Tiny Baby Bird Found

[altgirl35]

i didn't think he lookedlike a mocking bird, the beak looks wrong, but the vid was a little dark
here's a link to a rehabber who has taught me alot and she has pics of a mockingbird
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3D18%26um%3D1

[altgirl35]

what color is the inside of his mouth??

[altgirl35]

if it's red he may be a grackle, we need more pics

[Xenku]

He looks like Picture number 3 , except he can stand up on both his legs and grab my finger and stand on it too. Wow, picture number 3 is almost identical. He has a little more feathers though, I guess you could say he is somewhere between picture #3 and #4.

Maybe he is a different type of Mocking Bird not a Northern.

I'm also starting to worry about what to do with him in the future.

1. When is he going to be ready to be released?

2. Will he survive on his own since he was raised by me?

3. Will he know what to do to take care of himself?

My greatest worry is that I went through all the effort to raise him and keep him alive and then when released he dies because he cannot take care of himself. What should I do?

[altgirl35]

i would say you have about a month to go at least before he is ready for an outdoor cage.
are you in a city or country area?
if you want to have him have the best chance possible you should only let him see you when you need to feed him or clean up.
and make it very bussiness like, no baby talking or snuggles, which i know is really hard to resist doing when they are so flippen cute!
i also make the same noise whenever i feed him, i make little tsk tsk noises so when they are free i can call them when i put food out for them. but a whislte or anything as long as it's the same will work, just remember you want to use something that doesn't make you look like a lunitic to the neiboors!! i've made that mistake before,lol
his chances are good, (much better than if you didn't save him)especially if you support feed him once he's released, he may stick around but he may not, even when they do stick around they eventually come less and less as he figures out where to find food, but he may visit from time to time. i still have blue jays and wrens returning from yrs ago.
if you can't make a very predator proof outdoor enclosure that he can fly in, you will need to let him fly around the house to build up his strength.(make sure windows get covered so he doesn't smash into them) and once he's a bit older he should spend sometime outside getting to know the other birds in the area in a safe cage of course.
keep him away from cats or dogs if you have them, he will not fear them if he sees them at all very important!
i usually keep my babies once old enough in an outdoor enclosure from 2-4 weeks once completly self feeding.
do you have him in a cage yet?? if not, it's time if he is able to perch on your finger.
and it's time to start putting his own food to try and a small dish of water for him.
you can show him the food and hand it to him to eat. were you able to get any mealworms??
you might want to order some online it's much cheaper than getting them at a pet store, you can also soak dry cat food, i use science diet or evo, scrambled egg is good also.
very minumul seed if any, if he's a mocking bird that isn't what he will eat.
you can try suet also, the kind with bugs is the best

[altgirl35]

and blueberries, mocking birds love blueberries, and if you have any berry bushes that are safe down where you are you can take branches of them and put them in his cage

[altgirl35]

oh on the blue berries, i'm not sure if you can get frozen wild blueberries, i like them because they are little compared to the fresh ones, he might have a hard time swallowing them if they are to big, you may need to cut them up, he should n't have a problem with the big ones when he's older

[altgirl35]

more pics please

[Xenku]

I live in a city area but not a city like New York and there is a lot of Cars around and I really do not have a back yard or front yard. My front yard is Very small and it has 1 tree.

I do have him in a small cage now. I put him in there about 2 days ago. It was my Love Bird's old first cage when I got my birds.

I couldn't get mealworms but I do have 3 types of cat food since I have 3 cats. I have used my younger cats' food to make this baby bird's food. I basically make it into powder along with a bit of powderized seeds and mix it with water and feed him with a syringe.. the ratio is about 3/4 cat powder and 1/4 seed powder.

[Xenku]

Ok, here is the New video made exactly one week after the first one you saw. Tell me what you guys think. What type of bird is it? I say its a Mocking Bird but we'll see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO_xoEZ0ZD8

[altgirl35]

i stll dn't know! lol, but feed him!! he's awfully cute. i tried looking up mocking birds tropical.. puerto rico.. i'm still not convinced that's what he is. i'll try seeing what else i can find

[altgirl35]

i found this website
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...2C_and_Orioles
but you have to remember most babies don't always looks like the parents

[Maggie-NC]

Well, I'm totally stumped on this one. It doesn't look like the Mockers we have but the beak is still that of a insect eater.

Hate to be a worry wart but I think I would take out the swing for another week or so just to be safe. I worry about them falling off something that high and their bones are still forming. Even from that height they can break a leg. That is another reason to give them fruit to help strengthen their bones.

Please let us know when you find out what he is. I know one thing he is and that is cute! You're doing a wonderful job raising him.

[Xenku]

Hey what do you guys think about what Dr. Ron Hines wrote on this web-page:

http://www.2ndchance.info/insecteater.htm

[altgirl35]

it's an okay diet, but i don't use raisins, if you would like something a little simpler, most rehabbers in the us go by the nwra standards and the fons diet seems to be the most preferred, i didn't give you the updated 2008 version did i, sorry
1 cup (136 g) evo dry cat and kitten food
1.3 cups (315 cc) water
3 tbsp (18 g) dried egg white
0.5 g (1/8 tsp) avi era bird vitamins Lafeber company
5.0 (1/2 tsp) active culture plain yogurt

pres oak kibble in water do no drain
blend all ingredients in food processor or blender
if you are going to freeze it only add yogurt after thawing

i tend to use a little less water, i find the orignal recipe is to watery
and i also use a powdered probiotics instead because the yogurt go bad fast and i won't eat it.

now, if you want an even simpler diet or you can't get those ingredients, i used this diet back in the day and i liked it and had success with
http://www.starlingtalk.com/babycare.htm