Everything you need to know:
Can you post a picture? FROM EXPERIENCE: Keep it warm (Heat lamp is the best) and DON"T GIVE IT OR FORCE WATER OR ANYTHING ELSE TO DRINK. It could drown. In northern america, it is illegal to keep a wild animal as a pet so check around your area first, or get a permit. DO NOT GIVE IT TO WILDLIFE REHABILITATORS because they are intruscted to kill non-endangered wild birds if they cannot be released. Start out with a cardboard shoe box but you MUST keep it WARM. AGAIN Do NOT GIVE IT TO A ANIMAL RESCUE, US fish and wildlife are instructed too kill non endangered wild birds that cannot be released.
Some common causes of baby bird stress are:
1) Excessive handling
2) Improper holding techniques
3) Fledgling fear – when the baby is already solidly imprinted on its parents and fearful of humans
4) Predator fear – birds do not like to be peered down at. Approach and hold them at eye level
5) Noisy environment
6) Crowding and competition
7) Lack of required dietary nutrients
8) Improper feeding schedules
9) Wrong temperature or humidity
10) Keeping babies of different ages together
11) Taking on more baby birds than you can adequately care for
Also how to tell age
1) If the baby’s eyes are still closed it is probably less than 7 days old. . If the bird is weak due to stress or disease, it may also be reluctant to open its eyes.
2) By 12-14 days of age it should have most of its feathers erupted but not fully unfurled (still in pinfeather form).
3) By 16-20 days it should be completely feathered , fluttering and interested in leaving the nest.
4) By 22-34 days it should be flying well and able to grasp and eat food on its own although it will still beg its parents for food.
5) By 40–50 days its tail feathers should be as long as its parents. But it may still be dependent on its parents for food.
WHAT TO FEED:
Do not attempt to feed baby seed-eating birds or baby fruit-eating birds only what their parents normally eat. The will not grow and thrive on the diets their adult parents consume.
The Kitten Chow 60% :
Dry Purina Kitten Chow contains approximately 34% protein, 12.5% fat, no more than 4% fiber and adequate (1%)calcium. It also contains all the vitamins that baby birds require. Zoos use diets for baby perching birds that contain 19.5 - 30% protein, 2.5 - 8.2% fat, no more than 2.8-6.5% fiber and 1.1- 1.2% calcium (1, 2).
You can use another name brand kitten or puppy kibble that meets the standards of the AAFCO . Chows marketed for puppies and kittens have higher protein, calcium, and vitamin content that products sold for adult pets. I do not use niche-market brands or brands sold only through specialty outlets because small producers don’t have the resources for strict quality control.
The Eggs 20%:
Supermarket eggs of any size are fine. Shell color is not important. Hard boil them until the shells peel easily. Save and grind up the shells or substitute one crushed standard Tums-type calcium carbonate tablet for the shell. Whole , shelless egg is about 26% protein, 1% carbohydrate, 9% fat, zero fiber, 0.5% calcium and 180ppm iron.
The Mealworms 20%:
Mealworm larva are available online. Don't be squeamish, they eat them in China. They will need to be cut up for little birds. Mealworms are about 20.3% protein, 12.7% fat, 1.7% fiber, and much too low low in calcium as a sole-source diet for wild baby birds.
There are a lot of negative sentiments against feeding earthworms. Earthworms contain whatever pathogens the soil they burrowed through contained. But this fear is primarily based on a particular parasite earthworms sometimes carry called Syngamus trachea, which they ingest as the burrow along in the poop from previously infected birds. Worms you grow in your organic garden are probably fine – but their protein and gross energy content is considerably less than mealworms.
Naked, unfeathered babies with closed eyes need to be fed every 15-20 minutes from sunrise to sunset.
DON"T GIVE THEM WATER UNTIL THE BABY BIRD IS WALKING OR PERCHING. NEVER GIVE WATER BY MOUTH.
GOOD LUCK!
doves donnt drink milk
Me and my friend just found a baby mourning dove on the ground. He is a day old and is extremly small. We looked up recipes for crop milk but everything looks hard. And we do not live close to an animal rehab center. Any really easy recipe we can make for crop milk?!?
