I found a baby bird, what should I feed it?

Question

I found a baby bird next to my doorstep. I'm guessing its brothers must have pushed it out of the nest or something. What should I feed it?

Answer 1

If the bird is fully feathered, it is most likely a fledgling and has left the nest on it's own and it's parents are caring for it. It is normal for birds to leave the nest before they can fly. You need to replace it where you found it..preferably in a scrub or tree so it is relatively safe from predators, and the parents should come back to feed it. If it is unfeathered...then look for a nest and if you can find it...replace it into the nest. Do not worry about your scent being on the chick..birds have a very poorly developed sense of smell and will NOT reject a baby that has been touched. If you cannot find a nest, get the bird to a local wildlife rehab for it's best chance of survival. Also, keep in mind, it is illegal for you to try and raise this bird on your own. Look for a rehab here:

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

Answer 2

Bread bits, Bird Seed

If its really young, then chopped up worms.

Answer 3

If it's really little and young then you need to feed it bugs or something like that.  If it's a little older then you need to feet it bits of bread or bird seed.

I hope I helped!

Answer 4

Do NOT feed it anything...not even water. You can seriously injury the bird and make it sick. When birds are fed from their parents the food has been digested already so its not harsh on them. The best thing to do is find out if you have a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center near you and take it there. A local vet can point  you in the right direction. While your doing this keep the baby warm by putting him in a box with a clean towl or tshirt. Keep the box covered and try not to handle it too much. This can stress the bird out and if he gets to stressed he will die. Even better is if you can find the nest he came from just put him back. The parents wont reject him from your smell. Birds have a really poor sense of smell and taste. Just try to do this as soon as possible because you have no idea how long its been since he hasnt ate. Just DO NOT TRY TO FEED HIM!!! especially chopped worms.

Answer 5

Go to petco or any petstore and buy the baby bird exact hand feeding formula. It really works and gives the babies all the nutrients they need.

Answer 6

i just found a baby bird last week too.  i found her on a saturday night and couldnt take her to the animal shelter until monday.  when i called  the wild life rescue they told me not to feed her, just to keep her hydrated.  so i put her in my bathroom sink and turned the water on really low, she put her head up and gulped some of it.  i had a cage around, so i got some hay and sort of shaped it into a nest.  put some dryer lint in the middle, sort of the way a real nest is.  she really didnt bother with it, just sat around in the bottom of the cage and slept a lot.  but maybe yours will like it better?  you should prolly take her to whatever wild life rescue program you have locally, and they'll know what best to do for it.

Answer 7

Worms and bugs but tell your Wildlife Reservation about it and they will take it from you and release it when the time is right.  karen

Answer 8

First- Is the bird fledged? Meaning- Does it have feathers? Can it sit on your thumb? If so, put it back.

If it doesn't or can't, however, that's when you take the baby to a wildlife place. Baby birds (The ones without feathers are called nestlings) are very hard to raise, and most die.

Now, if you must keep it, you have to know this: If you feed a baby bird the wrong thing it WILL kill it. Seed eaters can't have worms;Meat eaters can't have seeds.

Is the baby's beak like a parrot's? (Hooked) If so, you can get formula for parrots at any pet shop and feed it that on you FINGER.

DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT use an eyedropper, IT WILL KILL THE BIRD. Birds get water in their lungs EXTREMELY easily and that causes pneumonia, which will kill the bird.

If it's got a strait beak you can bet it'll be fine off of worms, just mush them up and feed it WITH YOUR FINGER.

If it's a nestling put it in a cardboard box with lots of insulation and stuff, on top of a heating pad. Make sure the box doesn't catch fire.

Fledglings don't need heating pads but still need to keep warm;A warm lamp to set it under does great.

Baby birds need to be fed every two hours;BUT they'll most likely let you know when they're hungery.