Baby Buff Banded Rail (Not a chicken)

[Aztrinity]

Hi everyone,

Our puppy gently brought a chick home that looks like a buff banded rail and we can't find the parent's nest (it's in our large dam somewhere). We have it in a box with one side warmed by a lamp but we're not sure what to feed it? It's very cheerful and sprightly.
Happy to collect insects or fish and mash - whatever but we have only ever raised baby parrots before so this is new for us (maybe we can still find the nest, but in the meantime).

Appreciate any and all advice you guys can offer!!

Thank you =)
Az

 

[Pyxis]

Poor little thing! Glad you are taking care of it. Any chance that if you don't find its mother you could get it to a wildlife rehabber near you? That would be the best case scenario, as they will have experience with wildlife and know what to do to successfully raise it so that it can be released back into the wild. Or at the very least if you don't have one near enough to you that you can get it to them, if you could call one they could at least tell you what and how to feed it.

 

[azygous]

For starters, I would just feed it some minced boiled egg. That would require no grit, and it would keep the chick nourished for the time being until you can hopefully turn it over to a wildlife rescue.

 

[FirstTimeClucky]

1. Try and find the nest if you can. The Buff Banded Rail prefers to nest in heavy vegetation and grass, near water. If you find the nest you can put the chick back. The parents should accept it if you don't wait more than a few days. The idea that they won't take a chick back because of human contact is an old wives' tale. You can always go back and check to make sure the parents didn't reject the chick. Also, once you know where the nest is, you might be able to keep your puppy from grabbing more chicks from it, which he will probably try to do. When I was growing up we had a cat who used to bring entire nests of baby rabbits home, one at a time.
2. If you can't find the nest, get some Kaytee Exact or other hand-feeding formula. That's the best thing to feed a baby bird, like baby formula. Pet stores that sell bird supplies should carry it. It's a powder that you mix with water. Another option is an electrolyte formula like Save-A-Chick. I keep Exact on hand because I breed a few species of birds and often end up hand feeding a rejected chick. Offer the formula on a spoon, do not try to use a syringe. An alternative would be to soak some chick starter pellets/mash or bread in warm water/electrolyte solution to make a liquid that can be fed to the chick.
3. That chick looks pretty tiny, it may need some extra heat, like a brooder or heating pad
4. See if you can find a wildlife rehab centre in your area. Check with your local SPCA, or your municipal government as they should know where to find the nearest wildlife rehab. Keeping wildlife without a permit is illegal in most jurisdictions.

 

[Aztrinity]

Thanks for all the advice guys!

We're looking for the nest this afternoon, shouldn't be too hard to find in daylight - was impossible in the dark. In the meantime its happily feeding on fresh insects (literature on rails said they forage with their parents within a day or two of hatching and their parents feed them insects, spiders, fish). It's quite skilled already at rotating a small grasshopper in its beak to wolf it down! Last night I put it in a box and had a lamp gently warming the box, seems to have done the trick. I also left my phone playing a gently running creek like the dam outlet near where we found it so it might feel more at home...

It's good to know the parents are likely to accept it back, fingers crossed =) I'll keep you posted!!

Thanks guys!!

 

[Aztrinity]

Good news The chick is reunited with its family I decided (on whim) that she's a girl and named her Grace.

She called and called from my palm as we approached the dam, and her parents came out to the edge of the reeds to investigate. After sighting her with me they moved into the edge of the thickest matted area and began a quiet Marco Polo with her. She leapt from my hand and rushed straight in after them; within about 10 seconds there was the most joyful chorus of parents and siblings from 4-5 metres away in the middle of the dam. It was beautiful to hear, and I didn't have to find their nest, bonus!

So after sighting the parents I can now say they were Australian Spotted Crakes, not Buff Banded Rails after all - very similar chicks though! http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Porzana-fluminea

Thanks again for all the advice everyone, we really appreciated the tips (so did Grace)! Happy Ending =)

PS See you guys on other threads, we're seriously thinking about chickens now...

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! And wonderful work with your (temporary) chick. Mary