i just found a baby bird on the floor, what do i do?
May 12, 2010 by
Filed under Concrete Bird Baths
its extremely small, looks new born, no feathers on it at all and its still breathing but its bleeding a little. i found it on the floor in my back yard on the concrete. ive cleaned it and put it in a warm place. what else should i do? what should i feed it?
just try to give it water with eye drops. that’s important. for food I would call a vet , it is free for a question
Put it in a small container lined with kleenex and lay one over the top to keep it out of drafts. Go online to http://www.audubon.org
Use the chapter finder to locate the Audubon chapter nearest you and call the contact number. Audubon officials know rehabbers in the area and can direct you to one. Please hurry, time is critical.
Don’t try and give it water with an eyedropper. It will aspirate (Breathe in the fluid) and basically drown. You need to try and find where the nest is and put it back if you can.
If you have any, take some cat food and soak it in water. break it into small small pieces and feed it to him with the least amount of water possible. You can also take watery fruits such as the insides of strawberries as well as blueberries (PEELED!) and break them into tiny peices make them a little mushy as the little guy doesn’t have teeth obviously.
For the catfood, if you have a syringe without a needle, put all the catfood in the syringe and squeeze the water out. Once the water is out, squeeze the food into the baby’s mouth. Only a little at a time. eyedroppers work as well. The bird will NOT need water because the food will be moist enough.
***IMPORTANT*** this food is not natural for the baby and can not be considered a healthy substitute. get in touch with your local wildlife rehabilitation center ASAP
Birds have a very high metabolic rate, so feedings will be frequent, as much as every 30 minutes from dawn till dusk! If the baby wont open its beak, take an object that is tough, don’t just use your finger (if you have nails, use your nails!), and tap the side of it’s beak. This will encourage the baby to open it’s mouth. It will soon begin to realize that you are the food source and it will often squawk when it is hungry and open its mouth for you when it hears you coming. When it has eaten enough, it will collapse and go to sleep until it is hungry again.
Search around outside and see if you can hear any peeping. Look in trees for possible nests that he might have fallen from. If you can’t find anything, call your local wildlife rehabilitation center. They will give you further instruction. Contrary to the common belief that a mother will reject the bird after it has been touched by humans, birds actually have a very poor sense of smell, so they will not realize and they will continue to care for their chicks.
DO YOUR BEST NOT TO TOUCH THE BABY. You can easily make it sick. Only touch it when necessary. Keep it clean and warm.
good luck!
lilian.
Take it to a wildlife rehabilitator. The bird is injured and needs medical attention, also it is illegal for you to keep wild birds. http://wildliferehabber.org/