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Need help. Rescued a bird

R

Reel

Diamond Member
http://www.cise.ufl.edu/~ltaub/bird.jpg

This bird fell out of the tree and can't fly yet. It can just flap its wings real hard and move on the ground. I tried to feed it some bread but it won't eat. It just stands still. It is really small and I don't want it to get eaten by one of the neighborhood dogs. What should I do to help it? Does anyone know what type of this bird is? Can I take it to a vet and they will take care of it?

UPDATE: The University of Florida vet school has a wildlife refuge where they take orphaned or injured wild animals and make sure they are healthy then release them into the refuge. My vet referred me to them and they seemed very nice and concerned when I went in to drop the bird off. I think the bird will be ok. 🙂 I am glad I didn't have to try to take care of it. I don't know the first thing about taking care of birds. Thanks for your suggestions though Eli.
 
Try to find a bird rescue place. Don't try to care for it yourself, it's a lot harder than it seems.
 
Keep in mind that wild birds carry diseases and parasites, most notably lice.

Where do you live? Knowing this might help identify the bird. What color is its breast/belly?
 
Originally posted by: NuclearNed
Keep in mind that wild birds carry diseases and parasites, most notably lice.

Where do you live? Knowing this might help identify the bird. What color is its breast/belly?
Click to expand...

I live in Gainesville, (Central) Florida.

bird front
 
DO NOT FEED IT BREAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It does not contain enough energy and nutrients, it will die.

I've taken care of many, many wild birds..

If you're serious about keeping it, you're going to have to go to a large pet store and get some baby bird food and a syringe.

It's a powder that you mix into a goopey stuff and warm up in the microwave. Load up the syringe, and give 'em a mouthfull at a time.

Keep it warm. No drafts, even if they are warm.

It could be very close to being able to fly. Do you have a safe area where you can help it along? I've "taught" a few baby Pigeons how to fly using my attic. They're usually flying back and forth within a week.
 
Originally posted by: 91TTZ
It looks like a baby sparrow.
Click to expand...
It is. 😉

In all honesty, Sparrows are considered a ratbird like pigeons. They don't belong here in the US; they are not native. But I would still take care of them if I found them.

I had a pet sparrow for about a year once. I don't know why he died..

His name was Geordy. 🙂 He was cool.. just as tame as my Parakeets.
 
I'd know a face like that anywhere. 🙂 Definitely a little sparrow.

My wife and I occasionally help out our friends who run a raptor rehabilitation center, and we've raised a few sparrows and mockingbirds for them since I work at home and can feed them during the day. We fed our little ones dry cat food, soaked in water to the point where it's almost falling apart, with a light sprinkling of ground up antacid tablets (calcium carbonate, like regular Tums) to make sure they got enough calcium so that their bones are strong and healthy. Both sparrows and two out of the three mockingbirds (one was the runt of the litter and just wasn't strong enough to survive even with our help) that we raised on this stuff survived, and the pair of mockingbirds still hang out together and live in our neighborhood almost a year later. They come visit us every once in a while. Very cool little birds.

We named the little mockingbird that died "Norman", as he liked to hide behind the shower curtain in our upstairs bathroom. Seemed appropriate. Very cute little guy. He was shivering right before he died, so I had him sitting on my chest trying to warm him up. When he died a few minutes later, his body instantly went into rigor, and since his legs were bent, he effectively launched himself off my chest like a frog taking a giant leap. He was dead long before he hit the ground. I was quite pleased that he was feeling well enough to try to fly away from me for all of about half a second until I realized what had happened. 🙁

I'd do it again in a heartbeat. It's so cool taking care of an animal like that, having it get better, and then being able to release it back into the wild. There's not much that tops that. My wedding and the upcoming birth of our first child (beginning of September), certainly, but it's not far down the list. 🙂
 
Until you hand it off, you should just put it in a shoebox with some air holes and leave it somewhere quiet. Most birds in that situation die from stress, not from any injury... Could put some little container with water in it too but mainly just don't scare it to death. Literally.
 
It's a wild bird...what do u think your doing the world a favor in saving it, obviously its not healthy, and natural selection says it should die. Plus it's a wild bird...and a sparrow at that...i've killed more of those damn birds b/c they take over our buildings and build nests, and poo everywhere...I'd say kill it, there are about 10000000000000000000000000000( give or take 100000000000) more to take its place.
 
Originally posted by: Eli
How's it doing? I hope you took that bread out of there.
Click to expand...

I took it to the University of Florida School of Veterinary Medicine's Small Animal Clinic. They have some people there that work with wildlife and have a wildlife refuge so they were going to give the bird a physical and take care of it until it was strong enough to release into their refuge. I had already taken the bird to them when you posted your first message to this thread and it didn't eat any of the bread (probably because it was so scared) so you don't have to worry.
 
one thing i've learned....do not introduce it to ur pet hamster and cause the hamster to rip the bird's beak out because ur older brother is a moron
 
i bet the University of Florida School of Veterinary Medicine's Small Animal Clinic is just a front for a roadside grill
 
Originally posted by: gar3555
It's a wild bird...what do u think your doing the world a favor in saving it, obviously its not healthy, and natural selection says it should die. Plus it's a wild bird...and a sparrow at that...i've killed more of those damn birds b/c they take over our buildings and build nests, and poo everywhere...I'd say kill it, there are about 10000000000000000000000000000( give or take 100000000000) more to take its place.
Click to expand...

We will think about your statement if we find you wounded. There are over 3 billion humans right? Who would miss you?
 
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