Follow-Ups to Answer from Expert Roger Lederer

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raspberry wrote at 2008-08-21 22:30:24
We had a similar situation this week and this is the advice we got (we were successful in caring for the bird for three days, until we got it into a Wildlife Sanctuary):

1.  Try to get the bird to a Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre as soon as possible.  They will identify the type of bird and find the appropriate feeding regime for it.  Do not feed it worms!

2.  Keep warm.  It will not feed if cold or dehydrated.

3.  For feeding very young sparrows I was given two separate recipes:  1. "Tropican" Parrot powder, mixed with warm water to a consistency that is not liquid but not quite solid - "soft icecream consistency".  2. (this is the one I used and it did work - the bird got stronger) - soak dry kitten food (a good brand like James Wellbeloved) in warm water, add dried insects (if available) soaked in a little water and a boiled egg yolk.   (60% kitten food, 30% egg yolk, 10% insects).  Mash up really well and serve at room temperature.  You can store it in the fridge but make sure you don't "serve" it cold.

4.  Periodically give the bird a drop of hydration fluid as follows - DO NOT feed this directly into the bird's beak - just put a little drop outside of it's beak or wipe it's beak with a tiny bit of the fluid.  (Make up with 2 litres of water and add 1 TEASPOON salt and 1 TABLESPOON sugar).  You do not want to put this in the bird's mouth as it may go down the trachea and is in danger of killing the bird.  If you are having difficulty feeding the bird you may find that tapping it slightly on the side of it's beak, or putting one drop of water to the side of it's beak will make it open it's mouth (gape) for food.  Ours didn't gape all the time.  We tried to aim for feeding it every 15-20 mins over a ten hour period.  We didn't feed when it's crop was full (the bit to the side of the neck that goes white as the food goes down) but in the main managed 15 to 30 mins between feeds for most of the three days for around 10 hours a day.  It didn't eat if it was cold, so keeping the bird warm and hydrated is important.  To check whether or not it's hydrated, it's abdomen should look like a "plum", not wrinkly or shrivelled.  The food you give it should be enough to keep it hydrated but use the hydration fluid as a standby, but NEVER put it directly into the bird's mouth.  I hope this helps a few people.  Good luck!

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Sarah wrote at 2010-07-22 14:23:48
i too have been raising a house sparrow. He had been pushed out of his nest and 4 attempts to put him back he was still kick out. So we are raising him on dry cat food soaked in water and that seems to be doing great. We also feed him some liver which gives him good protein. The say if the birds live to be more than 48 hours in your care chances are they will survive. KEEP THEM WARM. Im curious on how the birds are doing in your care. hope this helps :)

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Becky wrote at 2011-06-29 16:43:19
I raised one one that was kicked out of the nest. I went to Petland and bought some formula made for hand feeding baby birds. It is made by Kate and is called exact. I kept him inside feeding him about every hour, during the day for the first month or so. He is now living outside. I am still feeding him his formula as long as he wants it. He hears us outside and comes flying and lands on our shoulder or head.  

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