what to do with a baby robin

[conny63malies]

apperantly i am the local neighborhood bird lady. this afternoon after a huge thunderstorm rolled through some neighors kids brought me a baby robin that fell from a destroyed nest. Icant take it back outside because there are stray cats and owls in the area and i dont know which tree it came from(also kids that might hurt the baby bird) . So i called a bird rehab. but they are full and told me that they cant accept anymore common birds , now if it was a baby bird of prey or a endangered bird- that they would still accept.
What now?
The baby is fully feathered but unable to fly.
for now it sits in a toilet paper lined small wicker basket with a teddy bear as company, put that in a cat carrier to keep safe.
I fed it puppy kibbles soaked/softened in water,
its quiet and sleeping. How often do i feed it? what else can i feed? can i feed mushed chick starter , earthworms, lightning bugs and minced hicken breast?
any help is appreciated.

 

[donnap1967]

I found a few websites with some good information on raising wild birds. Hopefully these help you. It's not easy to keep these wild birds going but I wish you luck and hope your little bird does well.

http://www.marathonwildbirdcenter.org/baby_birds.html

http://www.lafeber.com/Products/feeding_instructions.asp

http://aviary.owls.com/baby_bird.html

 

[zatsdeb]

if it is feathered you probably would be ok feeding it worms and little pieces of bread soaked in water... that is what I just did last year, kept it in a cage, and fed it and after it learned to fly in my living room I let it go. it flew up into the trees with the other birds. I like to think it comes back every year.

oh, and you feed it every few hours, it usually will peep when it is hungry.
feed it until it doesn't want any more, just like a baby!

 

[conny63malies]

its going fine, it pooped a few times overnight-which is a good thing i gues. I soaked the kibbles and s/he ate four pieces and a fly at 7am. I will do hourly feedings since it is fully feathered from sunrise until sunset. Ill also fet some insects and worms later when i go to my yard. Thanks for helping me. I will get a picture later.

 

[donnap1967]

According to one of the websites bread soaked in water is a bad idea. I am glad zatsdeb had success with her little bird and I don't mean to contradict something she suggested but I thought I would post this quote.

Do not try to give the baby water and make sure any food is not dripping with water. If liquids get into the baby's lung it will cause pulmonary aspiration and death.

Do not give bread to baby birds. There is no nutritional value in bread and it causes internal blockage.

I would hate to see you lose the little bird. Good luck!

 

[conny63malies]

Quote:
i wouldnt even give my ducks bread because i know about the low to known existing nutritional value. I make a new batch of soaked food evey time i am done feeding th bird, this way it stays fresh and doesnt get too mushy.

 

[arlee453]

I've raised robins before where the nest was completely destroyed and the babies weren't even feathered at all yet. I raised them quite well on a diet of moist cat food.

I just took the cat kibble and soak it with very warm water and then feed.

I recently used the same technique to raise a house finch that fell out of the nest that was too high for me to reach to put him back.

I also think the bread and water is a bad idea. There's very little protein in bread, and robins have a normal diet extremely high in protein (mostly insects/worms, etc)

 

[JennsPeeps]

My cousin raised a starling on canned cat food when she was a kid. I'd think that the protein in the cat food would most closely mimic the insects a mother robin would provide her young.

Remember that you never see robins at seed feeders - they're looking for worms, worms, and more worms.

Good luck!

 

[Ese_N_Gracie]

I work at a wildlife rehabilitation center (private non-profit) and the same type of agencies are all around the united states. You might want to look up info on the internet for your area...calling fish and game might be helpful too. I was really surprised to find out that wild birds (and animals) are protected and it is actually illegal to have them in your home. We are licensed by the federal government to rehab them. (I am by no means trying to come down on you...I think people who help our wildlife are awesome!) Aspiration kills super fast and there are countless other issues...like tiny mites that could be passed to your birds...avian flu Etc etc....Wildlife rehab facilities are amazing places to volunteer too! I don't know many people who get to hang out with eagles bobcats and nurse bunnies bats and raccoons back to health. I'm a walking commercial for chickens and the wildlife center in northern New Mexico

 

[texasreb]

A friend of mine recently rehabbed some baby starlings that were still tiny and unfeathered when she found them. She has recently released them.

She fed them a mush of canned cat food, applesauce, raw egg, crushed Tums, and bird vitamins. She got the recipe from a wildlife center that refused to take them because they are an invasive species.