Suze Report post Posted July 3, 2006 As I went out into the garden yesterday morning to peg the washing out........I noticed a little pink bundle-ly thing in the middle of the lawn On closer inspection I discovered it was a baby bird .I looked around and there were no obvious signs of the parents and no hysterical tweeting either.So I grabbed a bit of kitcen roll and picked the little fella up.Had too really the dog would have had it otherwise .It was very weak but still alive and obviously had,nt long since hatched........no feathers and it,s eyes still shut.Half an hour later it was esconced in a show box full of grass, cotton wool and tissues, with pleas from my 3 kids............we must save it , we must save it, we must save tweety............. I spent the next hour phoning around and eventually spoke to a helpful young lady who said that the baby would probably die anyhow .............but if we wanted to try and save it we needed to feed it worms, etc from the garden..........chopped up into small pieces.So Suze spends another hour searching for worms , but alas to no avail..........the dry weather had driven them deep under ground .So we resorted to snails and slugs .I had to don marigolds an apron and smack the poor creatures over the shell...........then snip them up .But little tweety ate it all up.24 hrs later the kids have lost interest , I,m talking and cooing to it, wiping it,s beak with cotton wool and cleaning it,s bum with cotton buds .It has already visited school for show and tell..........and also nursery.It,s got a faint tweet .......and wiggles it,s bum when it eats.The poor little fella might not make it , but if it does what do I do.????.........this thing is large ...........it must have hatched from a chicken sized egg.It,s not an owl, but could be a pheasant,or rook.I had hoped it was a duckling(as we have wild ducks in the hedge).........but it,s beak is very pointy.So guys if anyone out there has any knowledge of this sort of thing I could do with some tips ................and if it survives I,ll start a compo and you can all have a guess as to what the birdies is ..............o.k...........off to feed me birdie Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elanor Report post Posted July 3, 2006 Hi Did you try speaking to the RSPB - http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/advice/careof...haned_birds.asp I couldn't leave a little bird, but you've got your hands full now. I can't help with the identification - nestlings are too wierd. It might not have fallen from a nest - it could have been dropped by a predator like a magpie. Good luck with it. Elanor Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Suze Report post Posted July 3, 2006 Eleanor that link was brilliant............from what I,ve read this bird is obviously a nestling ........and was taken from it,s nest by prey.........although there don,t appear to be any injuries on it,s body.........can,t think of any other way it could have got to be in the middle of the lawn.I,ve gots lots of pointers to help it from the link thankyou ...........suzex. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aro Report post Posted July 3, 2006 OMG Suze, just read that link!!!!!! Good luck! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
minerva Report post Posted July 3, 2006 awwwww how cool! i would have had to do the same.......Camerons tutor has him incubating some eggs at the moment, they are just about starting to hatch....can just hear light tapping where they are trying to hammer their way out. Cameron keeps getting in a flap when they stop so i had to explain how much hard work it must be for the tiny lil creatures! theres 6 geese and a duck all snugly in an incubator next to my bed (quietest room in the house away from the brats & animals lol) i'm not 100% sure what i'm doing as his tutor is going to go through the next bit when they actually break through but as soon as i speak to her next i will ask her what your best option is Fair play to you & good luck with ur new baby Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tabz2711 Report post Posted July 3, 2006 (edited) Hi Suze what a kind person you are, I will post all the little birds, frogs and Mice to you to look after that my horrible kittens catch and keep bringing indoors. they have four bells each and still manage to catch the poor little creatures. A tip from when I was a child and was forever looking after baby birds pour washing up liquid mixed with water on the soil and the worms come up to the surface good luck <'> S* Edited July 3, 2006 by tabz2711 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jb1964 Report post Posted July 3, 2006 Good luck Suze, Will be keeping my fingers and toes crossed for this little one. Take care, Jb Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Suze Report post Posted July 4, 2006 Well I was up at 5.00am to feed tweety.........poor guy ............he just seems to be getting smaller...He,s gone more bony looking and his wings seem to be changing.He did,nt look to good so he had a good dose of chopped up snail and biscuit.Built a nice little nest for him...........used some of the dogs fur to make it soft.It feels good to try and save the poor guy............but here,s the irony........so far 15 snails have been massacred to save 1 baby bird (that,ll probably snuff it anyhow).Oh well .........hubby will have to bird- sit this morning as I have to go out ............he,ll love that..........not! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Viper Report post Posted July 4, 2006 AWWW Suze it's such a shame. Birds are pretty tricky to look after. At least you are trying your best. Could you take it to your local vet? They have contacts that they can send it to. Vets have to help as part of their hypocratic oath thingy. You won't have to pay anything. They might be able to give you some food for it or give it to a bird sanctuary that know more about this kind of thing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Suze Report post Posted July 4, 2006 ...........had,nt thought of that shall give them a ring..............thanks viper. Well he,s still eating and poohing for England.........he,s changing too.......................... his wings are more visible with the little feathers on.I hold him in my hand on a tissue and he curls into a ball with his bum in the air and his feet under his tummy ............I,m getting quite attached.........hope he does,nt croak Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
minerva Report post Posted July 4, 2006 (edited) One of ours is almost out of his shell now....getting quite excited! Anyway the tutor will be here later to check on them so i can ask her about ur lil baby I know our eggs came from the city farm so not sure if you have one near you that would help out? I do know that they made a point of saying that they need any back that do hatch due to the bird flu so i'm sure there will be somewhere willing to help......wonder wut bird it is?? Edited July 4, 2006 by minerva Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Suze Report post Posted July 4, 2006 ..........hey Minerva.......sit still and stop moving............keep those little eggies warm ........how long have you been sat .............2 weeks?? ........not long now mummy ..........and you,ll have your own little flock Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
minerva Report post Posted July 4, 2006 LOL Well we had our very own gosling hatch at 4pm today just in time for my youngest son to get home from school & watch the main part it was sooooo sweet! But by 730pm Camerons tutor came & took the incubator so that she can feed the babies & show them at a couple of schools.......not that i'm totally selfish or anything but....... Cameron & me just incubated the lil things for 28 days, turning them morning & night, checking temperatures & water etc constantly & i think we shoulda kept hold of them a lil longer, at least long enough to have seen the first one eat or a second one hatch!! BLEAH!!! Anyway, I asked her about your baby & she said it would be best to ask a vet as it would depend on what sort of bird it is etc and as we dont know.......unless you do have a city farm/farm/zoo that have birds that would be willing to help out. No new help i'm afraid How is he doing anyway? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tabz2711 Report post Posted July 4, 2006 Hi Suze how is the baby birdie, hope fine, the first 24 hours are usually critical so hopefully if he is still around you are looking after him her well Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tabz2711 Report post Posted July 4, 2006 LOL Well we had our very own gosling hatch at 4pm today just in time for my youngest son to get home from school & watch the main part it was sooooo sweet! But by 730pm Camerons tutor came & took the incubator so that she can feed the babies & show them at a couple of schools.......not that i'm totally selfish or anything but....... Cameron & me just incubated the lil things for 28 days, turning them morning & night, checking temperatures & water etc constantly & i think we shoulda kept hold of them a lil longer, at least long enough to have seen the first one eat or a second one hatch!! BLEAH!!! Anyway, I asked her about your baby & she said it would be best to ask a vet as it would depend on what sort of bird it is etc and as we dont know.......unless you do have a city farm/farm/zoo that have birds that would be willing to help out. No new help i'm afraid How is he doing anyway? Awww that's so sad, poor Cameron he needed a little longer to be with the gosling. What an achievement in hatching a healthy gosling <'> Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Suze Report post Posted July 5, 2006 <'>............thanks guys...........minerva <'> ...........little gosling you must be very proud. Well little tweety died last night at 11.30pm ..........he seemed to go down hill from tea time and just would,nt eat or swallow.Poor guy ..........I did get attached to him,he used to snuggle in the palm of my hand.We are going to bury him later.Wish I could have done more but I guess these things just happen. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tabz2711 Report post Posted July 5, 2006 <'>............thanks guys...........minerva <'> ...........little gosling you must be very proud. Well little tweety died last night at 11.30pm ..........he seemed to go down hill from tea time and just would,nt eat or swallow.Poor guy ..........I did get attached to him,he used to snuggle in the palm of my hand.We are going to bury him later.Wish I could have done more but I guess these things just happen. Sorry Suze you did your best for the little guy, its really hard to rear tiny baby birds. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
minerva Report post Posted July 5, 2006 Awwwww Suze i'm so sorry well at least it ended up dying quietly and peacefully rather than being eaten or worse still run over by a lawnmower Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zemanski Report post Posted July 5, 2006 <'> <'> <'> When I was a kid we rescued a nestling, a little older as it already had some feathers, and it survived to grow into a beautiful thrush but unfortunately it refused to learn to fly and one day it was sat on a step ladder in the garden (we'd been trying to get it to jump and got fed up) when we heard this awful noise and rushed out to see next door's cat making off with it - we were heart broken still keep a picture of it in my old photo album one warning for anyone else who finds a baby bird - don't feed it bacon rind, ours pooed pure fat for 2 days Zemanski Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
