Expert: Roger Lederer - 4/22/2007

Question
We have had house sparrows make a nest on my front porch.  The sparrow hatched 5 eggs 2 days ago.  Early this morning when I woke up and checked on the nest I found it ripped off and on the ground the baby chicks were still alive and the nest was entact, so I put it back up all day and hoped and waited for the parent birds to come back.  At first it seemed that they came back but the birds did not act the same or use the same flight pattern that she had used for the previous weeks when she was building the nest and in the hatching process.  I fear the mother was hurt or killed during the attack early this morning.  The chicks were fed twice through the course of the day and where left for many hours at a time w/o the adult bird.  When late night fall came I took the nest inside and fed the chicks fearing without the adult bird to keep them warm and protect them the would die.  Well now I have them I called a local pet store and they said to feed the chicks gruel dog food every few hours, I'm doing that.  How do I fully care for these chick house sparrows who are 2 days old?  I would like to eventually see them fly free in the wild but I know if I left them alone tonight they would surely be dead by morning. Thank you for your time and any help or advice you will be able to give.  

Answer
It is extremely difficult to raise abandoned baby birds successfully. Dog food might work temporarily but not in the long term. If you have a bird or wildlife rehabilitation center nearby, call them. Failing that, go to www.ornithology.com/rehab.html for links to sites that will give you information about raising baby birds. Good luck and thank you for your concern. Roger Lederer