Rescued a baby sparrow

[CaGoatLady]

I've been feeding a baby sparrow for about a week now and he lives in the house, in a cage. At first, I was holding him and feeding him the packaged baby bird food with a syringe, but now, he has different branches and perches in his cage and he just sits there while I feed him. I noticed that his little tail feather were not there last week and they have grown to about 1/8 of an inch and now about 1/2 and inch. Does anybody know when or if I change his food to something more solid? I have the cat or dog food recipe, but I don't know when to switch him to that.

 

[thebritt]

Sounds like it's about ready to move up to me. Especially if it can get around in it's cage. You could mix the two foods, gradually (over a couple days) to the cat food mix. Cat food has more protein, and it's parents would be feeding mostly insects. Even seed-eaters feed insects to the very young. Good luck to you!

 

[CaGoatLady]

Thanks thebritt! I've been putting new branches into his cage and putting them up higher and higher so he can flutter up and he seems to like them. He's really grown in the past few days, but his little tail feathers are still short. I'm doing the right thing by feeding him the powdered mix with warm water and a syringe, right? I make up just a bit at a time and feed it to him until his gullet is full, which is the same time that he quits eating too. This bird is so tame that he lets me wipe off the excess food on his beak. I think I've already done this bird wrong because he seems more tame than my pet birds. Since he was injured when I found him, I'm going to make sure he's ready to go before I let him out and about in the real world, so I'm going to stick him in a larger cage outdoors and let him get used to that and then one day just leave his door open when no other animals are about...especially the cats who brough him to me!
I have to say that each morning I wake up and go in to see him, I'm always surprised that he's still alive, but I guess I did something right this time.
Here he is, I'm assuming he's a sparrow:

 

[artsyrobin]

here is a link to how to feed and care for them- you would handle a single chick different than a group if you plan to release-
http://starlingtalk.com/babycare.htm

also there is a pet sparrow list on yahoo that will give you lots of insights-

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/passerdomesticus/

hope that helps you in deciding whether he will survive in the wild, they make awesome pets-

 

[CaGoatLady]

Thanks OKrobin! It's illegal to own them in California, so it's hard to get any info on saving them. It's going to be a very sad day for me when, or if I let him go; it's going to be like if I were to let my parrot or cockatiels go. I went to that starling talk site the first day I got him, mostly to try to figure out what kind of bird he was, but I got a recipe for food for him there.

 

[artsyrobin]

sounds like you are on the right track with him, the egroup is a great one, as many of those folks have years of experience, and i believe a few are in california, i know the general rule for starlings, and i suspect house sparrows is you can't release a non native bird- feel free to join the group, they helped me with my clare- she was paralyzed when we found her, that was 4 years ago and she is going strong...

 

[Rosalind]

I had one that was foisted on me by a random stranger whose kids had picked it up off the ground. It was disabled from its fall, and would have been instant hawk food, so I kept it. It lived to be, hmm, 5 1/2 or 6. In the wild they normally live no more than 1 1/2 - 2 years. It was indeed a good pet if you decide to keep it.

My sparrow ate waxworms for preference. Most bait shops have them. Also mealworms and smallish earthworms, but the waxworms were his favorites. Think he started on the waxworms at about the age yours appears to be. Soft fruit, berries were also a hit, as were finely grated carrots. Green salad, not so much. I gradually switched him from baby food over to finch food just by offering a little dish full of baby food mixed with the adult food, then gradually increased the amount of finch food. I kept giving him some of the powdered, un-mixed baby food sprinkled on top of his seeds and bugs for several months IIRC, to be sure he was getting enough nutrition.

Also, your sparrow will want some calcium. They can in fact figure out how a cuttlebone works, or the oyster shell stuff you'd use for finches, parakeets, etc. will also work. And of course he'll need grit.

Good luck!

 

[CaGoatLady]

Oh, I hadn't noticed that you had one! I just spent the last few minutes on the starling site and it looks like I won't ever be releasing this little bird. (I never really wanted to) I am so attached to him. It would've been hard not to let him imprint on me since he was injured and I had to hold him. His first few days here I held him while I fed him and then he liked to be cupped in my hand and went right to sleep. When I was still taking him out of his cage to feed him, I would stick my arm in and say, "Step up!" like I do to my regular birds, and he would get on my finger and before I'd pull my arm out, I'd put him to my mouth and kiss the top of his beek and he's never had a problem with it. I doomed this little guy to imprinting from the beginning. He does a little dance when I approach with his food at feeding time. Geez, I used to be the crazy goat lady and now I'm becoming the crazy bird lady! My husband already calls me Mrs. Doolittle.

 

[spotnapp]

I just got through taking in a baby grackle about a month ago. We fed him just breaad soaked in milk at first. When he got a bit older(sounds like about the same age yours is now) I started feeding him goldfish/koi pellets that have been soaked in water. She REALLY liked these! Once she was flying around good I put her cage outside for a couple days and then finally opened it and let her go. She stayed around and would still fly to us and land on our shoulder or head loL! I kept shredded bread and the soaked fish pellets in my bird bath for her. At first she would only eat from it but I eventually started seeing her forage around for bugs and worms. After a few weeks, the last time she came around she was flying around with what I expect to be her new found mate. It's a bitter-sweet farewell for my family but we know she'll be happiest being what God made her to be.
You're doing a good job and deserve a good pat on the back for stepping in to be the "momma bird". I don't know if there's any other animal that works harder than a momma bird. I know mine seemed like she wanted fed about every 15-30 minutes all day haha! I was so glad when she started eating on her own. Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[CaGoatLady]

Oh, now that I've read about the imprinting and the taming, I know I can't let this little guy go. I started out handling him a lot because of his injury and then, when I got scared that he was going to be too tame, I backed off and now that he'll have to be a pet, I feel like I have been cold to him, so I've started back in with all the loving and touching. He like to be pet and kissed.