My wife found this in the middle of the road...poor thing! STILL ALIVE

[gogoalie]

Newly hatched chick house martin...it's been 30 mins now, & I've got it under a heat lamp for my chicks...hopin' it survives to adulthood so I can set it free, as they love to eat mosquitos...

Seems as though some lil' kid has gotten into a nest & took it out...

I've no idea at what temp it should be, I'm hopin' that 100 degrees F will suffice, I'm pretty sure it'll survive on the yolk sac for a few days just like a baby chicken...after that, I guess I'll feed him some chick crumbles...

Can anyone help me out please?

 

[EweSheep]

chick crumbles? I don't think so!

Bugs and worms, use tweezers to feed the bugs to the chick.

Find some nesting material. It is very very young right now.

When you have the chance, call wildlife rehabber.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Soaked dog food is really the best for these situations. Jut make a small batch up in the morning and keep it in a sealed container in the fridge during the day. Break off little pieces (Don't over soak the food) and stick in the mouth with your finger. Also, I would recommend using a heating pad set on low instead of a heat lamp. It is really hard to avoid burning a baby with the heat lamp because they can't move away like chicks can.

Try feeding him as soon as you can get the mouth to open. Usually tapping on top of the beak will encourage him. Then feed every hour or so until he gets old enough to tell you when he is hungry! Please feel free to PM me with any questions. It's more difficult with the real young ones, but I was able to raise up a baby sparrow about the same age!

ETA: Even though you'll want to feed him bugs and stuff, it's really not advisable. Bugs have parasites in them and unless you can digest it like the momma bird and feed it that way, I would not try! Dog food or monkey food has all the protein a baby bird needs. Don't feed cat food though. That tends to have too much protein, but could be fine in a real pinch if you needed to.

 

[gogoalie]

Call them? I live in the middle of nowhere...closest rehabber's probably in Anchorage, or the Penisula...some 400 odd miles away or more...

Insects are a given...I'll need to supplement that though, as I won't be able to catch enough for it to eat...

 

[NYRIR]

aww...poor little thing.I hope all goes well...please keep us updated...I would love to see progressive photos!Sorry can't help much except to wish you well with he little guy!

Yep...don't think a rehabber will travel that far for one little bird!

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Quote:
Please don't feed it insects. See my post above

 

[gogoalie]

Thanks for the info Chickerdoodle...dog food I do have in abundance...

 

[EweSheep]

How come momma birds feed them insects?

Dog food sounds much better!

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

No problem! It's much easier than catching bugs I think anyways! Real easy to feed as long as you don't over soak it. The real difficulty is getting such a young baby to eat. I've had to very, very, very gently forcefeed before, but that can be tricky. Then you basically just break off very small pieces of food and stick it down the throat with your finger. Takes a bit of practice and you can use tweezers if you really need to. I've always just used my hands.

Also, don't give water at this point. The water in the dogfood will be plenty for now.

 

[gogoalie]

Chickerdoodles right, though, they feed them regurgitated insects which may help kill the parasites within the bugs...