URGENT help needed! Rescued baby sparrow.

[PL84]

I was cleaning our attic and found a baby sparrow that seems to be in relatilevy good condition. Tried to find his mom but no luck, no sparrow moms anywhere (i looked for 2 hours)

1. I let him outside, he dies.
2. I call animal control, he dies.
3. I try to help and feed him, that also means he lives with us because he is a baby and there is no other sparrows to tech birdy stuff to him..

3. is my favorite, i dont want him to die.

So help me, what should i do? He's so small that i dont think he eats by himself. Baby formula? What is bird baby formula and how much should i give it and how often?
Where he should live when he's this small? Cage? How about temperatures etc?

It's illegal to keep wild birds here in Finland... But i'm willing to break the law in this case.

 

[goalerjones]

http://www.wikihow.com/Raise-a-Baby-House-Sparrow

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[plumsmum2005]

A thread from our very own forums http://www.parrotforums.com/others/63286-i-m-mom-abandoned-house-sparrow-11.html hope it helps.

 

[LordTriggs]

he was in the attic?

That looks more like a fledgling to me than a true baby. Possibly has had a crash. Is he moving yet or is he still knocked out? If the latter put him in a dark quiet box with a towel of some sort inside and let him rest, check every 30 minutes if he's okay.

If he's awake but tired offer a shallow bowl of water and a little bit of small seed. If any bones appear broken you'll need to call animal control so they can get a vet to see to him. If there's no sign of injury then keep him warm, offer food and water and keep him in a dark box. If he is okay after another 2 hours then put the box outside, open it and let him go. If he's still lethargic call animal welfare. Remember they are better equipped to care for a wild bird and sending one to them is far from a death sentence, if you were to be found out you were keeping him illegally they will slap you with a hefty fine.

 

[PL84]

he was in the attic?

That looks more like a fledgling to me than a true baby. Possibly has had a crash. Is he moving yet or is he still knocked out? If the latter put him in a dark quiet box with a towel of some sort inside and let him rest, check every 30 minutes if he's okay.

If he's awake but tired offer a shallow bowl of water and a little bit of small seed. If any bones appear broken you'll need to call animal control so they can get a vet to see to him. If there's no sign of injury then keep him warm, offer food and water and keep him in a dark box. If he is okay after another 2 hours then put the box outside, open it and let him go. If he's still lethargic call animal welfare. Remember they are better equipped to care for a wild bird and sending one to them is far from a death sentence, if you were to be found out you were keeping him illegally they will slap you with a hefty fine.

He wasn't knocked out, he was hiding under the trashes we took out (cleaning the attic).

He doesn't even try to fly, there is nothing (physically) wrong with him that i can see (no fractures, really clean etc). He asks for food too, i dont think he's able to eat by himself.

I got some recipes for his diet. I'll try to feed him and see how it goes, i'll release him immediately if he flies. But if he isn't capable of flying then i need to take care of him, atleast for a while.

Wild animal hospitals (not many in Finland) got tons of rescued baby birds at this time of year. Believe it or not, they will take them but they dont have resources to help them all (i dont know the percentage but maybe 50%, if the baby eats by himself then its ofcourse better at animal hospital but they dont force feed them there... And this fellow needs force feeding)

 

[PL84]

I did some googling, he is common swift (Apus apus). They start their flying practice when their wings are 15cm long (measured from the birds side to the wingtip).

His wings are only 9cm, so he really is a baby.

I got him to drink some water and eat some canned dog food.

 

[LordTriggs]

ah okay, the nest may be on the roof then and he fell out and into a crack or something

Get a little plastic tub, pop some tissue in the bottom and nail it to a nearby tree. His parents are probably looking for him. Leave him there for an hour then check on him. Hopefully his parents have found him by then.

If by the evening if he hasn't been found then he will need to be taken somewhere to raise and be released into the wild

 

[PL84]

ah okay, the nest may be on the roof then and he fell out and into a crack or something

Get a little plastic tub, pop some tissue in the bottom and nail it to a nearby tree. His parents are probably looking for him. Leave him there for an hour then check on him. Hopefully his parents have found him by then.

If by the evening if he hasn't been found then he will need to be taken somewhere to raise and be released into the wild

Cant do that, common swift (apus apus) abandon their babies if they fall of the nest, they wont accept them back either. Nature is cruel :/

And he needs to be force feeded about 10x / day so i'm pretty sure that when he is old enough to fly (and eat) he cant be released anymore.

 

[LordTriggs]

ah I see. My knowledge of wildbirds is mediocre at best. Just going by stuff the RSPCA has on their website

 

[PL84]

ah I see. My knowledge of wildbirds is mediocre at best. Just going by stuff the RSPCA has on their website

Yep lets see, i'm going to get a heater for him and a small cage in 2 hours. I of course release him if its possible (after he eats and flies) but i'm not betting for that...

My friend rescued 2 great tits (yep, great tits, Parus major) few years ago. One of them died and other survived, he couldn't be rescued after the long force feeding and he lives with my friend now.

 

[PL84]

Commonswift, Mauersegler, Apus apus, Martinet noir, Gierzwaluw, Swift pictures, Vencejo comun, chernyi strizh, Mauersegler Fotos, Swift pictures, Bibliography, airstrokes

Found this, this seems to be perfect.

 

[PL84]

I called animal shelter and it was like i guessed, they dont have reserves to force feed any more babies they already have there.

I got information how and what to feed him and they said that it's almost 100% sure that he wont bond with us and he will fly away when his wings are long enough

 

[LordTriggs]

that's good to hear. If you just keep things with him to feeding then he should get his strength in a couple days. He's already older so close to being able to fly., luckily you have your big velcro lump to keep you busy!

Clearly you're destined to be a bird owner, they're literally coming into your home to get cared for!

 

[PL84]

that's good to hear. If you just keep things with him to feeding then he should get his strength in a couple days. He's already older so close to being able to fly., luckily you have your big velcro lump to keep you busy!

Clearly you're destined to be a bird owner, they're literally coming into your home to get cared for!

They said at the shelter that it will take 1-2 weeks before he is big enough to fly... force feeding every 2 hours (grounded beef soaked in water), no need to feed at nights (whew)

 

[SailBoat]

Ya, it common for them to fly as soon as flight is available! BUT, it is just as likely that s/he may find your home a nice place and may just as likely stay!

Please take the time to look at the Breeder Forum, lots of information there on caring for young Parrots,

Temperature in the 85 to 95 degree F range, Sorry, I do not have my conversion chart with me at the moment! Watch for signs of over-heating, s/he has what appears to be a fair amount of body feathers, so may not need as much warmth.

Kind Hearts are Blessed with Warm Feather Hugs by Flighted Angles!

Enjoy!

 

[PL84]

Ya, it common for them to fly as soon as flight is available! BUT, it is just as likely that s/he may find your home a nice place and may just as likely stay!

Please take the time to look at the Breeder Forum, lots of information there on caring for young Parrots,

Temperature in the 85 to 95 degree F range, Sorry, I do not have my conversion chart with me at the moment! Watch for signs of over-heating, s/he has what appears to be a fair amount of body feathers, so may not need as much warmth.

Kind Hearts are Blessed with Warm Feather Hugs by Flighted Angles!

Enjoy!

Thank you! They said at the animal shelter that normal room temperature is enough for babies at late july. No need for extra heating then (if they know what they're saying)

I really hope he wont bond with use, these little guys fly A LOT (10 months without landing even once) and they got so small feets that lifting off from ground is really hard for them. I wouldn't mind if some wild bird rescue bonded with us and wanted to live with us... ...but this just isn't the right specie for that

We had some grounded beef soaked in water:

First (when i pick him up) he is really scared, chirps and shakes but after a while he calms down, and no he isn't in shock
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za4dXiSgVC0"]Baby common swift - YouTube[/ame]

 

[LordTriggs]

seems like you got a plan there. Try finding some bugs for them so they know what to eat in the wild, flies, mealworms just anything around really. I know it's most likely fear related, poor thing but doesn't seem to be using their legs. Have you seen them standing or do they just lie down constantly? If they're lying down all the time and not walking that would be a worry for me. Having at least called asking about their facilities legally you should be fine. You've informed them you found a bird, they're not able to care for it and you've said you're willing to work to nurse them and release them when able. Then if anyone were to come over and see your current pair they couldn't exactly say you aren't knowledgeable of avian care

 

[PL84]

seems like you got a plan there. Try finding some bugs for them so they know what to eat in the wild, flies, mealworms just anything around really. I know it's most likely fear related, poor thing but doesn't seem to be using their legs. Have you seen them standing or do they just lie down constantly? If they're lying down all the time and not walking that would be a worry for me. Having at least called asking about their facilities legally you should be fine. You've informed them you found a bird, they're not able to care for it and you've said you're willing to work to nurse them and release them when able. Then if anyone were to come over and see your current pair they couldn't exactly say you aren't knowledgeable of avian care

Swift legs are REALLY small, they actually cant lift of from the ground (or it's extremely hard for them). Once they lift off, they can fly 10 months STRAIGHT without landing once, they eat flying bugs (capture them while flying). Even the adult swifts kind of "lie down" when they aren't flying, their feet are so small that it seems like they are lying down (baby in the pic/video is grabbing my arm with his legs really tightly)

 

[Scott]

Thank you for rescuing that beautiful sparrow! Seems you've done great research and are willing to feed him until maturity. Hope he accepts food and thrives until you can safely release.

Have to state the obvious, but please use caution against possible disease transmission between this sparrow and your parrots!

 

[PL84]

Thank you for rescuing that beautiful sparrow! Seems you've done great research and are willing to feed him until maturity. Hope he accepts food and thrives until you can safely release.

Have to state the obvious, but please use caution against possible disease transmission between this sparrow and your parrots!

Sure thing, he lives in a cardboard box in different room and my parrots haven't even seen him.

He eats, he poops, he seems healthy in all ways i can determine by myself

I should edit the topic, i dont even know why i typed "Sparrow" in topic, he's not a sparrow, he's a common swift (apus apus)

Seems like i cant edit it, if some moderator wants to edit it, it would be great