Found a baby Robin that’s between hatchling and fledging. How do I feed it? - Humane Society and bird rescue are hours away and I’m not driving or letting some volunteer near my home

[HodgePodgeRogerDodger]

I minced some blue berries that grow off a bush near me and hand fed it. Put it in a box with tissue paper.

Any tips?

 

[ShamefurDispray]

I don't know about feeding but keep the box indoors. I have deep regrets about my failures don't repeat my mistakes...

 

[DankSmoker]

Are there any birds of prey in your area? They need food too.

 

[Cougar Pump]

Mealworms. You can pick them up at pet stores, bait stores, some hardware stores even carry them for wild bird feeding. If you get dried ones you can rehydrate them in regular water. Kinda gross, but effective. If the bird is too small to even eat those you can then mush them up and feed it on the end of a spoon handle or something else tiny they can eat off, or a small syringe (with sharp tip removed) as long as you don't empty it forcefully when they're feeding from it.
Also, pay some attention to keeping the bird in a warm and ideally dark, enclosed space that still gets enough good air. If your house is warm enough anyway no issue, best option is usually a shallow plastic tote with some kind of sacrificial towel or other soft bedding underneath. A small shallow container of water that you can tuck into an adjacent corner might also be a good idea but young flightless baby birds will probably get hydration from feeding (hence it being important the mealworms are not dried when you feed them).

Mushed blueberries was a good option. If they're taking that as feed that's a really good sign.

Dark and quiet is really important, being exposed is extremely stressful to baby birds and they can expire from the stress of that alone. Also change the soft bedding underneath them regularly, 2-3 times a day min if you can. Again, gross, but having a clean bedding is really beneficial.

I'm not sure on 'what next' if all of this proves successful. Possibly you know a third party nearby you could bring the bird to, at the same time a volunteer comes to the same location from the rescue place?

Edit: After a bit more research it sounds like with Robins, if they're feathered and milling around on the ground that's not uncommon and part of their normal development cycle. If you're not sure they were abandoned, the parents may still be around and feeding it from above. If you don't have predator pets in the area, putting it back in the same spot and seeing if the parents return to continue feeding it could be an option.

 

[Gangstalker #32194]

take some of your dinner and chew on it for a good minute, then spit it out into the bird mouth

 

[Just A Fat Round Bird]

You better not fuck up buddy, Im watching you!

 

[eatler]

It’s common courtesy that if you feed the baby you eat it’s shit for nutrients

You think this is a fucking joke, your about to learn sons

 

[DankSmoker]

putting it back in the same spot and seeing if the parents return to continue feeding it could be an option.

Its covered in OP's unmistakable stench now, basically unrecognizable.

 

[Cougar Pump]

Its covered in OP's unmistakable stench now, basically unrecognizable.

It's kinda a myth that animal/bird parents will reject their young if it has the scent of a human on it. With birds they'll be making specific calls to locate each other, but you have to be kinda in tune with the calls of a particular species to identify the sounds. Putting the fledgeling back in the same area and backing off to see if the parents re-engage may well be worth a try, but only if the odds of the fledgeling being predated are slim to none. If you or your neighbours have cats, forget about it.

In theory as long as the bird is getting food they can thrive without the parents, it's mostly all instinctual stuff with birds of ordinary intelligence. For flocking birds and some of the smarter ones (corvids, parrots), some essential behaviours are passed on between generations e.g. chasing away from food that has previously poisioned a flock member. Probably not for a robin, though, so feeding through to release is probably possible if you seek enough info on how to handle the process.

 

[Cloaca Rimjob]

Would those mixes you put in bird feeders work? maybe grind it into a paste and syringe it into their mouths

 

[PotatoSalad4711]

You should look up how and what to feed the bird. Different birds have different nutritional needs, some may eat insects, some will eat seeds, etc. It depends on the age too; baby birds need to be fed between sunrise and sunset almost continuously (every 2 hours). Older birds not so much. If it is eating out of your hand and not just opening it’s mouth wide, it probably is older. It still can be a tough job though, I’d definitely read more about it elsewhere.

 

[The Feline Solution]

Would those mixes you put in bird feeders work? maybe grind it into a paste and syringe it into their mouths

Yes. I used something like that mixed with water exclusively for feeding a fledgling sparrow i found, which i successfully "wildered out" after a couple of weeks. Also made an ass out of myself in front of the pet shop owner when i asked "But how will it learn to fly without its mother teaching it?" and he just gave me a long look before saying "They do learn that by themselves"

OP, get a cage. Young birds need to perch on something or they risk atrophy of their feet. I kept my bird as you did at first and this is what the pet shop owner told me. Doesn't need to be a big cage, just one with some bars and other pet bird things in it.

Edit: Also feed it any time it makes a racket, be very careful that you don't waterboard it if you are using one of these small pet food syringes.

 

[HodgePodgeRogerDodger]

Update. Found the nest where it fell from, it survived the night, and I put it back in the nest.

 

[The Feline Solution]

Done good, nigguh.

 

[Cougar Pump]

Update. Found the nest where it fell from, it survived the night, and I put it back in the nest.View attachment 6086781

Nice! If you can observe from a good distance, checking that the parents have returned would be the last thing to do to ensure lil buddy is gonna make it. Unless there were other fledgelings in there too, in which case nothing else to do.

 

[Law]

I once fed one using hobby tweezers and worms I dug up from the garden. Little guy loved earthworms.

 

[Drip Torch]

OP? What you have hidden on your property? Something is suspicious here.

 

[Cloaca Rimjob]

Update. Found the nest where it fell from, it survived the night, and I put it back in the nest.View attachment 6086781

Is that not a bad thing? The mother bird will pick up your scent from the baby and kill/ignore it? Or am I thinking of sonething else? I know hamsters do that.

 

[The Feline Solution]

The mother bird will pick up your scent from the baby and kill/ignore it

As @Cougar Pump said already, that's mostly a myth. Birds are not animals that rely on their sense of smell much, the common advice is to put them back into the nest right away if it is possible or wait and see if the mother bird is around before doing that. I only picked up my fella because he was sitting in the middle of a bike lane and it was just a matter of time before he got ran over. If OP lives a bit more rural and knows/can reach the nest his bird fell out of it was the best decision to just put it back, highest chance of making it if the mother bird is still around.

 

[everybody in Portugal]

I used to rehab baby rooks at my last house. While it's super, super young you may be better off getting some actual baby food and a 2/5ml enteral syringe (crushed up solids block the nozzles), and using those. The rooks would move on to solid food after a few weeks and then eventually I'd start giving them live insects and beetles and stuff and letting them learn to catch them themselves in the aviary.