And I thought handfeeding baby

[LauraO]

lovies was bad. Two days ago I found a little baby cardinal that fell out of the nest. He's about 3/4 weeks old. I soooooooo wish I could have gotten him back in the nest but the tree was like 30 ft high. Anyway, he's living in the garage and has to be fed every 45 min to an hour :eek: :eek:. Thankfully my husband has been working at home the last couple of days or I'd have had to quit my job :rolleyes: :rolleyes:. I'm so happy though, I've found someone (a local woman who rehabs) to take him and handfeed him if I bring him back and get him ready for release, because there are no cardinals in her area.

[bellarains]

Laura,

I've handfed a few wild birds, and as you say, it is a chore. I have found that you almost have to force feed the first few feedings, but after a couple of days they usually learn real quick what's in that syringe and they start to open right up when they see it coming. The hard part is teaching those bug eaters how to eat so that they can wean. I've never felt too sorry for bugs and stuff, but when you watch a little wren rip the legs off a cricket, you do feel a little sorry for the little creature :(

I'm glad you found someone to take him. Cardinals are one of my favorite birds, and I have a couple of almost pet ones in my backyard. The female especially will let me know real quick when the sunflower feeder is empty :lol

[linda040899]

When I handfeed wild baby birds, I usually use soaked primate biscuits (Zupreem Monkey Biscuits as they used to be called). I cut them into quarters, soak the quarters and break off small pieces to put down their throats. I've had excellent results with this method, although I have a pair of Mockers that live in my back yard so I can't release anything here. :(

[Janie]

Laura , God bless you! I am an avid back yard birder and probably would never have adopted Oliver except for that passion. Fortunately, I personally know my songbird rehabber and could go to her in your situation, but you are doing, IMHO, the right thing. The one cardinal nest in my back yard was way too high, too. If one had fallen out, I could never have replaced the chick into the nest. Thankfully they were right outside my master bathroom window and I got to see them fledge! :) Good luck and again, bless you!

[LauraO]

Well I got the little guy to his destination. Turns out he wasn't a cardinal but a bulbol (sp?), which we have a lot of around here. I assumed he was a cardinal because there were two of them screaming right around the area where the baby was and he had a little crown on his head. This little guy was a good eater and after the first night we had no problem. Luckily the woman who took him has rescued several in the past. I'll be seeing the little guy again because she's going out of town for the weekend at the end of the month and her bird sitter doesn't know how to handfeed.

[Janie]

Laura, I did wonder about you having Cardinals in Hawaii since my field guide tells me they are not there but you never know and I've learn that my back yard birds don't read the field guides, :lol, and have seen a few species in my yard that were way out of territory, even allowing for migration. Anyway, when I read your original post, I somehow (duh) missed that you'd found a rehabber. That is ALWAYS the way to go with any baby bird you find if it can not be placed back in the nest. Baby birds, especially if they are very young, are very tricky to feed. I know that feeding a baby bluebird is not done in the same way that you'd feed many other species. Many require a different diet so the rehabber is the best way to go. So glad you found one! :) Because I'm so passionate about my Eastern Bluebirds, I found a rehabber in my area before I ever needed one.....still haven't needed her but, if I do, I know where to find her! :D

[LauraO]

Janie: We do have cardinals here in Hawai'i though they aren't indigenous. I have several that visit my back yard daily as I feed my birdy leftovers to the outside birds. If I'm not mistaken something like 75% of the indigenous birds in Hawai'i are extinct. In my particular neighborhood we have a lot of mynah birds, various finches, bulbols, cardinals, and all the dirty doves.