My boyfriend is a horse trainer. He works in a barn during the day. One of the barn swallows fell from a high point in the barn (where he couldn't get to to put it back in the nest) and onto the concrete. He saved the bird from a salivating dog who waits around for these tender little nuggets to fall from the sky so she can enjoy her afternoon snack time. Surprisingly, the bird doesn't seem to be injured, but I couldn't really know for sure.
I've done a bit of Googling and have been feeding it either mushy dog food or waxworms every 1/2 hour. It's eating with vigor. I'm not forcing anything in, nor am I feeding it liquids because I don't want it to inhale them. I have it under a heat lamp. The bird has some wing feathers and is covered in pins/fluff all over the rest of it's body. It seems hydrated (moist inside mouth, nice and yellow, bright - not red or pale.) It makes cute little bird noises when it's feeding time. I simply tap on it's makeshift nest and it opens it's little mouth and chirps for me. It's in a toy sand castle bucket with hay to be comfy.
I keep washing my hands, too.
I've called two of my "local" rehab centers and am pending a call back tomorrow. I don't want the bird to die and I don't want to imprint it so that it may be released back to where it came from with success. Unfortunately - the closest rehab center is an hour away and they're only open until 4:00pm. I work from 9:30-6:30pm until my day off on Sunday!
Anyone have any suggestions or recommendations? I think we're doing pretty well so far. I don't want to have the bird until the weekend, but I might not have a choice.
p.s. Why do these little birds fall out so easily? He says that the babies fall out of nests all the time and this little gordo dog eats them up. I know that fledglings are often mistaken for injured/misplaced birds - but these that fall out are not fledglings, but younger birds that aren't ready to leave yet. I think that the barn swallows need some Coop Design 101 courses!
I've done a bit of Googling and have been feeding it either mushy dog food or waxworms every 1/2 hour. It's eating with vigor. I'm not forcing anything in, nor am I feeding it liquids because I don't want it to inhale them. I have it under a heat lamp. The bird has some wing feathers and is covered in pins/fluff all over the rest of it's body. It seems hydrated (moist inside mouth, nice and yellow, bright - not red or pale.) It makes cute little bird noises when it's feeding time. I simply tap on it's makeshift nest and it opens it's little mouth and chirps for me. It's in a toy sand castle bucket with hay to be comfy.
I keep washing my hands, too.
I've called two of my "local" rehab centers and am pending a call back tomorrow. I don't want the bird to die and I don't want to imprint it so that it may be released back to where it came from with success. Unfortunately - the closest rehab center is an hour away and they're only open until 4:00pm. I work from 9:30-6:30pm until my day off on Sunday!
Anyone have any suggestions or recommendations? I think we're doing pretty well so far. I don't want to have the bird until the weekend, but I might not have a choice.
p.s. Why do these little birds fall out so easily? He says that the babies fall out of nests all the time and this little gordo dog eats them up. I know that fledglings are often mistaken for injured/misplaced birds - but these that fall out are not fledglings, but younger birds that aren't ready to leave yet. I think that the barn swallows need some Coop Design 101 courses!
