Help! I found baby sparrows!

eggsellent

In the Brooder
9 Years
Mar 27, 2010
91
4
29
South Central Indiana
I found 2 baby sparrows on the ramp of my house. Their nest was knocked down in a storm and one was soaking wet while the other was hidden under the nest. They are fledglings, so they have all their feathers but can not fly yet. I just could not let them die! I know to keep them away from my flock etc, but does anyone know what I should do?
 
Keep Them as warm as you can. Wear gloves while handling them. Check for lice etc so you don't inadvertently infect your flock. I would see if they accept bird feed, chicken feed, worms ect so they can eat. Good Luck!
Mark
 
I had a case kind of like that, but a little different: I found baby bats, called our local SPCA, and got directed to an expert who lived about a half-hour away and knew what to do with them. I left them with her.

Although in my opinion it would be safer to bring them to an expert, if they're fledglings, they might be OK with what you can provide.
I would probably keep a heat lamp on/heating pad available to them and try to tempt them with food a lot. Multiple times per hour. Maybe bugs, worms, fruit, bread? Everything common sense dictates (use paper towels, etc.) I have read not to feed them milk, honey or eggs. My only worry is how you will reintroduce them to the outdoors once they can fly (having been fed by hand, can they find food on their own?)

Alternatively, you could put them back where you found them and keep an eye on them for a few hours to see if the parents return to care for them. Most fledglings ARE fed and cared for by their parents on the ground before they can fly--when they learn to fly the parent takes it from there. You might keep an eye out for the parents, because they will probably come looking for the babies.

Good luck!!
It's a wonderful thing of you to take them in and care for them.
 
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I would like for them mommy bird to take it from here! I know she is probably looking for them. I would have left them there if it wasn't raining so hard. I felt like the one wet one wouldn't make it being so drenched and cold. I have them under a heat lamp resting for now with pine shavings in an aquarium. I have e-mailed a local bird rescue to see if they have any resources. In the mean time I have read they can eat hard boiled eggs and dog food for protein. Gotta love google!
 
We made a recipe of
1 cup puppy chow
1 cup apple sauce
1 tums tablet
8 drops bird vitamins form pet store
1 hard boiled egg
Soak puppy chow in water so it is doughy
Mix in all other ingredients well
you can spoon feed this to baby birds
We kept a Staling alive for over two years on this
Flying is the hard part. they not only need to be able to learn how, they need the room to strengthen there muscles and develop speed etc. Food they will find but learning to deal with wind, perches that bounce in the wind and stuff like that is dangerous for them. The parents will find them and care for them as long as predators do not find them also. it is not good that they are out of the nest. But still it does not mean the parents will not take care of them.
 
I called and left a message with Wildcare in my area. Hopefully they will get back with me. I would just put them outside where I found them but it is still pouring rain and the wind is really bad.
 
you can also "soggy" the dog food and using tweezers - drop it into their mouths ... ... we had to do that once for a blue jay that fell out of it's nest - it grew up with us all summer - then one day he was hanging out on the bird feeder and in a second a hawk swooped down and was gone
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... ...
 
Well I hard boiled eggs and soggied some dog food and mixed it into a paste. I used a chopstick and sort of nudged their beaks with it. They will only taste it a little with their tongues, I think they are a bit too confused and worried for food right now. The good news is the wet little baby is all dried out from the lamp and is now screeching loudly with its nest mate! They are so loud though its amazing!
 

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