What should you feed a baby bird?
May 21, 2010 by
Filed under Concrete Bird Baths
Earlier, my mom and I found a lone baby bird in our yard. It was actually on a cement walkway beside our shed. We think it may have fallen out of the nest and gotten stunned by hitting the concrete, because it was breathing, but wouldn’t move if you came near it. Then it started hopping around, but it wouldn’t fly. We had to leave, so I put on some gardening gloves and finally mustered up enough courage to hold the baby bird and put him in a nest that was in the shed. However, it was not HIS nest. HIS nest is up higher, in a corner of the shed I cannot reach. We have been away for 2-3 hours.
I checked on the baby bird when we got home about 10 minutes ago and it was still in the nest, but chirping like crazy. So, my question is…what do I do now? I was really proud of myself for saving it from my cat…and I want to see it survive. Should I try to feed it, and if so, what do I feed it?
Also, I just looked up a page about baby birds and it is classified as a fledgling: it is fully feathered and able to hop around and flap its wings.
Please help me! Links to helpful sites would also be greatly appreciated!!
You should chew up mealworms for it and then spit it in its mouth like a good mommy.
If it’s a fledgling then this is normal. They leave the nest before they can fly and usually hops on the ground. Here is a helpful website: http://www.piedmontwildlifecenter.org/birds#songbird
Also keep your cats inside and don’t lurk around the fledgling too much. The parents are still caring for him.
If the bird is fully feathered, it is most likely a fledgling and has left the nest on it’s own and it’s parents are caring for it. It is normal for birds to leave the nest before they can fly. You need to replace it where you found it..preferably in a scrub or tree so it is relatively safe from predators, and the parents should come back to feed it. Keep your cat inside. If it is unfeathered…then look for a nest and if you can find it…replace it into the nest. Do not worry about your scent being on the chick..birds have a very poorly developed sense of smell and will NOT reject a baby that has been touched. If you cannot find a nest, get the bird to a local wildlife rehab for it’s best chance of survival. Also, keep in mind, it is illegal for you to try and raise this bird on your own. Look for a rehab here:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm