Feeding a young bird

[welshboy]

Hi' This is my first post, just found this forum which looks good lots going on.My brother found a very young bird and he brought it home which way is the best to feed it.I have tried white bread which have been soaked in milk the bird have been pecking at it.Is there any thing else i can feed it with and how often should i feed the little thing Thanks for your time.Mark

[astarsdad]

Hi,

Depending on the species, most young birds are usually fed caterpillars or small insects, or a regurgitated mix of seeds by their parents. It woud be better if you could give us a description of the young bird so that we might try ro help.

Terry

[Kayleigh]

Whatever it is bread and milk is the worst thing you could feed it..
Try dog or cat food but we really need to know what it is..
Please if you find a baby bird LEAVE IT WHERE IT IS.
The parents will find it.

you need to find your local wildlife rescue centre.
try the web for you local area or someone here could advise.

wildlife rescue center south wales - Google Search

[RKB]

Post a photo so we can assess the age. Or describe is as best you can (species, feather development). Why was it picked up?

People often 'rescue' young birds when there is nothing wrong with them - they are just fledglings and should be left alone. I hope this isn't the case, but if it is then it needs to be returned first thing in the morning (as soon as it's light) - 5 am.

In the meantime, get some dog/cat food or meat, cut into very small pieces, use a match/toothpick to open the birds bill and another to pop a piece of the food to the back of the mouth. Don't feed anything salty (bacon) or it will kill it.

They need to eat very often as they will starve to death in a couple of hours.

[welshboy]

Hi' i've downloaded a picture of the bird in the library images.Mark

[Kayleigh]

Its a blue tit and it has fledged so the parents would have come and fed it.
Take it back to where you found it if its not too late keep your distance and see if the parents come back.
if not find a rescue centre.

[welshboy]

Hi Kayleigh' Thanks for your help with the bird.I'll get my brother in the morning and take it back where he found it on the side of the country road.Mark

[SheffieldLass]

Originally Posted by welshboy

Hi Kayleigh' Thanks for your help with the bird.I'll get my brother in the morning and take it back where he found it on the side of the country road.Mark

If there is a hedge or shrubby patch there, try to put it in some cover, a bit above ground level. When blue tits are very newly fledged they often can't fly properly for the first day or two, but quickly learn, which is probably why your brother found it on the ground. They usually hide in low level plant cover until they can fly.

[RKB]

Originally Posted by SheffieldLass

If there is a hedge or shrubby patch there, try to put it in some cover, a bit above ground level. When blue tits are very newly fledged they often can't fly properly for the first day or two, but quickly learn, which is probably why your brother found it on the ground. They usually hide in low level plant cover until they can fly.

Blue Tits can usually fly pretty well on fledging. I think it might have been hit by a car. Sorry to say that it doesn't look well in the photo and I suspect it wont last til morning (it may be concussed but probably hasn't eaten enough in any case).

If it's alive in the morning try and feed it something (pea-sized bits of food, as mentoioned above, or boiled egg yolk [cooled]) then take it back to exactly where it was found and put it in a bush as early as possible after dawn. The family will probably be in the nearest tall bushes/tress and will be calling noisily.

[SheffieldLass]

Originally Posted by RKB

Blue Tits can usually fly pretty well on fledging. I think it might have been hit by a car.

Not the case with mine that have fledged over the last few years in my garden. They tend to plop out of the blue tit box and land on the ground below. Then flutter their way up into low level foliage, then try to fly and flutter back down to the ground. Some get up into the trees pretty quickly, others it takes longer. (In fact those that didn't make it into the tall sycamore, but hung around in the shrubs didn't get picked off by the jays and magpies, so the not quite so strong actually fared better.) Quite often if they fledged later in the day they were still at ground level in the evening and the parents would encourage them to move into dense ground cover.