how do you take care of a baby bird?

Question

how do you take care of an abandon baby bird (a sparrow) that can't fly yet but can open his eyes?(i know it's a baby)
What do you feed it?how do you teach it to fly?where do you keep it?

Answer 1

Kitty, it is very difficult to feed a baby bird and unless you've been trained by a knowledgeable person, it is unlikely the baby would survive. The best thing you can do for this baby is to call your local wildlife rescue organization and they will come, remove the baby to care for it and then release it back in to the wild once it has grown.

Below is a link to a resource to help you locate a wildlife rescue organization in your area.

Silver2sea

Answer 2

cpinatsi is almost all correct. If you are feeding it moistened cat food, DO NOT give it any water. Don't risk drowning it, because if any gets in the lungs it can aspirate and die a slow horrible death.

You should also try feeding it with tweezers, not a syrynge. It's very difficult to know exactly how much food you are squirting into it's mouth, and too much could choke it. Tweezers let you see exactly how much you are giving in one bite. Only use a syringe in emergencies if the baby will not eat for a few hours and looks weak. Get a curved syringe from a vet and have them tell you how to use it. In an emergency, the curved tip must go past the throat into the crop, and then you squeeze out a small amount of food. Be EXTREMELY careful. If possible, have an experienced person force feed it. REMEMBER, this is only if the baby is SICKLY or not eating for hours. Otherwise, the tweezers are all you'll need.

Also, try to keep the box on top of a heating ped set to LOW. The box needs to be 80-90 degrees inside if the chick is not fully feathered. A towel works better to hold heat, but wash it often. It WILL get messy.

You should also add to it's diet some small feeder crickets from a pet store, and fresh fruit. They add extra water and nutrients to his diet, and if he gets dehydrated, he will die very quicky. Fruits and crickets add the extra water he needs. Make sure the crickets are dead before you feed them to it. They also love and need fresh fuit like grapes, cherries, or watermelon at room temperature. Don't feed it anything cold or it could slip into hypothermia. Cut the pieces up very small and feed the same way as the other food. It will LOVE you and beg for grapes like crazy.

When it gets older and starts flying, you can add mealworms and other feeders to it's diet, as well as seeds.

When the baby is about a month old, it will start pecking at things. This is the best time to leave some seeds in the box (soon to be cage) for it to "practice" with. You will still need to hand feed it for a few more weeks though, so don't go cold turky on it just because it ate three seeds. It will also start to practice flying, which is why I said "cage" above. Until you are ready to release it, if it starts flying all over the house (or trying to) it should live in a cage for safety. You don't have to buy a big bird cage. I use a small plastic hamster cage myself, and it works just fine. It even comes with bowls for food and water!

To start it drinking water, wait until it tries some seeds. Then hold it in your hand, and dip it's beak into a small bowl of water. Don't hold him there, just dip him and take him back out. He should drink the water that's on his beak. When he's done, dip him again. After a few dips, he should know how to get it on his own, but he might not do it right away, so don't force it. He might also start taking baths in the water, which is always cute.

At about 2 months old, he should be totally self-sufficient and able to eat, drink, and fly all by himself. (You don't have to teach him to fly. It's instinct). Now, you can leave the cage outside for a few days and allow him to adjust. A few days later, leave the door open on the cage and allow him to move freely in and out when he pleases. It's important that the cage is safe from cats, possums, rats, dogs, hawks, etc. so I hope you have a good place to put it. Hopefully in a few days or weeks, he should be free and wild.

Answer 3

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. 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. 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.

Answer 4

You keep it in a cardboard box with holes, covered with a sort of a grid, like a shelf from your fridge. Not in a cage, because he is stressed if he sees you pass by. Put some newspapers at the bottom.
Soak kitten dry food in water. Wait till it gets soft, mash it up well, and put it in a syringe without the needle. Feed the bird about 2 cc every couple of hours, by putting the food deep in his mouth. Careful, don't choke it, but don't just put the food in the beak, you need to put it where the beeak ends and the throat starts. Make some tries to see when he swallows well.
Give him some water by dripping some drops from a wet cotton on the nostrils, they lead to the beak and you will see him swallow. Don't put anything other than water through the nostrils though, because you don't want to block them.
When he is ready to fly, you can release it. be careful, you must not try to see if he flies when he is still young. He must be a fully grown adult bird, witha a tail, who flies well. Young birds can fly, but not well enough. Also, before you let go, he must have learned to eat by himself, seeds, worms (not the ones sold as bait, they have poison), etc. and drink water. Good luck. Don't listen to people who say they can't survive. I work at a wildlife rescue centre and we raise many wild birds. It is tough though, it needs some experience, if you can find a rescue centre it is best to give it to them.

Answer 5

We always fed baby birds wet cat food...and water. You should probably call a bird sanctuary in your area, or a wildlife rescue and get more details though. They may have someone to take care of the bird in an environment that will help it thrive once it is old enough to fly.

Answer 6

Their very best bet is for you to find a qualified wildlife rebahibilitation center to give them do, or set them outside in an empty container, and hopefully their mother is nearby and will take them back. To keep these babies alive in the care of humans is not saving them at all, it is more humane to let nature take it's course than to keep these birds imprisioned and confused as they grow up and mature into wild, adult birds. (A Wildlife Rehab Center will know how to properly wean them with as minimal human contact as possible, so that they can be released back into the wild after fledging.)

Answer 7

for now, you can cut up worms,(ewww!) and try giving him that and water. then try calling an animal hospital. i'm not sure if it would be okay to touch it cuz if the mother came back, she would just leave it. im not sure though cuz if you are going to keep it, than you can touch it and wont have to teach it to fly, that way eliminating the possibilities of it flying away. check out your local pet store for a bird cage.

Answer 8

keep it in a box with towels something to keep it warm,dig worms out your garden use twizers to feed the worm to the baby it will think its it s mothers beck,you dont need to teach it to fly that come when the bird is ready,youwill also need a stringe to feed it water.good luck the baby will depend on you.

Answer 9

unfortunately you can't. They don't survive.. and if a human touches them the parents won't come back for it.
:(

It's pretty much the same with most wild birds.. had an injured sparrow Hawk once. Couldn't do anything to help that either.

Answer 10

Get a wet slice of bread and take very little morsals and feed it. Make sure you give enough liquids. Pedia lite is really good .

As for flying.....Nature is very powerful it will learn on its own.

Best of luck