my dad rescued some baby birds

[SuperPeacockman]

The nest had falled out of the tree and there were four baby birds. He brought them home. Should they have light/heat and what should we feed them?

 

[Akane]

The nest should have been put back in a tree in the area and the parents most likely would have continued caring for the young.

Do not put them under a heat lamp. It will dry them out and kill them. If they need extra heat use a heating pad or electric blanket but be very careful not to overheat them. Most bird species people find do well on dog or cat food. Either canned or soaked kibble. The feed needs to be warm but not hot. They will all need fed every 10-20mins from sunrise to sunset. A robin makes about 400 trips a day to feed the young. It's pretty much a constant all day thing and you'll have to wake up as the sun rises. If you can't do that try to find a wildlife rehabber or return the birds and their nest to where they were found. Also it is illegal to have most birds in your possession or to try to hand raise them. Even if you accomplish getting them to adulthood you then have to try to release them in to the wild or care for them for the rest of their life illegally.

 

[SuperPeacockman]

Do I need t give them water or will the soaked dog food have enough moisture?

 

[AquaEyes]

What to feed them depends on what the birds are. Do you know? If not the exact species, is it a finch/sparrow, a corvid (raven/crow/jay), a raptor, etc?

 

[Nambroth]

SuperPeacockman,

Their care depends greatly on their species. Most songbird species are illegal to posses in the USA-- I'm not sure where you are at to know if this applies to you or not. The only exceptions are European Starlings, European House Sparrows, Euasian/non-native Dove species and Rock Pigeons.
I know you are trying to help these babies. This is very commendable!

However, caring for baby wild birds is tricky and it's sadly just too easy to kill them. If you can, call your local Department of Natural Resources / Fish and Game department and ask if there are any local wild bird Rehabbers to you. They might even be able to pick them up. The babies have their best chance in the hands of a capable rehabber!
If you can't get answers from your DNR/Fish and Game, try a few local vet offices. Sometimes they can give you the contact information for someone that can rehab the babies.