Raising Orphaned Baby Wild Birds

Two websites to help you find a licensed rehabilitation center in your area are: www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm and www.wildlife-international.org

First try to put the baby wild bird back into the nest or near the nest so the parents can raise it. Many of the baby birds found, if they are fully feathered, are fledglings on their first flight. They just need to be picked up off the ground and put in a bush or on a tree branch. Do not worry about the "scent of man" on the baby - it is an old wives tale. The parents will not reject the baby from a human handling the bird. Be sure to leave the area and don't look out a window to watch - the parents will see you and will be afraid, causing them to stay away from the baby. Also, the parents will hear its baby from a block or two away from where you first found it. So if the area you first found the baby has too much traffic - cars, cats, people - then put the baby in a more secluded place on a high tree branch or in a high bush.

If the baby wild bird is featherless and the nest or parents can not be found, below are some instructions:

Two websites to help you find a licensed rehabilitation center in your area are: www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm . Also, www.wildlife-international.org, click on Emergency then follow the instructions. We have found if you leave out the City and fill in the box with the Country then State, your search results are better. If you still can not find anyone, your local veterinarian usually knows a person that cares for wild animals. Another website for good information is www.duckhaven.org which is dedicated to Muscovy ducks.

If you find a baby bird, first thing is to keep it warm. Place it on a towel covered heating pad on the lowest setting - keep it in a quiet safe place, then call your local rehabilitator, your local SPCA, your local veterinarian, and if all of that fails - you can contact me, Susie Ward, email or 305.743.6517 (please not after 8:00 pm or before 8:00 am - eastern time zone). The information below should be enough until you can contact the right person.

It is illegal to keep a wild bird, but until you can find a licensed rehabber, below is some advice on what to feed it. Here at the MWBC we all love the baby wild birds because they are so cute and sweet but it will be in the baby's best interest to take it to a facility that raises and cares for wild birds.

General Information:

Do not try to give the baby water and make sure any food is not dripping with water. If liquids get into the baby's lung it will cause pulmonary aspiration and death.

Do not give bread to baby birds. There is no nutritional value in bread and it causes internal blockage.

Different types of birds eat different types of food. If the baby does not have a crop - dove, pigeon - we feed it Pedigree Puppy Chow that has been soaked in water making it spongy and moist (not wet or dripping water); finely chopped fruits; peas; corn; mealworms after pinching the head; crickets. If you don't have puppy chow, use what you have in the house - wet cat or dog food, forming a ball the size of a pea and place in its mouth. Dry cat food is also okay to use, after soaking it in water. It takes dry food about an hour to absorb the water - one part dry food to two parts water. Feed the baby room temperature food and throw out the soaked dog/cat food after 12 hours because it will sour.

Doves eat seeds. The mother digests the seeds in her crop turning the food into a "soup". We prepare a seed formula and tube the "soup" past the glottis. This formula can be purchased from a pet store because it is the same food that baby parrots are given. Pet stores hand raise many parrots and they can show you how to feed the baby.

Feeding a baby bird the wrong food could be deadly. We have heard of people soaking bread in milk to give a baby - remember birds do not nurse their young. Milk is not a natural diet for them and it does more harm than good.

If this information has been helpful, please send a donation, just one dollar will add up to many dollars for us to continue our great work in the Florida Keys and to give information to people who have found a wild baby bird! Thank you! This organization is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization

A Foster Mother's Story by Susie Ward:

When the Wild Bird Center receives a call of rescue for a baby bird, we first try to put the baby back into the nest, if it is not injured. Passerines do not have a good sense of smell, it is an "old wives tale" about the human scent on a baby. You can put the baby back in or near the nest. There are several reasons for the baby to be on the ground. The baby could have fallen out of the nest; or on its first flight and landed on the ground; or the mother tossed it out of the nest due to sickness, injury, or disease.

If it is not possible to get the baby back into the nest or the mother is gone, that is when I become a foster mother. I use a small cardboard box and add straw.

I make the nest so the baby can get low and feel safe. I've noticed that the baby will poop outside its sleeping area by lifting its butt up over the straw, so I make a space between the straw and the box. I also use paper towels to line the bottom of the box so I can keep the "nest" clean.

I have found soaking Pedigree Puppy Chow in water for one hour - making sure it is quite moist - is a good substitute for the protein and grain that the real mother would give her babies. After making sure the baby is warm and comfortable, I give it the moist chow. The first couple of feedings I may have to gently hold the bird with one hand - opening its mouth with the other hand - to get a piece of chow in. Yes, it is very hard, but the bird usually catches on after 1-3 feedings. Another trick I have found is to gently tap on the side of the box, imitating a parents movements in the nest after flying in and landing on the nest with food. Also, I'll tap gently on the baby's beak, again imitating the parents wanting the baby to open its mouth. I start with half a piece of chow and make sure I get it past the glottis - the part that leads to the trachea and lungs. When the baby opens its mouth it's a signal for me to pop the food into its mouth. Every time I am near the baby I am sure to talk to it so it will recognize my voice. I try to feed a baby 1-3 pieces of food every half hour. I don't have to feed the baby during the night. I start in the morning about 1/2 hour after sunrise and stop 1/2 hour before sunset. The mother does not feed her babies at night - everyone gets a full nights sleep! I add some tiny pieces of fruit - watermelon, blueberries, apple, grapes and native fruit from my own backyard. Also I add corn and peas but take the thin skin off first.

Okay, now the baby is beginning to jump around and sitting on the side of the box. Outside, in the trees, I have a large cage that is predator proof . I add a variety of branches so the baby can perch. I continuously talk to the baby when I am feeding it. I always say "hello" and "come here". At this point, I place food on the floor of the cage for it to pick up on its own. I put leaves and grass in the cage for it to move around to find the food. Next, I add mealworms and a shallow 8 x 8 sturdy bowl with water. Gently, I place the baby in the water for a bath. It thinks the water is fire the first time I do this and jumps out very quickly! I repeat this a couple of times until the baby decides a bath is fun after all. It is hysterical to watch a baby bird take its first bath - I try not to miss this!

Now my baby is about 6-7 weeks old. It is time to open the door to the cage. The baby will either rocket out or wonder what to do. If it stays in, I place it on top of the cage. My cage is surrounded by trees, so it is easy for the baby to hop on the overhead branches. When it is time to feed the baby and it is in the tree above, this is when I can call it down to me with the "hello" or "come here". If the baby is having too much fun with this freedom - I don't worry, it will come to me after a half day for that food. I am sure to catch the baby and put it back in the cage before sunset, I always put the baby back in the cage at night. Predators go hunting at sunset and dawn - this includes the cat next door. At some point I am not able to catch it because it has matured enough to know that it does not want to go into the cage anymore.

A new problem will arise. The baby will want to stay on the ground for about a week to see what's there. In the wild, the mother is able to alert the baby with a cry of "flee". As the foster mother, I can't provide that information to my babies. There is nothing I can do but keep cats and dogs away from my yard and am sure to watch where I step. This ground period is the worst time for me as a foster mother and I know I will loose some babies because of things I cannot control. I hate this week.

Last note: I enjoy and have fun raising orphaned baby wild birds, but I am the correct foster mother and let these healthy babies fly away. When a wild bird becomes sexually mature it will become afraid of humans - it will never be a pet - it is a WILD BIRD. To contact me, Susie Ward, call 305.743.6517 (please not after 8:00 pm or before 8:00 am, eastern time) - I will be very glad to answer any questions you may have.

You have landed on the page of the Marathon Wild Bird Center,

located in the Middle Florida Keys.

This page will give you information about what to do if you find a Baby Wild Bird,

Passerines (song birds) - Grackles, Mockingbirds, Jays, Woodpeckers, etc.

General Information:

A Foster Mother's Story by Susie Ward: