Pet sparrows?

[malimarie]

Hey! so i've been trying to conduct thorough research on sparrows as pets...
The 90 year old neighbor handed me a baby and told me it was a white finch from his aviary that the parents abandoned, it is not white, and it is definitely a sparrow. it is about 2 and a half weeks old and I'm thinking we will probably keep him. so I have no clue what the proper setup and enrichment he may need is. I also don't know if I should feed seed or do like a finch pellet.. has anyone owned a sparrow before?? Also need some help with flight training, he should be fledging about now so... he is on Kaytee exact and it seems to be feeding nicely.

Please note, I am not new to birds. I used to have IRN's, conures, and parakeets.

 

[expressmailtome]

Please keep in mind that if you live in the United States, that any native/migratory species of birds are illegal to keep under federal law. Now, if it is a Java sparrow, that is different. They are not native or migratory through this country. However, even they are illegal in many places as they have been deemed invasive.

 

[Toy]

In the USA European House Sparrows & Starlings are also not protected species & are considered invasive, as they kill, destroy eggs & over take nests of our native song birds.

 

[sunnysmom]

Where do you think the neighbor got him if a sparrow? Maybe contact a wild life rehab center and see if it would take him?

 

[Dartman]

If you think it's the non protected species and you raise it it will imprint on you as moma and probably become great companion. We raised a house finch we rescued from a crow and she was a great flock mate and a friend.
I don't think they are allowed either but the vet was fine when we were going to bring her in so it's up to you.

 

[malimarie]

@sunnysmom The aviary was an outdoor aviary, I took a look at it and there is a spot where a sparrow could get in and lay. I could see a sparrow going in there for food and then nesting..

 

[SelvaVerde]

Weird that your neighbor would present a sparrow as his own bred bird.

But anyway, keep in mind that sparrows complete the fledging process on the ground. Baby sparrows on the ground, by themselves, are quite the norm. Unfortunately, often people don't know better and take the bird thinking it was abandoned. Meanwhile, the parents are out foraging and only return briefly to feed the baby and they're off again. More often than not, the best course of action is to put the baby back where it was.

 

[SelvaVerde]

" Please keep in mind that if you live in the United States, any native/migratory species of birds are illegal to keep under federal law. "

Under the current administration, which is mass-firing Fish and Wildlife employees who enforce this law, I'm not so sure how much it matters anymore. They've articulated their goal of abolishing this law in the past.

 

[malimarie]

I am in the US, in florida, they are 1 of the invasive species

 

[malimarie]

Weird that your neighbor would present a sparrow as his own bred bird.

But anyway, keep in mind that sparrows complete the fledging process on the ground. Baby sparrows on the ground, by themselves, are quite the norm. Unfortunately, often people don't know better and take the bird thinking it was abandoned. Meanwhile, the parents are out foraging and only return briefly to feed the baby and they're off again. More often than not, the best course of action is to put the baby back where it was.

I am aware of the fledging process, I feed the birds in my yard and fledglings like to come up and peck my boots