Why was this a good idea?

[gudrin]

This is not necessarily a husband bashing thread. I'd be saying this about anyone who did this.

Back story: My husband got home from work today and immediately changed clothes and went outside to do a few things before bringing our oldest daughter out with him. This is a normal occurrence, and I thought nothing of it. Pretty soon I hear him come in and call to our daughter, "Come here!" I figured it was the call to bring her outside. I was busy with the baby so I didn't think anything of it until I hear my older daughter scream and run away.

Turns out, while he was outside, my husband saw two baby birds running beside him and somehow thought it would be a good idea to pick one up and bring it inside to show our daughter.
Problem one: We don't know exactly how our daughter will react. Screaming and running away was just one of many possibilities.
Problem two: We have cats who believe they are mighty hunters here in the house. And yes, it did get out of my husband's hand, and yes, one cat tried to get it. Ugh.
Problem three: What about the bird's parents? They were looking for it, and even though he put it down where he found it, the little one ran off for some cover and wouldn't come out as the parents were looking.
Problem four: What if the parents reject it now? I've heard that some birds do that. I don't know what kind of bird this is, but they're all over around here. I will google and see if I can find out.

Now, if he wanted to show our daughter, why not just bring her outside and show her from a safe distance to respect the birds' territory? Then we wouldn't have panicked birds outside, riled up cats inside, and a screaming kid as well. She's fine when she sees things in their natural habitat. He seriously did not think it through.

 

[FireTigeris]

Quote:
P1 - ask what he was hoping for by bring it inside... he might have some observations or nearly rational thought??
p2 - men will be men and cats will be cats?

P3 - They communicate with sound mommy will call the baby to her
P4- this is a myth. most all birds will take back their young or even feed them in a new place if they find them.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Relax. Chances are 99 to 1 that the bird is a fledgling--learning to fly. Parent birds will NOT reject a baby bird that has been handled by humans. Unless they actually see it released from a human hand, they likely won't know (until junior tells them over the dinner table

) VERY few birds have a developed sense of smell; turkey vultures (buzzards) are a rare exception.

 

[gudrin]

That makes me feel better, actually. The whole rejection thing was "common wisdom" with which I grew up. I did finally figure out what kind of bird it is...And considering the range this bird has in North America, I'm kind of ashamed to admit what it is. They're killdeer(s).

 

[turney31]

I think they nest on the ground, mom runs around crazy looking like she has a broken wing. I don't think any harm was done to birds.

Micah

 

[twentynine]

Good idea?

Well probably not.

Why?

Ain't none of you ever put your butt into gear before you let the clutch out on your brain?

In other words, it felt good when I thought of it, never figured it would turn out that a way!

 

[Mattemma]

Well I will admit to showing the kids the 5 cotton tail bunnies I got away from my dogs before they ate them.I let them hold one,and then we put them back into the hole.I kept the dogs locked up until the bunnies left the nest,which unfortunately the mother placed in the middle of our fenced yard.Now the bunnies need to run fast or they become a dog treat.

I always show my kids the animals in the yard,but usually I take them to the animals.Since I had the bunnies in my shirt I relented and let them hold and touch.

 

[gudrin]

Well I will admit to showing the kids the 5 cotton tail bunnies I got away from my dogs before they ate them.I let them hold one,and then we put them back into the hole.I kept the dogs locked up until the bunnies left the nest,which unfortunately the mother placed in the middle of our fenced yard.Now the bunnies need to run fast or they become a dog treat.

I always show my kids the animals in the yard,but usually I take them to the animals.Since I had the bunnies in my shirt I relented and let them hold and touch.

See, I think of this as a different scenario. The bunnies needed help in that case. In this case, he just didn't think. I did ask him what he thought would happen, and he said he didn't know, he just wanted our daughter to be able to see the bird. I'm still kind of shaking my head over that. And chuckling. Sometimes you just have to laugh a little.

Now, having seen my daughters reaction to that little bird, I wonder what she'll do when we get chicks? We are chicken free around here right now, but have found someone that orders a lot of chicks, and we can go in with them. We probably won't till next year now, but that gives us time go get a coop built and think about which breeds we would really like. But she'll be a year older then, so who knows?​

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Well, I would say she was surprised by the bird in her dad's hand. Maybe you should take her to the pet store and look at the birds there, and the zoo, and start pointing out the different wild birds you see.

I will say, though, that there are people who are afraid of birds. My next door neighbor's daughter (she is in med school and has been scared of them since she was a child) is afraid of virtually all birds. My grandson was afraid of birds when he was a small child, but not any more.

 

[crtrlovr]

Quote:
See, I think of this as a different scenario. The bunnies needed help in that case. In this case, he just didn't think. I did ask him what he thought would happen, and he said he didn't know, he just wanted our daughter to be able to see the bird. I'm still kind of shaking my head over that. And chuckling. Sometimes you just have to laugh a little.

Now, having seen my daughters reaction to that little bird, I wonder what she'll do when we get chicks? We are chicken free around here right now, but have found someone that orders a lot of chicks, and we can go in with them. We probably won't till next year now, but that gives us time go get a coop built and think about which breeds we would really like. But she'll be a year older then, so who knows?

You don't mention how old your daughter is now, so it's tough to tell if by that time how much more emotionally mature she will be. Add to that the fact that some children are just not "hard-wired" to be animal lovers, and it's still a guess. Even among children from the same parents, sometimes there'll be a vast difference in their love (or lack thereof) for animals or all things outdoors. If she is generally curious about animals & enjoys them, she'll most likely enjoy the chicken experience when you get your little ones next year or whenever.

BTW, the killdeer "broken wing act" is amazing to see. We had a nest of them in our yard behind our house one year. I carefully mowed our yard leaving a sizable patch of longer grass where she had her nest. One day I was in the yard and saw her flopping pitifully. My first thought was, "Oh no! She's hurt!" when out of the corner of my eye I saw four baby fuzzballs scurrying through the tall grass in the opposite direction...