baby bird (1 Viewer)

my son found a baby bird lastnight and i brought it home. i was told to feed it canned cat food. i was told it has most of the nutrients a bird needs. the one he found isnt naked! he or she has some fuzz on it and his feathers are coming. hes very tiny. there were two other ones by him too but they were dead. i brought him home and put a towel in a box. rapped him in it and hoped for the best through the night. surprised when i got up in the morning he was still alive. i had to go to work so i left him till i got home at 4pm thinking he wasnt going to be alive and sure enough he was. i bought some cat food and he opened wide and i fed him. i took a paper towel and wet it and squeezed a drop of water in his mouth. its pretty amazing. i dont know how long he'll live but im hoping he'll make it.

Flowergirl,
Thanks for helping the little fellow out. Normally folks are advised that it is best to leave the young birds where found or put them back in the nest if possible, so the parents can take care of them.

With your's being not yet feathered, it obviously fell out of the nest. The best thing to do at this point is to call an area Bird Rehabilitation center and turn over the care to them. The youngsters need to be kept at the right temperature and fed regularly and are a full time job.

Also, in most of the States (if not all) it is illegal to raise wild birds in your home if you are not licensed. They have a 24 or 48 hour limit to turn the birds over to a licensed rehabber.

Again, thanks for caring and helping. And Welcome to Birdforum!

Welcome to the forums from all of us on staff here!

It IS illegal to raise wild birds in your home, in ALL states. That's because all native birds are protected by federal law. The only ones who can keep them are rehabbers or falconers, all of whom are licensed.

So, for that reason at the very least, it's important to get that baby to a licensed rehabber as quickly as possible. Please contact a local vet, law enforcement, DNR, animal control, or similar, as many of them will know of licensed rehabbers in your area. It may be necessary for you to deliver the bird, but please consider doing so. You will definitely increase the little one's chances of surviving. Bird babies need to be fed constantly, every 1-2 hours. And every time it is handled by a human, no matter how careful and caring, the bird is highly stressed.

Thank you for caring so much. And please keep us posted!