Luna had a bird. I think it is a young mourning dove, but I'm not 100% confident. Can anybody confirm that for me? The poor thing lost a lot of feathers (including its' tail feathers), but seems to be generally okay otherwise. I don't believe it can fly now. We have it in a big box with mixed seed from the bird feeder and some water. My goal is to keep it alive until it can fly again. Advice?!?
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Call a local nature center? That's what we did when my 29 yo daughter found what she thought was a baby duck in the middle of the road. Turns out it was a vulture! But the nature center was very helpful. We kept a young bird in a small cage a few years ago, feeding it until we felt it was strong enough to fly. Took about a week, if I remember correctly. Lots of responsibility tho.
ReplyDeleteYours does look like a mourning dove.
A vulture, huh? That's pretty cool! :) It was too late in the day to reach anyone at our nature center when I found the bird, but I'll try them tomorrow. It did eat a little of the seed we put out for it, though, so that's good- but I don't think it's had any water. You're right that it's a big responsibility to care for an injured critter like this. I just hope it survives and heals.
ReplyDeleteOk, this is going to sound weird but I was told it by a vet - we found some baby birds (though younger than this one is my guess) that had fallen out of a nest. There is a wildlife sanctuary but they were not open til morning - but there is a vet nearby and we took them there. They said that canned cat food was a good substitute for a mother feeding them (we watched and they went crazy and loved it a lot). They took care of the birds until the sanctuary opened but it was good advice in case we ever came across it again. I know it sounds really weird but that might be an option, though again, my guess is that this bird is a bit older than the ones we found.
ReplyDeleteAmy, Thanks so much for this tip! Fortunately, our little bird (affectionately referred to as "Sam") is eating the seed and groats we put out for it. But I will keep your tip mentally filed in case we need that idea in the future.
ReplyDeleteLast year I found a baby bird that had been blown out of its nest and there was no mama around. I waited and watched, but no bird came near it. I took him home and stopped on the way for some wild bird suet with insects in it. I chopped off pieces of that and mixed with warm water every few hours. Was told baby birds need to eat very often. He loved what I fixed and I only had to use tweezers and an eye dropped for a few days. His tail feathers grew daily and I started buying worms for him. I hate worms, but anything for the baby bird. He gobbled them down easily. I kept him in a cage away from my cats and dog. I covered the cage at night to keep him safe from drafts with the AC running and he did well. After about 6 weeks, I released him and he flew to a neighboring tree where he stayed for a day or so. Then he moved to another and they he was gone. Good luck with your baby.
ReplyDeleteAmy, thanks for the tip about the cat food. We're starting to get more birds nesting in our trees, so it's good to know.
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