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3075. judithathome - 5/22/2005 3:31:38 PM Someone, quick, I need help! We just found a little nestling on the ground...a jay bird...he's fat and has all his feathers and markings, even a little "hat" but his tail is very short. He was walking around but unsteady and he flaps his wings a bit but isn't able to fly.
We scooped him into a box and I dribbled some water into his little open beak. My question: what can I feed him to give him some strength?
3076. thoughtful - 5/22/2005 3:54:32 PM J@H, I would strongly recommend contacting the nearest audubon society and seeing if they have someone who will care for baby birds.
A friend of a friend did that for them and it requires a great deal of dedication and specialized care. She would get up every 2 hrs to feed the chicks just as with an infant...she would take them with her wherever she went just like with an infant so she could feed them on time. And she would make specialized mixes of food depending on species out of things like corn meal and dog food and all kinds of stuff.
It is not a task for the untrained if you expect to be successful. 3077. wabbit - 5/22/2005 4:48:28 PM Baby birds don't need feeding at night, but they are labor intensive during the day, wanting food about every hour. And some water, which you already know. Think about the daylight hours - if you tend to sleep late, keep the bird around a light for a few hours after sunset and feed him accordingly, then keep him in the dark until you get up. That way his feeding schedule keeps the right number of hours, but on your body clock.
Thoughtful is right, food depends on the type of bird. Seed eaters should get some kind of mash (pidgeons are particularly difficult), insect/meat eaters can have cat food. Moist dog food with a bit of cornmeal is a good middle ground.
You also want to have the baby on some kind of twigs/straw/grass. Their little feet need to be able to grab at something, or they won't develop properly. Also, after eating, they will back out of the nest to poop off the side.
Thoughtful is also right about finding someone to take over for you. It's cute for a day or two, but hand-rearing baby critters will take over your life for a while, so if you have a local group that will take the bird, that's a good way to go. 3078. wabbit - 5/22/2005 4:49:56 PM Also, if you can put him back in the nest, do that. The old saying about birds rejecting babies that people have touched has never held true in my experience. 3079. thoughtful - 5/22/2005 4:51:19 PM wabbit i guess you're right about the birds not feeding at night...depending on the bird though.
This woman cared for all kinds of babies including mammals who do require night time feedings. 3080. wabbit - 5/22/2005 5:12:40 PM Me, too. I did wildlife rehab years ago in NJ/PA. I've reared sheep and deer, cats and dogs, raccoons, possums, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, rats and countless birds. I had a robin that used to fly around behind me when I mowed my lawn after he was released. The cats I had back then never bothered anything that was in the house - I guess they figured if it was indoors, it was mine, but outdoors it was fair game.
The various mammals were 24/7 and were a lot of work, but I enjoyed it. Owls wanted night feeding, but you could adjust them to your schedule by keeping them in the dark during the day and in a lit room at night. 3081. judithathome - 5/22/2005 5:23:39 PM Thanks, you two...I went to a site on the internet and it said basically what you both said. It also said that sometimes a baby bird is on the ground because the parents are "ground training" it. So I put him back outside and sure enough, the parents came and are feeding him even as I type this.
Keoni went to the store and just asked a few people if they knew anything about what to do....he said a shopper told him and even showed him the cereal to buy (baby food multi-grain for infants) and showed him where the syringes were and told him how to mix the stuff and feed the bird. So he came home with the goods just as my friend who'd come for breakfast and I let the baby out into the yard. We all sat out there and drank Mimosas and were so relieved to see the parents show up.
They will keep any cats away, I'm sure...they've been dive bombing Klaus every time he goes out there and of course, he won't be going out there for a few days now. 3082. arkymalarky - 5/22/2005 8:21:41 PM Neat reading after the fact, and a happy ending!
It's been a long time since we had a baby bird rescue attempt, and we were never successful. Now we'll know more about how to do if the circumstance arises again. Friends of ours had a baby owl they found on the side of the highway that they successfully raised and freed as an adult, but they're the only ones I know off hand.
3083. arkymalarky - 5/22/2005 8:23:06 PM We've got a mockingbird nest in the backyard shrub that Mojo wants very badly, but it's out of her reach. When the babies start trying to fly it could be a problem. We've had swifts nest on our porch, which Bob hates because of the mud, but I never knew if the babies survived. I suspect not. 3084. wabbit - 5/22/2005 9:03:51 PM Grocery Store Wars, starring Cuke Skywalker, Ham Solo, Chewbroccoli, Princess Lettuce, C3 Peanuts, Tofu D2, Obi Wan Cannoli, and Darth Tater. 3085. Macnas - 5/23/2005 8:27:56 AM I was having a smoke in the porch at the weekend, in my mothers house, or the homeplace as we call it.
Our 14yr old nephew wandered in and said that there was a small bird flopping around outside. Out we went, where we say a near to fledgling mistle thrush, looking very feeble and exhausted.
The brother, being a bit of a dab hand with wild creatures after all his time surveying the lower Rhine for flora & fauna recovery, picked it up carefully (from the back, with his palm against the birds back and his thumb and fingers holding the wings against the body, middle and index at either side of the neck) and knew where it had come from.
Since he came back from Holland he has done all the gardening, and knew where the nest was (indeed, knows where every nest is), in a climb of thick ivy against the wall of one of the out buildings. We got a set of steps and he placed it back in the nest. He said he didn't know if the parents would forsake it or not.
He reckoned that this was the second hatch that the thrush’s had, the first being lost to magpies. It's harder to control these most prolific egg thieves now, as my sisters property makes it awkward to use a gun.
3086. alistairconnor - 5/23/2005 8:38:25 AM How about an air bazooka? that'd blow the magpies away... momentarily 3087. Macnas - 5/23/2005 8:40:46 AM You and your new fangled new-age gadgets. 3088. thoughtful - 5/24/2005 6:03:07 PM Skirt steaks are on sale at the grocery store this week so i had hubby stock up for the freezer. If you've not had skirt steaks, you don't know what you're missing. I sprinkle them with montreal seasoning before grilling and they serve up tender and juicy. Like having dessert for a meal! 3089. thoughtful - 5/24/2005 6:11:47 PM Re whole grain breads and fiber, the nutrition action letter had a good article about it recently where I learned a lot. Like "wheat bread" means nothing. It needs to say "whole wheat flour" in the ingredients, and the closer to the beginning of the ingredient list, the better. Ingredients listing things like 'stone ground wheat flour' or 'wheat flour' or "100% wheat flour" is meaningless...that is not whole wheat with the germ and fiber included.
Also check the fiber content. Bread with 1g of fiber is almost nothing. Trader joe's carries a whole wheat english muffin that is tasty and packs 5g of fiber. Also check out Ezekiel bread which is made from sprouted grains (biblical combo of course)...very high in nutrition and tasty. After a slice of that bread, you KNOW you ate something.
I also learned that, unlike I thought, most rye and pumpernickle breads are not whole grain. I've found a whole grain rye at trader joe's though too...though it doesn't taste like the rye bread I'm used to...I find I need the caraway seeds to give it that extra punch of flavor. 3090. Magoseph - 5/24/2005 10:33:34 PM What's the Skirt Steak? Is it like the London Broil, I mean the same kind of cut? 3091. thoughtful - 5/24/2005 11:10:13 PM Here's a description, though I've never found it tough, but I'm careful to grill it quickly and never overdo which would be easy seeing it's such a thin cut of meat. We have had leftovers which, if over microwaved, will get very tough. In fact, for leftovers, I often eat it cold or room temp to retain tenderness and flavor.
The skirt steak is the diaphragm muscle. It is a long, flat piece of meat, with a tendency toward toughness. But it has good flavor. It can be grilled or pan fried quickly with good results. Another traditional method is to stuff it, roll it, and braise it. In many areas of the country (Texas, for example) skirt steak is the only cut to be used when making "real" fajitas.
 3092. judithathome - 5/24/2005 11:17:47 PM I was just going to say that...about the fajitas.
Well, our ministering to the little bird paid off; today he hopped on the rim of the box and praciticed flapping his wings with the parents looking and encouraging him. And in about 45 minutes, after the mother had fed him a snack, off he flew! 3093. thoughtful - 5/24/2005 11:22:47 PM glad to hear the fledgling fledged.
speaking of the birds, there were more turkeys about...couldn't remember the term so I looked it up again (i hate getting old!)...it's a rafter of turkeys! 3094. Magoseph - 5/24/2005 11:51:36 PM Thanks, thoughtful.
We don't use the front door anymore because there's a nest right on top of the nightlight. Each time we used the door, the bird flew out--we feel we disturb its nesting. If people come over, one of us goes out by the back door to meet them.
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