Oliver, I mean I really need to know we tried to give him the best chance there is.
All my best to Spee
Familyof12
Rollerblading along the road
Sparrows eat a lot of protein. By that I mean bugs. Can you get your hands on some mealworms? Get that protein going through him. We found a sparrow and we fed him mushed dog food with some other stuff now I can't remember until complete health. No seeds, no bread, no nothing but dog food (we had some hard kibble I put in warm water and spoon fed). They need lots and lots of protein. Way more than our parrots. Try giving him soft canned dog food mushed.
If he is jumping, it may be signs he wants to try his hand at flying. Don't stop this behavior. If you can put him on the top of your couch and see if he wants to fly. The baby sparrows (we've rescued at least four in our yard, plus hummingbirds, crows, seagulls, etc.), when ready for flight will just jump. They look crazy but it's an instinct.
Thank you for saving this sparrow. My understanding is 3 out of 5 don't make it to adulthood and reproduce. We have a huge California Pine in front that the birds love and there must be millions of them up there. Because the pine doesn't ever lose it's leaves even in winter, the wild birds love it. I feed them with dried metalwork cakes and seed. The mealworms are gone in a minute while the seed lingers. Wild birds will eat anything to survive but they need a lot of fat and energy. That comes in protein and bugs for them.
If he is jumping, it may be signs he wants to try his hand at flying. Don't stop this behavior. If you can put him on the top of your couch and see if he wants to fly. The baby sparrows (we've rescued at least four in our yard, plus hummingbirds, crows, seagulls, etc.), when ready for flight will just jump. They look crazy but it's an instinct.
Thank you for saving this sparrow. My understanding is 3 out of 5 don't make it to adulthood and reproduce. We have a huge California Pine in front that the birds love and there must be millions of them up there. Because the pine doesn't ever lose it's leaves even in winter, the wild birds love it. I feed them with dried metalwork cakes and seed. The mealworms are gone in a minute while the seed lingers. Wild birds will eat anything to survive but they need a lot of fat and energy. That comes in protein and bugs for them.
iamwhoiam
Ripping up the road
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Adult sparrows do need protein but they are mainly granivores. As babies, though, they need more protein and then it's great to give them a cat food mush like the recipe on Starling Talk. You may want to try a little bit of that as well as continuing his seed diet and the millet. Adults eat more protein/bugs, etc. during the breeding season so they will be ready to feed the babies. As for seeds, finch seed is the way to go, IMO. I would give him a bit of egg white now and then and also see if he will chew on the cuttlebone. You may have to put it up to his beak. Hope things go well at the vet's and that Oliver will be OK. BTW, what do his droppings look like? Being a bit lazy and not looking back at previous message, but do you leave a night light on for him?
Spee is about the same although he was chatting again yesterday. Still not going into his bowl on his own but I've seen him lift himself up to eat out of his food dish and get his water and also move around to get the millet.
Wishing the best for little Oliver!
Spee is about the same although he was chatting again yesterday. Still not going into his bowl on his own but I've seen him lift himself up to eat out of his food dish and get his water and also move around to get the millet.
Wishing the best for little Oliver!
Familyof12
Rollerblading along the road
iamwhoiam is correct. If you have a baby sparrow, the best is to get dog food or cat food. if it is hard kibble, soak it in water until it is mushy and add a bit of the egg yolk to it (I boiled eggs) and feed it to Oliver until he is weaned. Sparrows found in the wild, especially if traumatized may wean late. Continue to feed this mixture and gradually add seed on the side until Oliver seems interested.
We've always let our sparrows go back to the wild after we find them. We usually keep taking them outside until one day they just fly away. I know a lot of them come and visit as we always put wild bird seed in front and because we also keep chickens, they're fed well, especially the scratch we feed our chickens. The birds keep the bugs down in our yard so we don't get mosquitos. Plus we have year round humming birds who feast on them if any little critters are around. We've saved a couple of hummingbirds too. That was harder.
We've always let our sparrows go back to the wild after we find them. We usually keep taking them outside until one day they just fly away. I know a lot of them come and visit as we always put wild bird seed in front and because we also keep chickens, they're fed well, especially the scratch we feed our chickens. The birds keep the bugs down in our yard so we don't get mosquitos. Plus we have year round humming birds who feast on them if any little critters are around. We've saved a couple of hummingbirds too. That was harder.
iamwhoiam
Ripping up the road
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@Familyof12 Thanks for helping the sparrows. Spee could never be released. In addition to being imprinted on humans he also can't fly well or perch due to his damaged legs/feet and would not have made it in the wild.
Baby sparrows do need calcium and I added a little bit of crushed up Tums in Spee's formula as per the Starling Talk recipe. That recipe was the way to go, IMO. They do recommend using the cat food mix when the sparrow is an adult but I went with the Insectivore. They also recommend putting the seed mix and dry cat food mix on the bottom of the cage/enclosure. Sparrows are very opportunistic and will eat almost anything. Spee is very picky, though, when it comes to vegetables.
Saved hummingbirds...wow. Did you bring them in your house to care for them?
Baby sparrows do need calcium and I added a little bit of crushed up Tums in Spee's formula as per the Starling Talk recipe. That recipe was the way to go, IMO. They do recommend using the cat food mix when the sparrow is an adult but I went with the Insectivore. They also recommend putting the seed mix and dry cat food mix on the bottom of the cage/enclosure. Sparrows are very opportunistic and will eat almost anything. Spee is very picky, though, when it comes to vegetables.
Saved hummingbirds...wow. Did you bring them in your house to care for them?
Familyof12
Rollerblading along the road
Yes, we've brought them in and fed them sugar water through a syringe. Every hour!!! We did it for three days once. I was so tired. We let them all go and don't keep them but we've never found one that was too injured. We had one that looked like her leg was broken and we took her to our avian vet, and they said it was okay. They didn't even charge me for it. (I do take all 8 birds there for an annual that is $130 each time but they didn't have to.). We fed her/him and let them go. One is a permanent resident and this is his/her second year in our yard. I believe his/her babies drink out of our feeders which we keep year round and so do my neighbors, plus everyone here has flowering fruiting trees.
Once a hummingbird nest fell out of our bougainvilleas and we scooped up the babies (all two alive), fixed the nest that had fallen and shoved them back in and watched. The mommy came back, didn't even notice that the nest had fallen and all was good. Our back hedges which we only trim but never ever cut back has thousands of birds and in the morning and evening you can hear yourself speak if you are out there. Our birds have picked up their calls. That cracks me up. They yell out to each other through the window. I wonder what they say to each other.
Once a hummingbird nest fell out of our bougainvilleas and we scooped up the babies (all two alive), fixed the nest that had fallen and shoved them back in and watched. The mommy came back, didn't even notice that the nest had fallen and all was good. Our back hedges which we only trim but never ever cut back has thousands of birds and in the morning and evening you can hear yourself speak if you are out there. Our birds have picked up their calls. That cracks me up. They yell out to each other through the window. I wonder what they say to each other.
iamwhoiam
Ripping up the road
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Mayor of the Avenue
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Really wonderful of you to have cared for those babies and been willing to feed them hourly. Spee had to be fed every 2 hours or so and then would sleep through the night. No syringe, though, just placed the formula on wooden coffee stirrers, tapped his beak and he would eat. When I found Spee he was on the road into where I live. Saw him while I was walking my dog. At first I thought it was just an Azalea flower that had fallen and shriveled and then I saw him moving around. I went into my house and got some paper towels and moved him off the road onto the grass, hoping mom or dad would claim him. I watched awhile and when no one came to scoop him up I went back in the house and got a small tupperware type bowl, lined it with paper towels, back outside, grabbed him up and put him into the bowl. Tried helping wild baby birds before but never had much luck. I think it was day 4 when I noticed his legs were not growing correctly. Brought him to the birds' vet who diagnosed him with some type of cartilage disease and recommended euthanizing him. Took him to the holistic vet who dismissed her diagnosis and splinted the leg that was growing upward. He didn't charge me either which was really nice of him. So happy I didn't listen to the first vet (now ex-vet but not because of her recommendation).
Where did you keep the baby hummingbirds?
Where did you keep the baby hummingbirds?
