Ok i took a small bird home, im pretty sure its gonna die based on what ive read on the internet, any suggest?

Question

Ok first off i KNOW i made a mistake, but hindsight is 20/20 right? I live in the desert, and near school in the street i found a small wild bird, its defenitely a fledgeling. When i found it yesterday afternoon it wasnt moving but now it seems better. Everywebsite says, "leave the bird there, it was learning to fly and the parents were around to feed it for a few days until it took off" Ok so i should have put it in a nearby tree or something, but i didnt, so now what?I have been keeping it warm and dry, and feeding it occasionally with a medecine dropper. I have been feeding it sugar water or fruit punch mixed with corn meal (yes i know fruit punch probably isnt what it normally eats.) Its moving around very well now, and I am considering putting it in the backyard as we have several bird feeders w/50 or more wild birds flying around so he/she can learn to fly.1) will the other birds feed it? 2) Is it too late to take it back where i got it?3)any suggestions?No i dont want to keep it

Thanks for the help so far all, I took it to the local petstore and the didnt want anything to do with it, i will try to find some type of bird orginization on monday as it is now the weekend. The bird is looking much healthier now and I am still feeding it sugar water mixed with cornmeal. It actually recognizes the medecine dropper now, which is good and bad i guess. It eats alot but i dont want it to become dependant as i am not going to keep it for long. It opens its mouth wide when it sees me with the dropper, and after one dropper full it usually doesnt want any more (full?) I put it outside for a few hours at a time near the other birds and some of the birds are the same species as it. They seem to only eat seeds so i think im ok w/o nightcrawlers as all birds do not eat bugs. so if it makes it thru the weekend I will bring it to a bird shelter of some sort. I have seen several people suggest milk, but isnt it only mammals (and bacteria) who have enzymes for digesting lactose?

Thank you everyone for your help. The bird died this morning (big suprise) and oddly i was very sad, probably because i was directly responsible. anyways 90 percent of the answers were right on, but the stock answer to almost any health related question is "go see a professional" so well pick one that went further, thanks again all.

Answer 1

Do you know what type of bird it is? I work at a wild bird rehab center and we feed depending on the species. There is a baby bird mix that you can feed that is sold at pet stores. If you don't want to keep it though you can look up your city's wild bird rehab center and they should be able to take him for you. good luck!!If you post what type of bird it is, I can tell you what to feed it, sometimes it can be tricky to feed because birds can choke if the food does not get into the crop correctly.

Answer 2

I have a lovevird and he is great but needs a lot of attention and takes more time for training. I think the best starter bird would be a cockatiel. My friend has one and he is so sweet. They learn quickly and attach to you pretty early on. The daily responsibilities include feeding them seed, pellets and other nutritious things like fruit and veggies. You will need to change the water at least two times a day to make sure that there is no bacteria in the water dish. Cleaning the cage every 2 weeks has worked well for me although some would suggest once a week. You will want to spend some time with your new bird every day practicing step ups and whistles. The cost for a cage, bird, food and toys will be around $150 - $300 depending on where you get it. Make sure the bird you pick is healthy and happy. If the feathers are not looking nice then the bird may be a little depressed or not have been cared for very well at the pet shop. Hold the bird and see if there is a connection before you just pick one. Hope you find a great pet!

Answer 3

well, you should keep a heating pad in with it an nice clean dry bathroom hand towls. mix some regular unflavored/un seasoned oat meal and kitten milk untill smooth and creamy, still feed it with an eye dropper. once it starts looking fat or muscular, buy some live bait and mush it up with a bit of kitten milk, and feed it with a babie spoon. you will know when it is time to feed it bird seed by just always keeping a tiny bit of it around the bird, once you see it is gone, all yu have to feed it is bird seed. it is too lte to end it in the wild, it already depedns on you for survival. I can take the bird and take care of it if you dont want it. where abouts are you located again?? i would be willing to pay for shipping and handling. i will even pay for the bird.
but if you do deside to keep it, email me and i will how to make its life heaven.

Answer 4

I reccomend looking up Animals in Distress in your phonebook. Chances are you will find a bird center listed there, and you should take the bird there. I work at such a center, and sugar water doesn't have enough nutrients to keep it alive long. Put some catfood in a small bowl and mix it with water until it turns mushy. You can feed it that to get it some more vitamins.

Answer 5

1) no, the other birds will not feed it. If a human or other animal has touched it, its own parants won't feed it. 2) Yes, it is to late to take it back, because it wont be able to fend for itself. 3) You can take it to a local vet or animal shelter, and they can get the bird to a bird handler or a sanctuary were they can teach it to fend for itself. Next time, instead of picking it up, call the local parks and wildlife in your county, because if the bird is a Bird of Prey, then it is illegal for you to handle it yourself, and you can be charged with poching a wild bird of pray. I hit a very large falcon in my car once, and was trying to move it off of the road with a stick, when the highway patrol pulled up. Luckily, the guy wasn't a jerk, and the bird was still alive. Good luck.

Answer 6

Back in 2002 I had the wonderful experience of literally bringing back to life a baby robin from the brink of death. It had zero feathers, and its nest had been ransacked and the mother was gone. So we took her in and began warming her up quick. ALL birds survive solely on earthworms/nightcrawlers only. That is where they get all their water/nutrients from. PLEASE stop feeding her cornmeal and juice you will make it sick! Hon if you cannot take care of it, call your local aspca and tell them you have a little bird that you found and they will take it for you and care for it if you cannot. Within a week and a half it will have full feathers and be ready to take off...the grow fast once they get going....if your still needing help drop me a line ok? I'd be glad to help ya!

Answer 7

Too late, i am extremely sorry to say. If the bird is alive in the morning, get it to the SPCA or an animal rescue organization as soon as possible. That is the bird's only chance. Just tell them you found it alone and you realized that it needed help. You will not get in any trouble at all as this type of thing happens all the time. Please do the right thing.

Answer 8

if the bird survives the night...get it to a local rehab, they will know how to care for it. And DO NOT believe people that post that a baby bird that has been touched by a human will be abandoned by it's parents.. this is an old wives tale...I cannot believe the amount of people that think this is true!!! Birds do not have a very strong sense of smell (except vultures).

Answer 9

These sites explain all about what to do for orphan and injured birds -
http://www.crowsystems.com/rehab/babybird.html - this is an excellent article - be sure to read down the entire page!
http://www.stokesbirdsathome.com/q&a/archive/qa108.html
http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2006/02/what-happened-when-nestling-fell-out.html
http://www.projectwildlife.org/find-babysongbirds.htm
And this Yahoo Best Answer too -
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=1006050608886

I've got a lot of links to wildlife carers from a lot of countries on my site, at
http://au.geocities.com/leaswebsite/links under "Wildlife Assistance" - just click on them all, click on your country and state, have a browse, 'phone them and ask their advice.

Very very best of luck.

Answer 10

Are you able to identify what kind of a bird it is? You need to contact your local Vet and see if they have a list of people who are state or federally licensed to take over care of the bird. You need to do that ASAP if you want the bird to survive.

Sapphyre
Certified Avian Specialist
http://www.borrowed-rainbow.com
join our group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BorrowedRainbowAviary/