Does anyone know how to wean a baby mocking bird,and what it eats?

Question

I am trying to wean a baby mockingbird that I found a few weeks ago.I'm feeding it baby bird formula and bugs. I would like for it not to depend on me to sick something in it mouth for every meal,and eat on its own.

Answer 1

I know the DNR will not be happy you have one of their protected birds, try calling your local Vet and see if they have someone who is Federally Licensed to take over the care of the bird. You should never be feeding a wild baby bird bugs, you can make it sick. I am State Licensed to care for non migratory birds, and never would I feed any baby bird bugs or worms. I can not say what kind of a diet it eats, but you need to leave it to someone who is trained.

Sapphyre
Certified Avian Specialist
http://www.borrowed-rainbow.com
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Answer 2

Try feeding it very small crickets and mealworms off a pair of blunt-tipped tweezers. Once it gets the hang of that, start leaving it a very shallow dish with some live bugs (mealworms or chilled crickets) in its cage. It might take a while to catch on, but with a little help it will soon figure out it can pick up the bugs itself.
Once the bird is eating bugs well on its own, start offering fresh fruits chopped up into very small pieces mixed with them. You may have to offer the fruit on the tweezers the first few times to get the bird to eat it. Once it catches on to eating fruit, you can offer fruit as half its daily diet, but no more.
As soon as the bird is fully fledged and eating well out of the dish, let it go. Don't be tempted to keep it longer.
I always advise people who find baby animals to leave them where they are, and in the future I would advise you to do the same. However, I can see you've done your research, and you've been doing a good job with this one, so I'll give you credit for that. Keep up the good work.

Answer 3

If it is very young, you will need to feed it approximately every 15-20 minuites for possibly a couple of weeks before it is weaned. It is probably too young to eat bugs. Try chicken babyfood or chicken stew babyfood. Add a little bit of water to thin it out and get water into the bird. Do not give water directly to the bird as it could easily choke.

If you live in the GTA, I can take care of it for you. I am on vacation and so have the time to be feeding baby birds, plus, I raise birds so know what to do. [e-mail]

Answer 4

Call a local chapter of the Audubon Society, Wild Birds Unlimited, or Wild Birds Forever. All can be found in the phone book or google the name for a website and then select your location for the nearest chapter or retail outlet. They can refer you to a rescue and rehabilitation organization with a drop off station

Be aware, in some states, wild birds are protected and it's illegal to have a wild bird in your possession if you are not a certified rescue/rehabilitator. Fines in California, are upwards of $10k per animal.

It isn't uncommon for young birds (fledglings) to be found on the ground while learning to fly. They get tired, scared, confused, and mom is usually nearby. If the bird is not injured or in danger, it's best to leave it alone. Mom will take care or it. If it is in danger, it's OK to touch the bird with clean hands (your scent will not keep mom from accepting the bird back to the nest) and place it somewhere safe (as close to the nest as possible is best) until it regains its' strength and confidence. Wash your hands with an antibacterial soap before and after handling the bird.

I admire your compassion and I know it's difficult to resist helping a small animal, but sometimes, it's best for the animal to resist the urge to help. Once a wild animal has imprinted on a human, it's a difficult task to rehabilitate back to a self sufficient, wild state.

Good Luck, and thank you for caring for small critters.

Answer 5

Bring it to a wildlife rehab place. Thay will take care of it.

In the future, try to leave baby birds alone. The parents will take care of them even if they fall out of the nest.

Answer 6

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 7

Your an ****** for keeping a bird like a mockingbird.

I'm not some PETA nut, but you should have returned that bird to some wildlife society.

Mocking birds like pollen from some flowers.