Expert: Roger Lederer - 5/11/2010

Question
QUESTION: a mohter bird abandoned her nest with 3 baby birds... why would she do this??? she was feeding them last night, now 2 are dead and i don't know what to do for the other one barely alive... why did she leave??? could she have fed them a worm or cricket with fetilizer or something on it??? could a pet have scared her away??? she didn't seem to mind them before... it has been windy and we had a storm, but she built her nest under shelter where no rain hits???

ANSWER: If the mother is gone, she may have been eaten by a predator or met with some other unfortunate occurrence. They usually don't abandon a nest unless there is a severe or continual disturbance. I don't know the exact situation, so I can't give you a specific answer.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: if she didn't abandon them, how many hours would she leave the next for??? they look to be 9 days old after research... i read to feed them canned dog food???

Answer
Depending on the weather, she would only leave them for an hour or two on a warm day. You said there were three baby birds and now two are dead, but then you say "they" look to be 9 days old. How many are there? Best thing to do is contact your local wildlife rehab center or wildlife official for advice and help. It is VERY difficult to raise baby birds if you have not had the experience. Canned dog food is OK for a day or two but they need vitamins as well. You need to get local experienced help, if you at all can.