Baby Hawk?!?!?!?! What should I do?!?

Question

I was walking in my cow pasture, and found a BIG brown baby bird on the ground, I think it might be a baby hawk, but I couldent find and nests around so I left it. After I had fed all the bulls, cows and calfs, (wich took about an hour, dragging all the hay bales out to feed all 38 dairy cows) I went back to see if the birds mother had gotten her baby- and she haddednt. I put on three pairs of rubber gloves from the house, and put the bird in a cardboard box, and put the box in a dark place. I've just searched on google "Baby Hawks" And there was a picture that was baisicaly the same as my baby bird, I think it's hungry too... What should I do!!

Answer 1

Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. You can find one here: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm

These people have the specialized training to care for sick, injured and orphaned wild animals. They also have the state and federal licenses required in order to keep wild animals, even for a short time, until they are healthy enough to be returned to the wild.

In the US, all native migratory birds are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Many other countries have similar laws. In additon, many hawks are protected under other state and federal laws. It is illegal for you to keep it, even for the purpose of saving its life, unless you have the proper permits.

Rehabbers receive special training because there is so much more to wildlife rehabilitation than just keeping the animal alive.

You have to know not only what to feed the bird - NOT dog food!!!!! And NEVER give a baby hawk water - (some hawks, like kestrels, eat crickets, grasshoppers and very small mammals, some eat only birds, some eat rabbits and other larger animals), but you have to know how to feed it and how much to feed it. You need to be able to monitor weight gain and general health and condition.

A baby bird that has been fed by hand needs to know how to recognize and find its own food BEFORE it is released. It needs a very large flight cage so it can learn to fly and exercise its wings enough that it can fly...and fly well enough and far enough and get enough altitude to avoid becoming some other animal's dinner. It will never strengthen its wings enough for flight if you keep it in a box.

And it all must be done in such a way that the baby bird does not become imprinted. If it is handled too much, it will become little more than a pet, and will never be able to survive in the wild. That is why the suggestion to talk to the bird to keep it calm is WRONG!!!!

Please contact a professional immediately!

Answer 2

Do not feed it! I know that people have made suggestions, but there are reasons that vets and wildlife rescues tell you never to feed a wild animal you've found. Many people have inadvertantly killed an animal they were trying to help.

Obviously, if you should not feed it, it needs to be taken right away to a knowledgable person who can. Another obvious thing is that if you cannot get immediate help, you are going to have to feed it something untill you can get it to a vet or rescue facility. Call an avian vet and ask them what to give it. They are the experts.

24-Hour Emergency Hotline
Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation (WRR) has a 24-Hour Emergency Hotline available for the general public.

[phone]

Call this number and tell them where you are. They should be able to hook you up with someone in your area. If this hawk is an endangered or threatened species, they may just be willing to show up on your doorstep to releave you of your little unexpected burden. If nothing else, they will be able to tell you what to feed it until you can get it to a facility.

Answer 3

You need to contact an animal rescue facility. If you aren't aware of any, contact local vets... they probably won't be able to help, but they should be able to give you the names/numbers of places you can bring the baby. He may be injured, and he is certainly hungry. If it is a hawk, he will need help to eat, as they are used to eating meat mushed by the parents (unlike other bird species). Please, take him somewhere so he has 1/2 a chance for survival!

Answer 4

DON'T give him raw chicken, that'd probably make him sick(or give him samonella) Try give him wet dog food out of a can and a bowl of water. If he does eat on his own try spoon feeding him the dog food by holding the spoon up to him and letting him eat off of it.

Keep him in a room away from pets or anybody else that might try to bother him.

After that try contacting a vet and see if they know of a wildlife shelter that would take him.

But seeing that you're caring for him, he might think of you as his foster mother.

Tip: Try talking to him, I know it sounds kinda silly but it'll calm him down.

Answer 5

Feed it raw small pieces of boneless chicken. Put them deep in his mouth,almost in the throat. Make sure not to choke him though. Give him some water by dripping water from a wet cotton on his nostrils. If he is too small and young to eat chicken, give him soaked cat food with a syringe (again deep in his mouth). When you want to handle him, grab him like a flower bouquet, holding his legs and the edge of the wings. Keep him in the box, with a wire mesh like a fridge shelf on top, so that he can't get out. release him when he is old enough to fly well, not just fly around.
BUT MOST OF ALL TRY TO FIND A WILDLIFE RESCUE AND REHABILITATION CENTRE IN YOUR AREA OR COUNTRY TO GET HIM, THEY CAN CARE FOR HIM BETTER.

Answer 6

Where do you live? I would contact the local animal shelter, and/or vet, and see if they know who rehabs baby raptors. If they don't know, call your cooperative education branch, they shold know. HTH, and good luck with the little guy!

Answer 7

CALL THE D.N.R. they will take it to a animal refuge to help it recover, then release, it is illegal to keep one, not to mention dangerous.