Help- found blue jay chick

[sticksoup]

Hi- I came to my chicken forum because I find everyone helpful here and I've been searching on the net about this subject but seems to be a general outcry of anger when someone tried to rescue a chick. That said- we found the chick in our work parking lot. It was a mess- with loads of 'helpful' women fawning about the poor fallen chick that was being attacked in the parking lot by a murder of crows. Cars everywhere, people everywhere, and a little chick half pecked to death on the ground. I took it home as an alternative to death- hopefully. It has already been pecked blind in one eye and one wing looks real bad- but I don't see any open wounds and it has pretty good grasp in it's feet- it's able to roost. I did give it some water- which it drank and tried to give it some yogurt- which is wasn't intersted in. I brought it inside my air conditioned house (about 76-78 degrees). Right now it's in our warmest room with some sunlight. I'm confused because I know how to raise chicken chicks- but I realize this is a whole different animal. I've called the local wildlife rescues- but no one answers. I could use some advise on helping this chick~ I'm worried that the rescue won't want such a banged up little creature or I'm make a fatal error before I can get in contact with one.

 

[JMPE]

Not sure how young this little one is (I'm assuming too young to eat on his own), but you could try toothpick feeding. Take mashed sunflower seed or tiny chucks of worm and put it on the end of a toothpick. Gently tap the little ones beak. Some will open to this type of stimulation. If you can get him to open and eat, the next step would be to take a tiny syringe. Fill it with mash a try to get it to open to you and squirt a little in. This works for hand fed parrots. Do you have any vitamins from you chickens that you could put in the water?

 

[mmaddie's mom]

A good place to start would be with some baby food rice cereal feed from a eye-dropper... I keep some dry on hand for almost all baby critter rescues. Water it down well... also you could mash up some hard boiled egg yolk into it for protein, tiny bit of honey for instant energy. Have never raised a blue jay? so google raising baby blue jay and see what else they might eat (fruit? worms?) and add tiny pieces to it's diet, alternating with the rice cereal/egg yolk.
If he is permantly blind in the one eye, he will never be able to back to the wild, so are you ready to have him for life? and not just in a cage forever... quality of life issue.
Good luck and thank you for your kindness... I will continue to follow this line.
Also check the other baby bird rescue (Robin) that is on here today.
dmb/mm

 

[mmaddie's mom]

Quote:
Good advice... also you can buy Parrot starter food @ the pet store. Tweezers work well also.

 

[Scoop]

I don't have any advice but the other member's ideas sound good to me. Just want to wish you luck and I hope it makes it!

 

[mmaddie's mom]

see: "found baby bird by run. what do i do? by TheBeatlesAddict" just a few spaces below.

 

[sticksoup]

Thank you for the great replys- and the other threads were really helpful too. I didn't know it wouldn't want water- and I think the toothpick method will work.

Note: Maddie's Mom- I'd love to have a half-seeing little blue jay live with us if he'd like- but I doubt the rescue people would let us raise it. I'm just hoping to keep it going as long as possible. I'll try all suggested~ THANK YOU. Chicken forum is the best.
*I can't believe all the chicks fallen and found today. Hope it's not a sign of something.

 

[mmaddie's mom]

... it's a sign of WINDY weather

... and what the "rescue people" don't know, won't bother them... or your little Jay

... baby or bird vitamins, also.

Will subscribe to this thread so let us know how he is doing

dmb/mm

 

[sticksoup]

Oh Maddie's Mom- I wish I had kept him. After less than 24 hours I have fallen in love with the little banged up guy- who's little eye I thought was pecked out now opens a crack (kind of gooey- but there's hope). When I checked in on him last he was hungry as... well... a jay bird! Squawking and mouth open- it wasn't hard to drop a little food in it's wide open mouth. Even easier if I used a medicine dropper- which must be like Momma bird. But since I finally got a hold of the rescue people and they were adament I bring him in- I did. They said it looked like he will be alright.

At least now I know he will be taken care of.

*I made sure to slip them a 'donation'- "take care of him- see he has the best seed..."

Thank you all again

 

[mmaddie's mom]

Glad everything worked out so well for the little guy... you did a good thing!