I'm a mom to an abandoned house sparrow

[glutes]

Just curious here...do you know what type/species giblet is?? Are you in the USA? I ask coz when I raised a sparrow when I was a kid, she was your typical "English House Sparrow", and Chii Chii didn't look anything like your Giblet
And BTW..you are doing an awesome job with him! And he is a cutie to boot!


Jim

Giblet is a house sparrow. I am in Canada. He only just fledged a few days ago and when I first found him his feathers were so fragile that the ones on his neck came out. I expect they will grow back eventually, but as of now he looks pretty goofy with a naked neck! I'm sure in a couple months he'll start looking more like a house sparrow! He has some darker feathers coming in on his chest, so I suspect he's a male. It's really so hard to tell at this age though. Thank you


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[glutes]

Some pictures I've taken from yesterday and today...

he loves his mealworms! They are his favorite, he can literally eat 6 in 15 seconds.

investigating my messy table.

sleepy little floof.

and then this happened...[emoji7][emoji7][emoji7]the one trait I loved about caiques when I was considering one is how they lay on their backs, so I decided to see what Giblet thought of being an upside down bird. At first he was skeptical, but he quickly melted in my hand.

i love this bird so much. He's an absolute darling, despite the fact that he pecked my eyeball this morning!!


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[glutes]

Here's an interesting problem... Giblet won't eat his seeds. He'll peck at the millet spray a bit but prefers pellets! The dish his pellets are in is always cleaned out, while the seed dish remains untouched... Ideas?


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[RavensGryf]

Giblet! I love the name, he is so cute ! You're pretty brave with a mealworm on your chest... that means you're a great mom lol .

Keep working often with him at this early age for lying on his back. I've seen pics of (forgot what kind of wild softbill) did it, maybe a magpie? But anyway that proves that even wild birds who have no natural inclination to laying on the back can be trained. Hopefully he (or she) won't grow out of the behavior and become more wild upon maturity. I don't think he'll ever truly be "wild" though, since he's getting imprinted on you from an early age. I have no idea what they eat, so I can't say anything about diet. What kind of pellets are they? If they're formulated for hookbills, it might not be the right kind of nutrition for him. I think you're doing great! Looking forward to updates.

 

[GaleriaGila]

What a little contrarian!
Everybody else has trouble converting to pellets, and he is the other way around. Truly an upside down bird. LOVE those scrawny little legs and feet!

 

[glutes]

Giblet! I love the name, he is so cute ! You're pretty brave with a mealworm on your chest... that means you're a great mom lol .

Keep working often with him at this early age for lying on his back. I've seen pics of (forgot what kind of wild softbill) did it, maybe a magpie? But anyway that proves that even wild birds who have no natural inclination to laying on the back can be trained. Hopefully he (or she) won't grow out of the behavior and become more wild upon maturity. I don't think he'll ever truly be "wild" though, since he's getting imprinted on you from an early age. I have no idea what they eat, so I can't say anything about diet. What kind of pellets are they? If they're formulated for hookbills, it might not be the right kind of nutrition for him. I think you're doing great! Looking forward to updates.

Lol I keep reptiles so bugs don't bother me much anymore. He will lay on his back only when he's in the mood for cuddles, so a session in the morning and at night.its so endearing!! House sparrows are quite friendly even as wild adults, so I probably won't have many problems. I've been studying his diet rather intensely, and they really need a highly diverse diet. The pellets are Lafebers finch pellets. Harrisons high potency super fine could work too,but the reviews on Lafebers were more promising. I will continue with updates of my sweet baby


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[glutes]

What a little contrarian!
Everybody else has trouble converting to pellets, and he is the other way around. Truly an upside down bird. LOVE those scrawny little legs and feet!

I know right?!! I feel like he hasn't yet discovered what goodie hides inside the shell of a seed... His favorite food is definitely the mealies, but second is the pellets!he also quite likes strawberries. His feet are so precious.


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[GraciesMom]

Aww giblet is so precious. Looks like you're doing a fabulous job with your wee one!

 

[Flboy]

Try soaking the seeds, get a little sprouting going!

 

[glutes]

So I've been thinking... I'd love to take Giblet on outings and such, but I don't care to clip his wings or take the risk of him not coming back. Or worse, he flies up in a tree and a larger bird gets him. So I've been thinking about making him a harness. I would use the style of an aviator harness but with smaller, lightweight materials. Is this something worth looking into or a recipe for disaster?


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[Robin_the_kakariki]

Yes that is normal😀 I have hand reared many wild birds and they are just a delight to see grow up, make sure as it gets older to use very shallow water dishes as they can drown in them easily

 

[glutes]

So I'm kind of freaking out... Gibbs is pulling his toenails out. A few days ago I noticed a missing nail, it wasn't bleeding or anything so I put some polysporin on and it's healing up nicely. He often picks at his toes. Just now he pulled out another nail! Any ideas on why he is doing this?

It's on his bad leg. For those of you that don't know, he had spraddle leg. No big deal, I made him a tape leg brace and it healed. It's still not as good as his other one but it still works, he just rests it a lot. Nothing else has changed that concerns me.


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[RavensGryf]

Oh no, pulling his toenails out?! That's the strangest thing! No blood like an injury either. Does he seem to be in pain from it? I'm wondering if it could be diet related. How about calling a wildlife center or someplace that cares for or rehabs wild birds, and asking if they have any insight into that?

 

[glutes]

Oh no, pulling his toenails out?! That's the strangest thing! No blood like an injury either. Does he seem to be in pain from it? I'm wondering if it could be diet related. How about calling a wildlife center or someplace that cares for or rehabs wild birds, and asking if they have any insight into that?

Very strange isn't it?? Not any major pain, but it certainly bothers him. He still hasn't taken a liking to seeds, I will go soak some now and see if I can get some sprouts happening. If he continues to pull his nails out, I'll make a vet appointment. Maybe I will contact my local bird rehab too.


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[RavensGryf]

The rehab might know more than the vet? Since the vet probably doesn't have much experience with wild passerines like sparrows. Good luck with Giblet, I wish you all the best. Looking forward to updates.

 

[Allee]

Any updates on little Gibbs?

 

[glutes]

Any updates on little Gibbs?

Yes, but not exactly a good one... He is still picking at his toes but still has the rest. However, I was just introducing him to running water from the tap and he got wet once he decided it wasn't scary. That's when I noticed this:

I put him in the towel to examine and take pictures. It seems that his leg is not in the socket, which would explain why he is pulling his nails out of only that foot. I felt along his leg bone as well as his good leg and I looked at bird anatomy And it's pretty clear that his hip(?) is not in the right place. I can actually feel the pointed end of his leg through his skin( I'm going to contact the one vet I know of that will see him and make an appointment as quickly as possible. She has seen many wild birds and other animals before so hopefully she can help me out. I'm so worried about him. I'm shocked that he will still stand on the leg. He's still his bright happy self so I have high hopes for him!! Unfortunately the vet doesn't do emergency hours so he might have to wait, I just hope he can.


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[GaleriaGila]

Oh, man.... so sorry. But YESSSSSSSSSSSS, I have high hopes, too! And no matter what he's going through, he's going through it in a loving, safe, warm home. You hang in there, little bird. You have a lot of fans here.

 

[glutes]

Oh, man.... so sorry. But YESSSSSSSSSSSS, I have high hopes, too! And no matter what he's going through, he's going through it in a loving, safe, warm home. You hang in there, little bird. You have a lot of fans here.

Thank you. I've contacted two different vets and am waiting for replies. The one vet doesn't have emergency hours and I believe is only in on Wednesday. The other one is my favorite exotics vet and has emergency hours, but has previously told me that they do not see wildlife, so I sent email trying to convince her that he is a pet. I really hope he's going to be okay!


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[Allee]

Oh no! I'm so sorry! I hope you can arrange a vet visit for Gibbs, poor little guy. I'm glad he found you, if there is anything that can be done for him, I know you'll find a way. Hugs and I'm hoping for the best possible outcome.