URGENT rescued baby bird from garden what to do next?

greenmoneysaver_2

I am afraid this is how seagulls get taught to fly. The mum and dad stay near by and circle near it to encourage it to fly.

Other birds do the same and this is why it can appear that they have been abandoned, but it is actually part of growing up!

Wildlife welfare advice is - if you see a baby animal leave it alone.

About 80% of hand reared fledglings die in the first winter alone!

Savvy_Sue

Oh I've no doubt if I saw a baby seagull I would think "Ah, how cute" - for about 30 seconds. But if Mum and Dad were nearby I wouldn't DO anything for fear of losing my hand. Not to mention the excellent advice above.

I'm sure if I saw a nest of defenceless baby rats I'd think the same.

BUT they both grow into pests and vermin!

I still think squirrels look cute, I just don't want to encourage them in my roof! :rotfl:

greenmoneysaver_2

Aliasojo - bear in mind ALL creatures have a survival instinct (well, maybe not goats, but thats another tale) - even a fledgling blackbird has the power and adrenaline to outrun a human.

The wildlife I see (I am a VN) is 99/100 sick/injured and that is the only way you can get your hands on them. Out of those maybe 1 will survive to cope with a winter and learn all the activitites it need to survive, and research is still going on to see if that 1 will even make it to a 2nd winter!

aliasojo

Well it looks like you're right enough greenms....so far the baby seagull has managed to outwit 3 neighbourhood cats, 2 irritated neighbours and a little swine of a boy throwing stones at it...(although we had a hand in making sure he wont be doing that again, lol).

It's trying it's hardest to fly but so far only gets around 4 or 5 feet off the ground. Since I've been keeping an eye on it, I've seen the parents come down to it at night when it's quiet, to feed it and they also fly round it squawking for all they're worth when it tries to fly. Looks like it wont be long now.

I'm happy now.

Savvy_Sue

And will you still be happy when it's on your roof squawking at 4.30 am? :rotfl:

BallandChain

I've only just noticed this thread and I know it's too late but just posting for future reference incase anyone has this happen. I've rescued quite a few garden birds that have been unable to fly due to being young and not being able to fly. Where I lived we had a lot of neighbourhood cats and before they got the chance to hurt them even more I'd take the bird indoors. I'd let the kitchen tap drip and feed water into the bird's mouth by dripping it in from my fingers.

The bird got put into a cardboard box with the flaps closed but not right up so air could get in. Then I'd take the bird down to a vet (they would treat the bird and just release it if it got better) or I'd call the local animal sanctuary and wait for them to pick it up. They received a lot of calls for distressed garden birds in the summer. I'd make sure though if the animal sanctuary had to come out it could be a whole day before they called so I made sure the bird got regular drinks of water to prevent dehydration.

aliasojo

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

And will you still be happy when it's on your roof squawking at 4.30 am? :rotfl:

Ah, but by then it will be an adult and will be big and strong enough to take all the insults I will surely be hurling at it. :rotfl:

Busy-Bee_6

There are a nuber of brillient web sites that tell you who in your area will help you if you find sick or injured animals. I like wrd.org.uk as they let you search by postcode.

Bzzz

YorkiePud_3

Because of the high mortality rate of baby birds and the unbelievable amount of care and attention they need, most people will say leave them alone and what will be will be.

I understand that not everybody can and will embark on the mammoth effort to take one on and care for it (my worst was caring for 5 baby robins at the same time ... whew!! I hardly slept!!) ... and even if you do, chances are the little thing won't make it. Shock is a major killer for the babies.

BUT if the choice is between a peaceful, quiet death in a little box where it is safe from any predator or being torn apart by the neighbourhood moggy, then I would grant that little thing that peaceful death every time.

Sometimes helping a wild animal doesn't mean nursing them back to health, but if they are hurt or not going to make it, the kindest thing you can grant them is as painless and calm a death as possible.

I worked a number of years as a vet nurse and unfortunately the vets weren't understanding at all, thought it a waste of time and every injured bird brought in was dispatched in the back room by having its neck wrung. Even the ones who weren't injured badly ... I well recall the words of one of the vets ... "I'm not prepared to try to help something I won't get paid to help" ... go for the wildlife centres and wildlife rescues every time if you can. Not all vets are in the job to help all animals!!

Keeping_Positive

We resuced a baby bird from our garden the other day. It was well away from the trees so think one of our cats had been put hunting again . It wanst injured but couldnt take the risk of leaving it to the cats. Put it in a showbox and rang RSPCA (as per RSPB website) who said leave it in the box and put it up somewhere high for two hours. This was to let Mum hopefully find him/her. No luck so put it in the shed overnight with breadcrumbs and water ready to take to the Vet the next day. Saw birds about the next day so I put him/her out again and thankfully OH said Mum came back.

I dont think I could have just left it and TBH though he/she had no hope so Im was so happy it ended well.