New Babies - 1 RIR, 1 SLW and...1 Robin!?!? (Photo)

[MotherJean]

Wow! What an exciting day. I had just returned from the feed store with a 50# sack of DE and 2 new peeps. As I was going out the backdoor to get some supplies from the greenhouse a Blackbird flew past me with a Robin hot on his tail raising all kinds of heck. The Blackbird flew into a low shrub. I figured it was trying to molest the Robin's nest, so I ran toward the Blackbird to shoo it away. All of a sudden it came out of the shrub and I could see it had a baby Robin in it's mouth.

As it was flying off, it lost it's grip on the baby and dropped it on the street. Miracle of miracles, the poor thing wasn't bleeding and didn't have anything broken. Unfortunately, I have no idea where the nest is, so I couldn't return it to it's very distraught Mom. With no other options, I set up a small wire enclosure in the chick brooder for the Robin baby. So, now, I have a gorgeous 14-day-old Rhode Island Red, a 9-day-old Silver Laced Wyandotte, and about a 7-day-old Robin as brooder mates! Baby Robins grow amazingly fast - 2 to 3 weeks from hatch to fledgling according to my research. This baby is feathering out nicely and I'm hoping I'll only have to brood it for another week or two. My little peeps look at it with great curiosity, but have made no attempts to peck at it through the wire, thankfully. My DH came home about an hour ago. The two new chicks were a surprise. The little Robin was an even bigger surprise. He just shook his head and walked away

I don't know why these weird things always happen to me

but it sure makes life interesting.

 

[paddock36]

Have you raised any baby birds before? What are you going to feed it? Poor baby robin.

 

[ChooksChick]

How sweet!

The only thing about keeping Robin babies is making the earthworm mash....eeeeeeewwwwwwwww!!!

 

[Miss Red]

From my experience brooding young birds, it never works. I've raised several to feathering, but most turned into pets and weren't returned to the wild. Bugs ONLY. I killed my first few by giving them chick starter, did some research and realized I was killing them. -shrug- So bugs and fruit from then on, and raised several happy birds that stick right by the house. Wren the house wren has nested yearly on our porch since her release. The others aren't too far.

 

[lotzahenz]

I think you can go to a bird store, ie pet store with knowledge of birds and buy baby bird food, used in hand-rearing the pet birds they sell. It will have the necessary mix for the birds, but must be fed by hand every so many hours. Good luck, you will need it. Did you know baby rabbits only nurse twice a day? Mamma runs around, feeds them morning and then at night so they are alone in between that time? I learned that this year (I'm old) and raised rabbits for years. Who knew, I thought they nursed on demand like humans! I have no idea how often a bird must be fed though, you may need a NICU nurse for the baby. They sell worms all year long at our Wal-mart in the bait section though, if you need them. You'll have to teach it to fly someday, but I know of people who raise baby birds for a living and it works out well. They are gentle and can fly by instinct. I even seen one potty on demand, but the web sites say that is impossible. I wish you and baby Robin the bestest of luck.

HenZ

 

[ChooksChick]

We have several wild care agencies around here and we can call them and give them whatever we end up with- you might see if you have an agency like that near you.

 

[MotherJean]

Thanks for all the good wishes. Luckily, I found a website with some good info on Robin babies that gives me encouragement that I can do this. Until I can get my act together tomorrow on the berries/worms diet, apparently, these little guys do okay on wet (canned) dog food. Have been giving it about 3 lumps the size of a pea every hour. Have to feed like that basically from sunup to sundown, but not through the night. Makes sense. Mom isn't out there looking for worms in the dark, so I don't have to either. Poor little thing seems to be coming out of its shock and is moving around quite a bit inside it's wire cage. Flexed both wings really well, so I'm pretty sure nothing's broken. Since it started moving about, however, the chicks were far more interested and did try to peck through the wire. I rigged up a cardboard sleeve around the bottom 3 inches of the Robin's cage for protection. Am going to add just a bit of DE to the bedding tomorrow just to be sure that the Robin isn't transmitting any mites, etc. to my chicks. I thought I'd contact Animal Control tomorrow to see if there's anyone nearby that takes in these little tykes. Hope so. I'd much rather just enjoy my new chicks.

ETA: No, I've never brooded a wild bird before, but I'll try anything once

As far as it returning to the "wild," all I can do is give it a shot and hope for the best for the poor little thing. Sure felt bad for it's Mama. Hope her other babies are okay.

 

[watersoflethe]

Quote:
i've done the same too...
i've fed it chick starter....and killed it
ah..the years before google...

 

[dreamwallaby]

good luck with your robin, we've raised several and my mom has a pic of me as a kid with our first perched on my shoulder ~ his name was Robby of course. We soaked dog kibble and fed it mashed up. Chances are pretty slim you'll be able to return it to the wild though. you can teach birds to find seed, but it's really hard to teach a robin to look for hidden worms. Some of ours were successfully placed in other robin nests, but Robby stayed for quite a while. We raised a blue jay once too and he was loads of fun !

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

About 25 years ago I worked at a farm implement dealer. The mechanics were working on a piece of equipment one day and found a birdnest with baby birds still in it. They fed some to a cat that hung around until I discovered what they were doing. I put the baby birds in a box and took them home with me that night. Put them in a bird cage and called our vet to see what I needed to feed them. He said they needed moisture...suggested I soak small pieces of bread in water first to see if they would eat at all. I did and they did! Then moved on to worms. They got to the point they were flying and feeding themselves (put food in the cage for them to find). My husband took them to a rural area on the river and released them. He said the last he saw them they were flying into a tree. I always hoped and prayed they made it.

And yes, they had mites. When I began feeding, I would wrap them in a damp washcloth which slowed the mites down. By the time they left our house, they no longer had mites.