Echo's Haven
Macaw Rescue
Sanctuary
The Complete
Bird Community
Our goal is to provide a free-flight home for formerly abused, unwanted or problem Macaws.
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Echo's Haven |
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Our goal is to provide a free-flight home for formerly abused, unwanted or problem Macaws. |
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| Orphaned Wild Birds
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Observation
If you can watch the baby for an extended period of time to determine if the parents are still caring for it; then there is no need to remove it. An extended period of time would be if you notice the baby at 10:00 a.m., then observing the baby until sundown would be appropriate. This would give the parents time to care for the baby and for you to determine if they are in any danger from predators. Obviously, if you see danger, you would need to remove the baby immediately. A danger to the baby can also be in the form of adverse weather conditions. During this observation time, if you could explore the surrounding environment and possibly find the nest; placing the baby back inside the nest would not cause harm. It is a widespread misnomer that once human hands touch the baby; the parents will reject it. By placing the baby back in the nest, the parents will be better able to care for the baby and the smell of human hands will not interfere with their duties.
Disease Transmission
Whenever you choose to care for a wild bird; if you currently have birds of your own; you put them at risk. Disease transmission is an issue that should be considered prior to caring for an orphaned wild bird. I have taken this risk many times without forethought and now find myself putting my current flock before caring for an orphan. Separate ends of the house would be a sufficient distance to separate the wild bird from your current flock. Separation would not exclude the risk of disease transmission; but it will reduce the transient air exposure. Particular attention should be paid to proper hygiene before and after handling the wild bird. Scrubbing your hands, forearm and up to your elbow with a standard hand soap would help to eliminate a large percentage of the risk of transmission from ectoparasites. You could even take the precautions one step further and change your shirt if there was any direct contact on it from the baby.
Relocation
If you have determined that the baby is in danger, removing it is paramount. I have found the best path is to pick the baby up in a warmed towel. Before going out to remove the baby, throw a towel in the dryer until it is sufficiently warmed. This will warm the baby immediately and give you time to set up a hospitalization station. Most wild birds have a considerable problem with ectoparasites so do not be surprised when you see these swarming around their little body. The parasites are not your primary concern at the moment; warming the baby is.
Hospitalization Station
You can set up a make-shift hospitalization station out of a cardboard box, aquarium, basket, or a rubbermaid container with a heating pad underneath. You will need to contain the baby and provide a constant source of heat. Remember to place the heating pad setting on low and arrange it so that the baby can move away from the heat source if it chooses. Another consideration when handling wild birds is that they are not accustomed to our lighting arrangements. During the day, this is not a problem. At sundown, they usually settle in for the night and see our lights from the treetops. Now they are living in them. Dimming the lights around the hospitalization station will assist them when sleeping and not force them to endure a blaring light which directly contradicts their normal sleeping pattern.
Water
The majority of the time, the baby will be dehydrated. Using an eyedropper to place water in their beak is risky. Aspiration can occur more often this way due to the fact that when the parents feed the baby, moisture is included in the food. The parent does not deliver a direct source of water so the baby is unfamiliar with direct water. Offering such would put them at risk of aspiration. The only reason you should administer water is if the baby is severely dehydrated and cannot accept food. Then you would need to place a tiny drop of water on top of their beak. Tap very lightly on their beak to induce a feeding response which will help create a more natural acceptance of the water. If you are not sure if the baby is dehydrated, offering water in this manner will safely ensure rehydration.
Feeding
Extremely young birds; babies with no tail feathers should be fed every 20 to 30 minutes. As they develop, you can increase the time frame between feedings. If you would like to purchase a commercial hand feeding formula, I have found Lafeber’s hand feeding formula to be readily accepted by wild birds. An easy method of administration is by an eyedropper. That way you can deliver small amounts of formula at a time and the formula mess is more contained. This particular brand is also marketed for wild birds and can be mixed with peanut butter per the enclosed instructions. A very small cup or bowl placed on a mug warmer helps to maintain the temperature of the formula while feeding. A practice that causes much controversy is the use of the microwave to warm formula. I use the microwave to warm formula and run my finger throughout the formula to check for hot spots. In essence, I basically use my finger to stir the formula to check for hot spots. Maybe not the most sanitary practice but I find it to be very effective.
Feeding a wild bird a household domestic diet can be a challenge. I have found buying a commercial pelleted brand and soaking the pellets in hot water for about 3 to 4 minutes works quite well. The brand I found most accommodating was Zupreem pellets for cockatiels. It did not dissolve when soaked and the elongated yellow pellet appeared to me more readily accepted than the others. Maybe because it looked like a yellow worm? When I used these pellets, I would then use an eyedropper to feed the baby. The suction from the eyedropper along with the moisture from the pellet worked very nicely when dangled above their beaks. This is the most convenient method. Live food would match that of what a parent wild bird would feed their baby. Catching ants and bugs can be quite challenging. Digging for worms is not my forte either but if you can do any of these things, the protein derived from live foods is incomparable to what you could offer from a household domestic diet.
Additional foods could be berries, blueberries or strawberries chopped into minute pieces. Canned corn removed from the kernel. Bread soaked in water, preferably one that is of the grain family. Cooked pasta, hard boiled eggs, and boiled vegetables are often taken quite readily. Fruit is often enjoyed and recommended due to the high water content that it possess. These must all be cut up into minute pieces and can then be placed in their beak with either your fingers, an eyedropper, a tweezer, or whatever else you can find suitable to hold tiny pieces of food.
Feeding should take place from daybreak to sundown. Many times with orphaned wild birds this will run into evening hours because the baby remains hungry. A general rule of thumb is to feed until 10:00 p.m. and then start again at 6:00 am. This will give the baby time to empty completely and have a full 8 hours of sleep.
Droppings
As soon as the baby has finished eating, the normal routine is to defecate. These two sequences seem to go hand in hand. Observance of their droppings will tell you if they are receiving an adequate amount of food. Green, brown, or reddish droppings will indicate they are nourished. Black droppings indicate either a blockage, a medical condition or that the baby is not receiving adequate levels of nutrition. If you see black droppings, the majority of the time it will be as soon as you have started feeding. This indicates that the baby has not been fed for some time now and you are witnessing the aftermath. If after 8 to 10 hours you still notice black droppings and you are feeding correctly, you may have one of the two conditions I mentioned above. This must be attended to by a veterinarian. After they are full; sleep comes upon them in a matter of minutes. If the baby remains awake; then they are probably still hungry.
Restrictions
It is illegal to house wild birds unless they have been deemed unreleasable. For a baby that has been orphaned and taken in by you; you are in essence breaking the law. It is highly recommended that you contact your local Wild Life Agency and place the baby in their custody. There are licensed wildlife rehabilitators that are highly trained to care for the baby and then the appropriate action is taken. These focus around caring for the baby with the premise that they will be released back into the wild. If you feel that it is absolutely necessary to care for an orphaned wild bird, I believe it should only constitute a 2 or 3 day time span. This would involve caring for the orphan over the weekend and then placing them with the appropriate agency if you are unable to contact them immediately. Your first course of action should always be a wildlife agency.
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