No Nest, No Parents, No Hope?

Thank you for the information provided, however there is no useful information when you have no choice but to keep the bird and help it learn to fly to be able to go back "into the wild".

Where does one find this information? Where I am living there is no animal conservation in this small town. It´s me or the bird´s dead.

I (well, I should say the dog) found a small fledgling nowhere near a nest and with no parents to be found. In fact, many of the feathers on the back/side of its neck were yanked out and I assume a predator tried to get at it.

During the day, it is in a very large makeshift cage -- but with the top open should it desire to fly away and at night it´s moved into the garage where the wild cats can´t get to it.

I realize I am doing harm (I am not hand feeding it though) but if I didn´t take it in, it would have died from heat and dehydration.

It´s eating every half an hour, drinking every few hours and is starting to stretch and flap its wings.

I figure at this rate it will be able to fly soon. Problem is, where will it go if it doesn't have a nest? Help!

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No Nest, No Parents, No Hope?

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Jun 05, 2012
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Wren Fledglings
by: Ashley Ritchie

My Dad bought an old truck that didn't run back on May 23rd. He brought it home on a trailer, popped the hood, and heard cheeping, so he called me to come investigate (I'm the one in the family always saving animals-I raised a baby squirrel in high school).

There was a nest of 5 Carolina Wren nestlings in between the radiator and the grille!
Dad gingerly removed the grille from the truck so we could get the nest out, and as we were trying to move it to a box, all of the babies came falling out.

We gathered them up into the box with the remnants of the nest, and couldn't figure out what to do with them, since the nest came from a truck that was parked in a field that was 2 hours from our home.

I had some Kaytee Exact formula leftover from when we brought home our Cockatiel a few years ago, so I decided to try that. I put the nest inside an old charlie's cookies tin, and placed that on a heating pad, inside a bird cage.

Luckily I am a stay at home mom and the last day of school was the next day, so I have been able to stay at home with the babies all day every day. I feed them every 20-30 minutes, or whenever they ask for food.

My problem now is that I have NO IDEA how to go about weaning and releasing these fledglings. They had most of their feathers when we got them, and within a few days were able to perch.

Now I have my dining room closed off and it is a temporary aviary, because they've figured out that they can fit through the bars on the cage, and they are flying pretty well. I have provided them with a suet block, mealworms, birdseed, canned puppy food, boiled eggs mushed up, applesauce, fresh water, and even spiders and crickets and whatever insects my children catch.

They still beg for formula every 20-30 minutes, and will only eat the other stuff if I feed it to them with tweezers.

I take them outside everyday and let them fly around. They don't go far, and come land on my head after a few minutes to beg for formula. They are also harassed outside by the bluebirds that have a nest with 5 nestlings in the birdhouse on my back deck.

If anyone has any tips please feel free to email me! AshleyGRitchie @gmail. com

Spaces added to email to keep from getting spammed. Remove spaces to contact Ashley.--Admin.

May 25, 2010
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found baby bird
by: Kathy

My cat brought it in. I think it may be a quail as it has a tuft of hair on it's head. He can't fly, but he can move quickly. He's been peeping a little, then he sleeps and moves again. I don't know where he came from. My boyfriend said just leave it in a bush, but I think he would die, he's so helpless. I have him in a furry scarf. Still thinking what to do. If I see a bird on my back wall, I will assume it is looking for him, so I would put him outside, without the cat. I feel helpless.

Sep 15, 2009
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Sweet heart @MT
by: Anonymous

I found a baby robin only a day or so old. She was blown out of her nest and laid on the cold cement after a huge storm. My husband said leave it,it's going to die. I felt bad for it and said if she dies at least it won't be on a cold lonely street.

I believed him when he said she would die. I held her cold body in a sweater and we drove a hour to get home. well that was on July 25 and I now have a robin that thinks she a dog.

Sweatheart hops all over the yard and house. We have placed her outside and left her to fly away, well she hasn't. She is well feed and has grown to be quite a nice size.

I want her to fly away and have her own life. We now think it may be too late in the year for her to do that. Is there a specific time that birds fly south?? Sept/Oct ??

Aug 08, 2009
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Baby bird food
by: Penny

It is true that this page is very unhelpful to anyone with any common sense. I am now caring for a baby blue bird brought to me by a friend who knows I can usually keep birds alive.

The bird was brought to her by her dog.....from who knows where. After her daughter kept it in a box (outside all night in the cold)and it hadn't eaten for almost two days.

Of course I asked if they knew where the nest was and told them it was best to leave it for the parents to care for, but by this time it was too late. He was very weak and cold. Couldn't hold his head up or stand.

I gave him 20%chance at best. I warmed him up and am feeding him a diet of dried high protein dog food soaked in green Gatorade....with added calcium.

A recipe I got years ago in a book about rehabilitating wild life. I had to "force feed" the first few bites due to his weakness. (This is not a good practice)He is now eating every twenty minutes all day long. It helps to have all family members involved.

With the other birds that I have cared for, I found that I needed to keep feeding them for three weeks or more after they were outside "on their own". They come to me in the yard and land on my head when they are hungry.

I leave a bowl of food on the roof of my front porch and they learn to go there when they are hungry until they are completely independent.

I plan to add a small amount of berries and also some grubs to the blue bird diet.I think his chances are at least 90% today.

Was hoping to find some blue bird specifics here but only found more nurturing nature lovers, also in need of help.

The following are the most important things I know:

- Never give a bird water... it sits in the gullet and festers.

-Baby birds have to stay very warm..101 to 103 degrees or so.

-They have to eat every 20 to 30 minutes during day light hours.

-The recipe above works for most birds...fruit eating birds like Cedar waxwings and Baltimore Orioles need added fruit.

I also know I am not as good of a mother as a bird...... I hope this info helps some of you out. If anyone knows any thing about bluebirds I welcome it.

Aug 06, 2009
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To Richard about baby sparrow
by: Bonnie

Hi Richard, you're a good person to help the little bird.

Feed it as often as you can during daylight hours, but especially if it's peeping for food. Four times a day isn't really enough.

If you could get any crickets, grasshoppers or other bugs for it, that would be good and would help it learn to hunt.

This sounds bad but you could pick the back legs off the grasshopper and let the fledgling "catch it" for practice.

When the sparrow has feathers over most of it, it should begin flapping and trying its wings. My sister and I in junior high school took a baby sparrow that had fallen from a nest high up in our school gym.

We would take it outside, put it on a tree limb, and then run from it so it would get practice flying. We took it out more and more often, and it gradually returned to the wild.

Aug 06, 2009
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Baby Sparrow
by: RICHARD

I was parked at a traffic light when I saw a baby sparrow about 2" long including tail trying to jump up onto a curb about 8" high, couldn't do it, three lanes of traffic going North 3 lanes South, cement island about 3' wide.

Obviously the bird didn't have a chance. Nest must have been up in the light pole. So I took it home. Went to pet store bought Kaytee Exact Hand Feeding Formula, mixed 1 1/2 part water to one part formula.

How often do I feed bird, Feeding bird with eye dropper right now 4 x a day. How long do you think before he is able to fly?

I would appreciate any help in this matter.

Aug 05, 2009
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Where are Ma & Pa bird?
by: Bonnie

You don't say how long you've had the fledgling, but if it's not long, the parent birds should be somewhere in the area where it was found. Obviously I'm hoping you were WITH the dog when it found the bird.

You don't say what kind of bird it is. Instinct will teach them how to find food in most cases. In junior high my sister and I (eastern Arkansas) took care of a baby sparrow that had fallen from a nest in our school gym.

We fed it grasshoppers and sometimes bread dipped in milk when we couldn't get bugs. Kept it in a cage indoors until it looked strong enough to fly. We'd take it out, put it on a limb of a tree in our yard, and then run from it.

It got exercise flying after us LOL! As time went by, it spent more time outdoors but sometimes would come roost on the brick ledge outside our living room window.

We'd see it and bring it in, give it bread crumbs or bits of raw hamburger. Gradually it returned to the wild.

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