What to feed a resued baby bird?

[Resuce]

My friend just found a baby bird and said that they are hard to keep alive. I would like to give it a go but am woundering what to feed it? Any ideas?

[Magnum]

Oh my, It is best to try and locate the nest and return it to it's mother. Check out this site on finding wild baby birds....I sure hope it helps.

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:Bdb5Jf0XWsYJ:www.wildlifecare.org/birds.html+saving+a+wild+baby+bird&hl=en

[Resuce]

look what I found.
This question and answer appeared in the March/April 2000


Question: I am an animal rehabilitator and am looking for helpful tips for feeding young birds so that their diet is full of the nutrients they need.

Answer: As you may be aware, you will need to obtain state and federal permits in order to handle, confine, or raise a nestling songbird. You can contact your state environmental conservation department to find out is requirements and how to apply for state and federal permits. They can also put you in touch with a local wildlife rehabilitator who is licensed and experienced in handling young birds.

Occasionally, active bird watchers find themselves in need of emergency rations for nestling songbirds. Perhaps some bluebirds have been orphaned by a neighbor's cat or a child has brought a fledgling to school. Fortunately, it's fairly simple to concoct an acceptable diet for insectivorous nestlings (and almost every songbird is fed insects as a nestling). Any grocery store or pet shop stocks puppy chow; the dry, high protein brands like IAMS and Eukanuba are good. Grind this to a very fine meal in a blender or food processor. Moisten with warm water to the consistency of yogurt. This is most easily administered with a baby medicine syringe. The tip may be cut off to enlarge the opening. A little cooking oil may be added to the mixture. An especially useful low-volume, high calorie emergency ration is Neutrical, which may be available through a veterinarian. This can be mixed with the puppy chow to provide essential vitamins and sugars.

No nestling will be able to eat until it is warm; supply a jar of warm water and a tissue nest for the bird to snuggle against.

The nestling may be stimulated to gape or open its bill by a soft whistle or gentle jarring of its nest. Administer small amounts toward the right side of the baby's throat (its right, not your right; its left side is its trachea, which it needs to breathe). If the bird refuses to gape, you may gently pry open the corner of its bill with your thumbnail to insert the tip of the syringe.

Puppy chow should be supplemented by live mealworms, which should make up approximately half of the bird's diet. Mealworms are quickly and easily obtained by mail order (Bluebird Connection, P.O. Box 52, Ragland, Alabama 35131, 877-332-0300; Grubco, Box 15001, Hamilton, Ohio 45015, 800-222-3563; Nature's Way, P.O. Box 188, Ross, Ohio 45061, 800-318-2611) or in small quantities through pet shops and bait stores. Be sure to crush the worms' heads before feeding them to the bird.

It should not be necessary to give water to a baby bird; it will obtain water from its food.

The sooner you can get your foundling to an experienced songbird rehabilitator, the better its chances of survival. Raising and especially releasing baby songbirds can be a several week to several month job, which is best left to an expert. He or she can fine tune its diet to its species and make sure that it's trained to come when called, in preparation for its "soft release" in the appropriate habitat.

This was written by BWD contributing editor Julie Zickefoose, a former bird rehabilitator. This is reproduced here with the permission of the editors of Bird Watcher's Digest. To subscribe to this magazine, please click below.

[Resuce]

Thanks magnum!

[Resuce]

I'm going to tell my firend what I found out now!

[Magnum]

Good luck and Welcome to Petlovers!!! ;) Do you have any pets? We would love to hear about them, and maybe see some pics.

[kwitty]

You may also want to check with a vet. I had a friend that rescued some baby birds and the vet either gave her or recommended some kind of food that could be syringe given to the birds. They may also need some antibiotics. I have always heard that they do. Good luck and keep us posted on what happens.

['too crazy]

How's the bird doing?

[sdille]

How's the bird doing?

Hi,

Sharon Dille here. I am a volunteer for 911parrotalert.com. We are the amber alert for lost birds. My job is to update our database for lost birds. How did you come to find your bird? What specie is it? How old is your rescued bird?

Thanks, and have a great day!

Sharon Dille
sdille@excite.com

[opokki]

I had found 3 baby starlings a several years ago when I was stilling living at home. The smallest of them did'nt make it but the other two grew up nicely. I fed them the baby cockateil formula from the pet store...then onto worms when they were big enough. My mother called a few places but nobody would help us...one woman just scolded my mother for taking the birds in but offered no assistance.

[sdille]

I am Sharon Dille. Team Leader with 911 Parrot Alert (Amber Alert for lost birds.) My bird vet, Dr. Julie Burge said that wild birds do not do well with hand feeding. You were lucky that some survived. The Doctor recommends that you leave them at or near the nest. The parents will find them and then feed and take care of them.

Have a great day!

[skyhawk]

Never give water. Mealworms sold at pet shops may work. Bits of minced meat. Fruits for some. It is an overwhelming and tedious task, and sometimes the birds we save end up dying a more miserable death.

Human emotions should stay out of nature's business. In nature, death is a way of life. Parents will abandon eggs or babies, that they know have been discovered. The parental instinct is more bent on it's own survival rather than the nest, because the parents can mate again.

Best thing to do is call a rehabilitator or leave it be. The first year for any bird is it's learning experience, and once they survive that first year, their chances for survival increase.

[NathanMc]

my grandma was raised on a farm, and I can remember being at her farm house as a real little kid and she'd have little baby birds that she raised. I don't think she knew any better, but the birds would attack her farm animals (I can't remember what wild bird does that, but I had a few attack my cat back home) so she'd removed their nest that was near the house or barn where the animals were, and if they had babies she would raise them and from what I can remember they all lived. She'd bring the nest and all in. Thinking back on it, it's rather funny to think of her 'helping' the little birds. But she was old timey and didn't know any better. I know when I was little, I saw a nest in a tree and I took it down cuz I saw her with one at the time. It had eggs in it, and she whooped by butt with a switch and made me put it back and told me to never touch a nest with babies or eggs because the mother may never come back. So I guess she just did it to protect her other animals, and I remember as I got older you never saw many nests around the barn, and my dad would say that's because my grandma raised ever wild bird I see. haha, man I miss being a kid. :p