How do I take care of a wild bird?

Question

Hello, I found a wild bird, which looks to be a sparrow/chikidee or something of the sort ( i'm sure I spelled chickidee wrong ) When I found it it looked like it had a hurt leg, and just let me walk up to it and pick it up. I live in very rural territory. I tried to give it water/wild bird feed for small birds, but it just sits there and looks straight ahead, like it has brain damage or something of the sort. When I get near it however it looks at me. What should I do? I found it about an hour ago,

P.S. It is a small black bird with grey breast/under.

Answer 1

easy: take it to a vet; just try it!

Answer 2

It could be a Starling.  If it is a young bird it will need food that is moistened.  It can in a pinch eat moistened dog food.  Moisten the food until it is mush and try to feed it with a toothpick.  It should, hopefully, eat for you.  You can also give it a bit of water.  It must eat, birds go downhill very quickly.  You can also try a bit of room temp sports drink for the electrolytes.  If you can get it to take something, it should get stronger. It might not eat on it's own for a day or so.  If it gets better you can let it go.  There is also a chance that it will not make it, unfortunately bird are not the hardiest of animals and are very easily stressed.

Good luck!

Answer 3

If it is obviously injured..you need to get it to a local wildlife rehab for it's best chance of survival.  It is also illegal for you to care for it on your own as all wild native birds are protected by law.  There is the possibility that this is a baby bird that has recently left it's nest as has not yet learned to fly..could this be the case?  If so, there may be parents around still caring and feeding it.  If no injuries and you suspect it is a baby, it can be returned to where you found it, preferably in a tree or scrub where it will be relatively safe from predators.  You can watch from afar to see if the parents are nearby.  If NO sign of parents after a couple hours..it needs to go to a rehab as well.  Look here for one near you:

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact....

Answer 4

U DONT TAKE CARE OF IT BRING IT TO THE NEAREST SHELTER A.S.A.P. STAT NOW!!!!!!!!!!

AND FOR CHRIST SAKE PLEASE WASH YOUR HANDS NOWWW!!!!!!!

Answer 5

Not much you can do.  If it's an adult, it's probably sick.  It will eventually die.  It's best not to handle it, and if you do, wash your hands completely with anti-biotic soap.

Answer 6

In the US, depending on the species, it may not be legal to take care of it, due to international treaty.  There are bird sanctuaries that have licensed staff that can.

It's probably in shock.  This by itself can kill it.

Answer 7

let it go!