And yet another rescue!! (1 Viewer)

Hello people,
You're probably sick of me and my rescues but that's what I live for...
My brother in law gave me this little guy, I'm not sure what it is so I really need help (his parent was shot and it's got very little chances)
Right now it's in a cage that I've flooded with towels and have a light on it to keep it warm and cozy.

1. What breed/type it is?
2. What it would eat at this size and when it grows up?
3. Anything else you would like to add on the housing.



Please help, may god be with you all... for the sake of this bird!

looks like a shorebird - without seeing his feet well, or anything to give its size really hard for me to identify - but definitely want to build it a cage where it can poke for bugs in wet sand while you have him and if he has no injuries you might want to get him back to a place where his kind are breeding - these guys nest on the beach - they need to run around and find food which is what its parent would be teaching right now -

as far as food goes, mosquito larvae, finely chopped krill - if you can post better pictures that more clearly show size of legs and bill shape i'd be better able think about its diet.


good luck

It's already poking my fingers which is a good sign I guess, I'm going to try feeding it krill for now.

This is the best picture I could take, the legs may not show but they're pretty long.

OmSeth said:

It's already poking my fingers which is a good sign I guess, I'm going to try feeding it krill for now.

This is the best picture I could take, the legs may not show but they're pretty long.

Click to expand...

well he's a cutie, if its really a "he" - looks like a plover to me, but in any case its a beach loving shorebird with a taste for small critters - larvae and tiny sea animals are the way to go with him at his young age, but he's going to need a real good cage - sand etc and he needs to be kept warm - a heat lamp is a good idea and maybe a little stuffed animal or feather duster that he can get under to imitate the brooding effect that he's missing out on - even a mirror might help.


good luck

Yep, it is a Snowy Plover (correct me if I am wrong there)
It ate a bit of Krill and drank some water this morning :t:
It's cage is well heated and lighted but I cannot have sand in there for a while (I live far from sandy areas so I don't have sand what so ever)
How much should it eat per day?

OmSeth said:

How much should it eat per day?

Click to expand...

As much as it will take, although don't feed it the same thing every time - vary it a bit. Small neetels and spiders and other insects (mosquitos, small flies) will also be taken. It will also need some minerals from sand or soil, so make sure it has some shell sand or soil in there so it can pick up minute bits of mineral for calcium etc.

Thank you both for the info.

I have read that I should feed it with a toothpick due to it's small sized mouth, is that the way to go?
And sorry for all the questions, I'm just not used to birds that small.

Yes offer it food at first, but it will also want to take live food itself - the food must be moving for it to stimulate the bird to peck at it. Dead, still food will not work.

You could try daphnia or mosquito larvae in a dish of very shallow water (just a couple of millimetres of water), or small insects on the floor of the cage (preferably on sand) which will stimulate the bird to peck.

Be aware though, that when the bird is frightened or alarmed then it's instinct is to be very still and lethargic, and this can be confused with the bird getting weak and sick. Make sure if takes food, and it should survive. If necessary at first, open the birds beak and insert the food into the mouth with a toothpick or tweezers. This is a last resort to prevent starvation - it needs to eat something (several items of food) at least every hour during daylight. Also, at night and at several times during the day, it will need to be warmed. If possible, place a heat bulb (a red light bulb) above one end of its cage, so that it can get to feel heat (only as hot as feels comfortable on the back of your hand for a minute). It is very important to also make sure that the bird can get away from the heat to cool down if it wants to, so it must be cool at the other end of the cage. You don't want to cook it!

From what you have said, it is not frightened... it actually calls when it's hungry, what worries me is that it's not feeding on it's own.
As for lighting, I have it all set up and working good.