rescued a baby robin...now what do I do?

[mamaboyd]

We have a robins nest in the lilac tree near our patio. Tonight, my daughter found one of the babies on the ground, it's mostly feathered. I carefully put it back in the nest but there isn't much room as there are 2 other babies in there. Well about an hour later, I found the baby on the ground again, so I put it back in and one of the parents came to the nest and I think it pushed the baby out again, I saw it tumble to the ground. The parent made no attempt to see if it was alright. So, I have the baby in a wipes container on a soft towel and in the room where our baby chicks are in, nice and quiet. It's chirping and hungry, anybody know what I should feed it?

Thanks!

Trish

 

[morelcabin]

It is very strange that the parents are actually pushing it out of the nest. We found a baby robin just like you a few years ago but the nest was too high up in the tree to reach, so we tacked a margerine container filled with straw to the tree as high as we could reach and mom and dad took care of baby from there until one day it flew away. Obviously these parents have no aim to care for this one, and besides worms I have no idea what they eat

 

[thechickman04]

i have no experience with wild birds but i would give it some mashed up worms

 

[s6bee]

A baby bird with most of it's adult feathers is called a fledgling. Momma might actually be teaching it to fly so I would say leave it be. If this is not what's going on and you now have a baby bird be very careful to not over feed it. Usually wet cat food mixed with more water is something you can try. You can take worms too, and mash them up with water, not pleasant but when my cat got a baby bird about that age those are the two foods we used and it kept the bird alive for the weekend till we got it to a refuge. Let the bird take in what it wants to but make sure it knows what you have. Don't tilt heads back or anything like that you can make the bird asperate and that's not good. You don't have to give it water, if it's in the food, that's it's water source. Try using a small dropper or a popsicle stick to give the food. At first you may have to show it how to go about it. Keep it warm and safe feeling.

 

[robinaggie]

If you saw the parents push it out, are you sure you saw robins? Starlings will take over nests and push the other birds' babies out.

If you can, and you know the parents are around, try putting it in a basket or something very near where the original nest is. If the parents don't come to feed it - it's yours.

Be careful when feeding it wet food that you don't put the food in its mouth, but rather far back in the throat. If you put it in its mouth it will come out of the nostrils and can drown the little bird. An eye dropper or narrow syringe are good. I thin baby food meat (the kind with nothing but meat and broth) with water or soy milk to feed baby birds with good success.

Thanks for trying to help the little bird.

 

[mamaboyd]

Thanks everyone. I think this baby is only just over a week old, have no idea what age parents teach their young to fly, but I know the parent continued to feed the other babies in the nest while the one was stuck on the ground. I'm pretty sure the parent pushed it out of the nest as I was right near there when I saw the baby tumble and catch on the branches and land with a plop. It had no idea what was going on and it was on it's back when I picked it up.

I'll try the cat food for tonight and than dig up some worms in the morning and mash them. The baby food sounds more appealing, may have to try that too! I've got the container on top the brooder with the heat lamp slightly pointed it's way to keep it warm. The room is kept closed and it's pretty toasty in there with the lamp on.

Once again thanks!

 

[ChickenladyinMN]

When I was a kid my friend found a little pink robin that got blown out of the tree during a storm. She did not know what to do with it so she brought it my house and thought that I might be able to do something with it because we raised chickens. So there it stayed for 13 years. When he was little we fed him chicken food that I soaked in water until it was like soup and I had a little doll spoon that I put it in it's mouth with. When he got old enough to eat by himself he ate it dry and I would give him millet spray like you have for the parakeets and collect the berries that the other robins in our neighborhood would eat. I would bring him worms and let him fly around the house, he had a cage he would go into too. We tried several times to let him go but he always returned so we kept him. However I always tell people not to do it because I had several other baby birds after that and they all died - maybe there was more wrong with them I'm not sure but it was really hard.

 

[robinaggie]

If the parents really did kick it out, it could be because they have too many mouths and pushed the least likely to survive out, to give the others a better chance. It happens.

 

[priszilla]

soaked kitten or puppy food will make a instant baby bird food in a pinch- but for the long haul- 1 # ground sirloin cooked and drained mixed with 1 c. chick starter or game bird starter and 2 boiled eggs shell and all and 1/4 c. shredded carrots, and 1 dropper ful of bird vitamins - blend ina food processor or blender till pretty smooth. Freeze- break up- warm small amounts to just above oom temp- stuff into bird. kep watere in small dish available- add fine grit too or sand - like 1 tsp. but hte chick starter has some in it so not a huge deal.offer chopped fruits when the bird gets to the hopping around size as well as mealies-

 

[mamaboyd]

Thanks!!

Baby robin is still with us, but now it has a huge air bubble under it's wing

I read somewhere that you should prick it with a needle to release the air and pressure, so now I'm off to try that.
Wish me luck!