Continue: Saving a baby swallow's life...How??

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hi there, the wind today is strong, and a friend of mine found a baby swallow fell down from trees near his classroom. He afraid tht it would die of coldness so he brought it home. Now, he put it into an opened box, cushioned with soft cloth. The baby swallow didnt chirp or call at all since it fell down, he checked the swallow, there's no any injuries. Now the problem is, it doesnt want to eat anything, he tried apples, worms...but it jst doesnt respond... ...
I've read a similar Q&A, and we are worrying will it die of hunger or its parents wont recognise it by tmr...as he found it in school...
so, what should we do?

thanks~~
and hope it'll survive...

***thanks for the answers friends

but we are living in Malaysia...there's hardly a vet clinic or even a rescue center here... ...
how?it has fully developed feathers. some students said they saw a swallow flew into the class n flew away abt 200m ,wonder it was it..but even water with syringe it also deosnt respond

Answer 1

Never try to give water to a baby bird - it can aspirate and die!

Let me see if I can find the info on rehabilitators in Malaysia (I found it before for someone) and I'll get back to you.


Edit - I'm sorry, I can not locate the info I thought I had bookmarked. Search revealed nothing in your area.

If the bird is fully feathered, it is a fledgling. It will soon be flying, but still needs to be fed by its parents. If there is any way you can get it back to the school and place it near where you found it, or near where you see the other swallows at the school, the parents will return for it. Birds don't recognize each other by sight, but by sound. When the fledgling hears his parents, he will call for them, and they will respond. But you must do it soon, before he becomes weak from hunger.

Hand feeding swallows is extremely difficult. They do not take formula or wet cat food. They should never be fed with a syringe. They must be fed their natural diet. We fed mealworms (NOT earthworms) at our rehab center, and even then, they did not do well. It was always a struggle to make sure they got sufficient nutrition to survive and thrive until they could be released.

Answer 2

Is the swallow a nestling or a fledgling? Fledgling birds live on the ground 1-2 weeks after they leave the nest, and learn how to fully fly, but their parents do take care of them. My advice first is to take the bird back to where you found it and put it on the ground. Watch it for a while and see if the parents come back to it.
Also look in the trees and see if you see a nest from where it might have fallen. If you do see the parents, and the nest is too high, go get a small box, put some soft paper in it for a nest, and put the bird back in it, and put it back up in a tree a little off the ground.

And no, it isn't true that the parents will be able to smell human scent and abandon the baby. Birds do not have a good sense of smell, and will not be able to tell you handled the bird.

Otherwise, please call around to local vet's offices and ask them if they know of bird rehabbers or if they are an avian specialist.
The bird needs a knowledgeable caretaker if it is to have a chance of surviving.
Please try to find a vet or rehabber!

Answer 3

If it is a baby, he won't eat on his own. He must be fed. Soak kitten food in water, and mash it into a mashy stuff. Put that in a syringe (without needle) and then open the bird's beak and put the stuff deep into his mouth, not just in his beek. You must open the beak with one hand and put the food deep into the mouth with the other, without injuring the bird. Good luck. Also, you can give him some water by dripping a few drops with a wet cotton or an eyedropper on his nostrils. Nothing else should be put through the nostrils though, only water, we don't want to block them.

Answer 4

check this site out..hope this helps..good luck