Q&A for How to Wean a Wild Baby Bird

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I'm using cat food to feed it, will that work?

Community Answer

Cat food is a good choice, but kitten food can be better. Soaking the cat food helps it go down. It is good to change up the bird's diet a bit. If you know what bird it is, look at what that bird eats in the wild. Does it eat fruit? Then cut up soft fruits into small pieces to feed it. You can give it a mix of food the bird eats in the wild and soaked cat food.

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Question

How do I make a bird feel at home?

michael jones

Community Answer

Make sure it has a lot of sunlight, warmth, companionship, company, toys, food, water, and then just a nice big cage. Try not to be noisy on the first week of having it and make sure you talk to the bird often and interact with it.

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Question

Where can I take a baby robin?

Community Answer

Check it for injuries, then call the RSPCA or ASPCA or any other animal welfare organization in your area. Tell them if the bird is hurt and they will either advise you on where to go, or send someone out to you to collect the bird.

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Question

How can I make a bird stop pooping a lot?

Community Answer

The problem could be what the bird is eating. Make sure you are using the right food.

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Question

How do I hand-feed a baby bird?

Community Answer

You can use a syringe to slowly insert the food into the bird's mouth. For more tips, I suggest reading through wikiHow's article on feeding baby birds.

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Question

How often do I need to hand-feed my baby parrot?

michael jones

Community Answer

Three times a day.

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Question

My baby bird still hasn't learned to eat on his own, and he's almost an adult. What do I do?

Community Answer

You could take the bird to an animal rescue center. If you touch a wild bird, it is hard for them to return to the wild again.

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Question

Why can't baby birds have a lot of water, and other juices?

Community Answer

Baby birds are like human babies, they depend on their mother for everything. A baby bird is fed everything by the mom. We cannot replicate that perfectly when caring for a baby bird.

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Question

Can I soak dried mealworms and feed them to fledglings?

Community Answer

No. Meal worms have a hard shell, hard on the birds digestion! Feed wet puppy food (pate canned) and later add tiny crickets into the food. Crickets have a softer body, so they can digest that. Also, no worms, as they are not good for baby birds! Do not talk to the bird, but rather have it listen to bird calls of its kind. Robins, play robin sounds. Sparrows, play sparrow sounds, or place cage outside so it can hear and talk back! Other birds will check it out. And that can help when the time is right to release the baby. Other adult parents can start helping it along with other just fledged birds. It will still need some adult feeding attention once released.

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Question

How long till a baby bird can hold its own heat?

Hayden

Community Answer

A baby bird will be able to hold their own heat somewhere between 5 and 10 days old.

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Question

My fruit eating bird refuses fruit, what do I do?

Community Answer

Try covering the fruit with some of your bird's favorite foods or its seed/pellets.

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Question

Can I feed the bird beef? I don’t have any vegetables in my house.

Community Answer

It depends on the bird. If it is an herbivore (plant eater) you must feed it plants as it will most likely refuse the meat. Research your bird species online and check out its recommended diet.

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Question

My fledgling sparrows need to learn to eat on their own. How do I teach them?

Community Answer

Start with small worms or worm pieces. Live food will encourage the bird to try to eat on its own and prepare it for release. Place the cage close to a light outside to attract bugs. As bugs fly around the light, the baby bird will begin to catch and eat them.

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Question

Our rehabbed (mostly) sparrow lives outside now but still flies to us several times a day for a mash of fruit and seeds. How do we gently wean her so that she forages for her own food?

Willow the Leopard

Community Answer

Try putting the mash of fruit and seeds a little farther away from your house each time she comes. As she gets used to this, change her food from mash to more solid, like whole blueberries or seeds.

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Question

My boss's finches laid some eggs. Three survived and are about five weeks old. Full feathers and as big as the parents. We moved them to their own cage, and they are getting around the cage fine. Will they eat?

Sssniperwolf

Community Answer

Yes. Once they have hatched and are fully feathered and flying, you could move them into the smaller cage. Give the big cage a good scrub with soap and water. Then feed them.

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