How to Care For a Baby Bird that Fell Out of the Nest

Your Child Finds a Baby Bird in the Grass. What Do You Do ?

We've all been there, either you or your child finds a baby bird in the grass.....barely alive......struggling.......needing help. Your heart breaks, you want to help him, your child is crying, expecting you to save him.

What do you do now ?

That is what this post is about. It tells you what to do. I cannot guarantee that the baby bird will live, the mortality rate is rather high in these situations, but I can tell you what to do to give that tiny life the best chance possible.

Please be advised, it is against the law in most places to capture or cage a wild bird, even if you plan to release it later. This page is not encouraging anyone to break the law, the actions taken are always up to the individual.

The Best Thing You Can Do:

Return the Baby Bird to the Nest -
This is not what your child is going to want to hear, but it is the best thing for the bird.
Keeping an eye on the baby, try to locate the nest. Starting closest to where you found the baby bird, look in trees, bushes, even tall grass. Birds make nests in a variety of places, so make sure to look every place. Try not to jerk the branches around, looking, make your movements slow and gentle, otherwise you might
destroy the nest you are looking for.

If you find the nest. pick up the infant with gardening gloves or a soft dishtowel (no bare hands) and gently place it in the nest and leave quietly. The stories you have heard about a mother bird rejecting her baby if you touch it, is an old wive's tale. Returning the baby to it's nest is the best chance for the bird to survive. You will also be tempted to go and look in the nest again to check on the baby, but you should not. If the nest grows too public, the parents may leave for good.

If you can't find the nest, make a temporary nest of your own with a paper bowl and scraps of soft cloth and lay the baby in it. Secure the nest in a tree or shrub near where you found the baby, and leave. Stay out of sight, but monitor for a couple of hours. There is a good chance that the parent birds will return.

If you determine that the baby is truly abandoned, then you will have to make a decision if you want to take it in and care for it, or not. If you do decide to give it a try......read on.

So You Want to Try to Save It, This is What To Do:

Take a shoebox or any small cardboard box and place a small salad bowl inside. Shred some non-colored paper towels and pad the bowl before gently placing the baby in. This will work well until the bird is able to hop out of the box. At that point, place the box into a laundry basket. Do not use an aquarium, it has no air flow. Make sure the openings in the laundry basket are too small for the baby bird to fit through and escape. Make sure to cover the entire bottom of the laundry basket with newspaper or paper towels. It's very important that floor of the baby bird's enclosure not be slippery and smooth because this can lead to the bird's legs forming splayed to the sides; a condition called "spraddle leg." When the baby is able to grasp your finger with its toes, it is time to put a branch or two in the laundry basket for them to perch on. Make sure the branches are thick enough so that the birds toes cannot go completely around them.

It is better to keep the lights dim, other than when you are caring for the baby. Change the bedding and flooring of the laundry basket whenever it becomes damp or soiled. When the bird is strong enough to get out of the laundry basket, you will have to buy or build a cage or enclosure.

1.  Warming

The first thing you must do is warm the baby, if you don't it will exhaust itself shaking. Fill a rubber glove with warm water (not hot !) and wrap it in a small towel and place around the bowl the baby is in. You might want to cover the box with some cloth to keep in the heat. The baby needs to be kept warm.....much warmer than normal room temperature, about 95 degrees for a baby without feathers, and 85 for a baby with partial or full feathers. Placing a thermometer in the box is the best way to know the temperature is right.

2.  Hydration

After the baby is warm, the next thing you want to check is hydration. If the baby's skin is reddish looking or if it does not spring back when softly tugged, he needs moisture. NEVER, NEVER put liquids into a baby bird's mouth. Wild birds will most likely aspirate (breathe into the lungs) liquid put in their mouth and that will cause inhalation pneumonia which will most likely lead to death. Young birds will usually get enough moisture from their food, so giving them water is unnecessary and dangerous.

3.  Feeding

Make a solution of 4 tablespoons of Karo syrup, stirred into half a cup of warm water and a very small pinch of salt or buy some pre-prepared baby bird food. Do not use an eyedropper! Dip your fingers into the mixture and brush the liquid over the outside of the baby's beak. Make sure it is just a very small amount. He should be able to suck in some of the liquid. If he is actively opening his mouth, soak soft bread in the mixture and pinch off tiny pieces, squeezing out the excess liquid and feed them to the baby. If the baby is not opening its mouth, you may have to force his mouth open with your fingernail and place a tiny morsel of the soaked bread into his mouth. If he swallows it, then place another morsel into his mouth and before long, he will be gaping for more. If he does not swallow the first morsel, he may be too weak or just stubborn. You must be patient. Rub the tip of your finger gently along the birds beak. Make sure they are still warm enough. Move the bowl slightly to one side and then back. Gently stimulation sometimes will cause them to become more alert and receptive to food. If you still get no response, let him rest for 15 minutes and then try again.

Baby birds with no feathers at all and closed eyes need to be fed every 20 minutes all day and every six hours at night. I suggest using the wrong end of a plastic spoon to scoop up a small amount of food and place it in their mouths.

If his eyes are open and he has pin feathers sprouting, you can reduce the feeding schedule to once every 45 minutes, but increase the amount you offer them. Only feed them what they want to eat, never try to make them eat, if they do not want any more. When the bird is able to stand and hop, you can reduce the feeding to every hour to 90 minutes. When he is hopping out of the bowl and exploring the laundry basket, feed him every two to three hours and start placing food in his living area. (outside the bowl) You can also place a small jar lid of water in the corner, so he can learn how to drink on his own. Never do this until a bird is old enough to perch and walk around on its own.

Try Not to Stress the Baby Bird - This is of Vital Importance !

When you are caring for a baby bird, it is very important that you provide a low stress atmosphere. It is nearly impossible to discern when birds are stressed because there are little to no outward signs. But inside, their heart is racing, and their body is flooded with cortisol and catecholamines which over a period of time can ruin their health and lead to
dehabilitation or death.

Common causes of stress are:

• Picking them up when it is unnecessary. The only time the baby should be disturbed by brighter lights, noise or handling is when they need to be fed or tended. Otherwise, leave them alone, unless you want to sit quietly with them, speaking in a low voice or singing softly.
  
  
• Holding them too tightly or trying to force them to eat or being too rough with them.
  
  
• If a baby is older and is used to its parents, it may be afraid of humans, due to our size and strangeness to them. Try sitting with them, so they can get used to you.
  
  
• Looking down on the bird. This scares them from the predator reflex. Try to approach and hold them at eye level
  
  
• Noisiness
  
  
• Feeding the wrong diet for that bird
  
  
• Feeding too often or not often enough
  
  
• Too hot or too cold
  
  

Can You Get Sick From Handling the Baby Bird?

Probably not, if you are in general good health, but there are some steps you can take to minimize potential health problems:

1. Do not keep baby wild birds anywhere you prepare or consume food or drink.
2. Wear disposable gloves when taking care of your baby.
3. Make sure food containers are well sealed before putting them in the refrigerator.
4. Wash all utensils in bleach water and rinse thoroughly.
5. Change the nesting material daily, or if you get any food on them. Keep the habitat very clean

When Should I Release the Bird?

When baby birds are eating well by themselves and able to fly strongly and confidently, it is time to release them back into the wild. The problem is that many young birds continue to be fed by their parents for months after learning how to fly.

If you live in an area where this species of bird is common, you can release the young bird into your back yard (if you don't have dogs or cats about) and put its cage out with food inside and the door open, in case it may want to come back for a snack. If you live in a place you cannot release the young bird safely, then you may want to keep it till it is a few weeks older and then release it in a forest or large park.

Rescuing and nurturing a baby bird can be very rewarding, but you should be advised that most baby birds don't survive, mainly because they are simply too young to survive without the nest and its parents.

Have a great weekend!

Jade    :)

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