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What to do if you find a baby bird

jamie

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Here are some helpful links:

What to do if you Find a Baby Bird — Audubon Society of Portland


What To Do When You Find a Baby Bird

What To Do if You Find a Baby Bird | birding .com


I think there are some other threads on this topic on the forum and I'll try to dig them up :D


edited to add Danitas link:
 
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JLcribber

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Great links Jamie.
 

Renae

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Very helpful. Thank you for posting them.:)
 

expressmailtome

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That is great information to have!

Matt
 

HeatherM74

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Ok, I totally should have noticed this thread a few days ago. I had a baby barn swallow on my porch. We could not find a nest. Observed it for a bit, nothing. No feathers. Naked little thing. It was last Saturday evening when we found it on my wicker couch, and I'm happy to say I followed these instructions. :) I kept thinking, what would they say to do over at AA? Crud. First, I knocked on the 2nd and 3rd floor doors to see if they had barn swallow nests with babies in them in the rafters of their balconies. Nothing. I called everyone. Iowa DNR, Des Moines animal rescue league, could not find anyone open. Finally called an emergency vet who said they don't take wild life, but Iowa State University small animal ICU does. Oh heck, what's a 45 minutes drive between friends? I called them, they ok'd giving it some baby bird formula (that I have for my baby lovebird), then drove it up, handed it over to a nurse who oo'd and ah'd over it. Then drove 45 minutes back home, hoping the little guy would make it.

thanks for these links just in case something like this happens again - hoping it won't.
 

LovieLuvr

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Great links...I worked at a wild bird rescue and it is so important for people to understand what to do when you find a baby bird (or any other injured bird). I had a lady come in with a Barn Owl, but she placed it on her lap as she drove to the rescue. She picked it up when it was unconscious (it was hit by a car), and placed it on her lap. The owl woke up mid-drive and attacked her (out of fear of course). Let's just say she needed alot of medical attention. :(
 

Zara

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Helpful link. The second 2 don´t work anymore.

My dad found a nest in the floor in his garden at the end of July in northern England, one chick dead, one survived. The nest was smashed and completely demolished because of Gail force winds and heavy rain. He took the baby inside and wrapped it in a towel and called me asking for help.
I managed to find a recipe for him to make an oat based food. And he fed it with a jar and a glove over it so the baby could poke its beak in. He looked after it all weekend and dropped it off at the RSPCA when he could.
He did well for someone that has never looked after a bird. He held my chicks once when they were 4 weeks old, that's the only interaction with birds he had.
IMG-20180728-WA0015.jpg IMG-20180729-WA0002.jpg
 
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faislaq

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Thanks for the bump and the tip that only the first link still works. :thumbsup:

Kudos to your dad taking care of that baby and thank you for helping him! :grouphug3:
 

Dartman

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We rescued a baby female house finch from a crow on the roof at our old house, she and her sibling were on his dinner menu. He killed the one but dropped her when we yelled at him and I was able to hit her with a hose till she rolled into the rain gutter and I scooped her up and we dried her off with a hair dryer on low. Went to the pet store and got baby parrot formula and started feeding her. Her wing was hurt and no way to know or tell where she came from, she couldn't fly, and was barely feathered. We usually fed her every few hours or so and luckily she could sleep all night. The first morning she looked like a dead ball of feathers but when I poked her she opened her eyes and beak and started screaming for food. We just kept stuffing her full till she was quiet and would fall asleep. She imprinted and bonded with us so she got to grow up and stay with us. She loved her cage, toys, and sang the song of her people. She learned to fly and loved us in her way and constantly stole our food and drink. She made 1 and a half years she wouldn't have and we miss our little flying flea. If you can find their nest and they are ok return them, if not get them to a place that can but we couldn't give up on Beeper and figured once she bonded release wasn't a good option.
 

expressmailtome

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Helpful link. The second 2 don´t work anymore.

My dad found a nest in the floor in his garden at the end of July in northern England, one chick dead, one survived. The nest was smashed and completely demolished because of Gail force winds and heavy rain. He took the baby inside and wrapped it in a towel and called me asking for help.
I managed to find a recipe for him to make an oat based food. And he fed it with a jar and a glove over it so the baby could poke its beak in. He looked after it all weekend and dropped it off at the RSPCA when he could.
He did well for someone that has never looked after a bird. He held my chicks once when they were 4 weeks old, that's the only interaction with birds he had.
View attachment 295527 View attachment 295528
I updated the links.
 

Entoptic

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Kudos man and that was useful information.
 

Zara

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My dad found a nest in the floor in his garden at the end of July in northern England, one chick dead, one survived. The nest was smashed and completely demolished because of Gail force winds and heavy rain. He took the baby inside and wrapped it in a towel and called me asking for help.
I managed to find a recipe for him to make an oat based food. And he fed it with a jar and a glove over it so the baby could poke its beak in. He looked after it all weekend and dropped it off at the RSPCA when he could.
He did well for someone that has never looked after a bird. He held my chicks once when they were 4 weeks old, that's the only interaction with birds he had.
View attachment 295527 View attachment 295528


Funny to see this thread being bumped and seeing my post about my dad caring for a pigeon, while I am caring for my own ¨pigeon¨ baby here on my balcony ❤
I actually forgot when that happened with him, but it seems we both found baby pigeons around the same time, one year apart...
 

Destiny

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If you ever need to provide emergency food to an unknown baby bird, here are some options:

Good foods for baby birds
  • Moist dog food
  • Raw liver (no seasoning)
  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Dog biscuits (moistened)
  • Dog or cat kibble (moistened)

What not to feed baby birds
  • Water
  • Bread or bread products
  • Whole birdseed
  • Milk
  • Pet bird food
  • Worms
  • Kitchen scraps

The more mature a baby bird is, the more "adult" food it can consume without harm, and the longer it can go between feedings.

Source: These Are the Best Types of Food for Baby Birds

....

The basic idea is that the majority of baby birds require very frequent, small quantities of high protein soft foods. The food item can be offered on a toothpick or using a pair of tweezers.

Provide moistened food, rather than water in a bowl. Very young babies require extremely frequent and very small meals - as often as every 15 to 20 minutes. This is one of the reasons why many sources recommend returning fallen chicks to the nest and waiting to see if the parent bird will return and feed the chick, rather than trying to care for baby birds by yourself. Most people are unable to devout that much time and attention to a baby bird, so it is likely to die, unless you can get it to a bird rescue quickly. Older chicks (fledglings) can handle larger, less frequent meals and more types of food/water. As adults, many songbirds will eat a range of foods, including insects, seeds, and plant matter.

Identifying the species of an injured adult bird can help you pick an appropriate diet while it recovers, but if you are unsure, almost all birds can eat hardboiled eggs in an emergency. Eggs have a lot of good protein and vitamins that will benefit an injured or sick bird and it is usually accepted readily - crush up the whole egg with a fork to make a soft mash. It is okay to crush the shell up too as a calcium source. A more varied diet will be important in the longterm.
 
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Destiny

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Also, please remember that returning the baby bird to its nest or leaving it alone so the parents can return to feed it is the best choice when you find a baby bird alone, since the parents are usually close by and waiting for a safe opportunity to return. Human intervention should be a last resort, for times when the baby is in immediate peril, visibly injured, or definitely abandoned and unable to survive on its own.

If you do intervene, the best course of action is to contact your local wildlife rescue right away. They will be able to provide the best care and treat any injuries so the bird has the best chance at a full recovery.

Also keep in mind that native species are protected by law in many countries. This means that special permits may be required to keep them in captivity and they need to be returned to the wild as soon as it is safe to do so. They cannot be kept as pets.
 

ChirpysMom

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This past year I found a nestling Rufous hummingbird on the ground. After attempts to get him back to his nest failed and all the advice I received online seemed to be inadequate I drove him 45 minutes to a rehabber that I found who specializes in hummers. I hope he’s big a strong now, eating all the insects. Good luck Lil Doodle!
In August of 2020 I was walking my dogs and spying on all the neighborhood nests and saw a chick dangling by it’s toes from a wire outside it’s nest. I had my husband take the dogs and I stood under the nest with my hands out. The little guy fell into my hands. I knew he was a sparrow since I had been watching his parents. I tried to get him back to his nest but his parents abandoned it, he and the nest were CRAWLING with mites. No one here is willing to take in a house sparrow, everyone told me to kill him. :(
I fed him and cared for him, got rid of his mites. Unfortunately he’s super imprinted on me so I think release is a bad idea. He demands I hand feed him sprouts every day and I do.
This is Chirpy Boy. He’s even got a solid black beak now!
Here he is in August of 2020 E5766548-EBB6-4E7B-9B0E-99B457761E60.jpeg 7AE7D862-BBB1-4496-9B41-D515AC107D99.jpeg
 

Dartman

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Sometimes we do what's right, not what the rules say. He will be a valued family member the rest of his life and he loves you in his own way as your mom to him now.
 
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