To keep the story short, this last week has been raining a lot, and we found a baby bird two days ago that probably fell from his nest. There is no way to put him back, because the tree is around 5 meter tall, and is ridiculously cold, so he will most likely not survive if we try to leave him around the area. Until yesterday we were feeding him from 2 to 2 hours, and he was eating well and chirping lively, however, today he looks weak and refuses the eat since 7 am (it is 2 pm right now) and does not chirp. We thought that maybe he was cold, and put some bottles with warm water in his improvised ''home'' (a shoe box with blankets), but there is no improvement. I don't think he will survive if he does not eat, so I am kinda panicking right now. Any tips?
Rescued baby bird not eating.
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What kind of bird is it? What have you been feeding it?
Some species, especially passerines like sparrows and song birds, feed their young a pure insect diet. They choose only the right kinds of healthy insects, and will often remove sharp bits that could harm their offspring. If the bird is one of these types, it will need a high-protein content food like hard-boiled egg yolks mixed into a somewhat loose but dough-like, multigrain baby cereal (50:50 yolk to cereal). Kaytee Exact hand-rearing baby formula will be best, but depending on species, you may need to adjust carbohydrate, protein, and fat ratios.
The food should adequately provide all the necessary water/moisture content the baby bird needs, but not be runny or too watery. Never try to force water, or runny food, into the throat or crop, they can easily or accidentally inhale it, choke, aspirate or drown.
Most altricial birds are fed usually every four hours or less by the parent, depending on species and age. Species like doves, may feed nestlings crop milk during the night, but most others will just ensure a large, last-minute meal and an early large breakfast at first light.
Keep him/her warm. This is very important, and may be why your bird is having issues, aside from type of food. The baby bird will definitely need a very warm environment in order to properly digest meals, especially if they are small or very young. For small nestlings, with little feather down or feathers, they will need constant warmth at around 35-37°C.
Also, if the air is too dry (<30% relative humidity), provide a little air moisture by placing a damp, clean rag or washcloth nearby, and change daily. Proper air humidity is important, especially in very young or small birds.
Also, try not to overfeed them when there is undigested food still in the crop. You can easily see into the crop, as both the skin and the crop membrane is very thin and nearly transparent, especially in baby birds.
With proper humidity, warmth, and feeding he or she will have a very good chance in thriving, granted there is no health or illness concerns.
If you suspect a fall from the nest, especially if the bird doesn't have any flight feathers or isn't fledging/flying, or could have had a far fall on hard ground - the little bird may have injuries. Check especially the legs for injuries or broken bones. Check the body skin for bruising or hematomas, especially on the underside. Ensure there is no popping or light clicking sounds while the bird is breathing. Any of these will warrant emergency urgent care and epert treatment.
You will need to make an artificial nest out of a small bowl or a rolled-up old sock with padding and grip. This is so it's little legs don't splay out on either side of it's body, but are kept underneath. It may cause permanent leg disformity if left splayed outwards for a few days or more, depending on it's age, development and strength.
If you live in the US, and the bird isn't a native species like an European starling, Eurasian/English House sparrow, an Eurasian Collared dove, or a feral (Rock dove) pigeon (unlikely it is a feral pigeon, as they don't nest in trees), you can call a vet and/or find the nearest wildlife rescue/rehabilitation center (or call animal control), as other native species are protected by law in the US. A vet can advise and give people permission to pick up and rescue a wild species on a case-by-case basis. You could get into trouble and be fined $10,000 even for picking up a wild bird in the U.S.. Most other countries have similar laws on native or migratory birds. Any licensed or accredited vet, or rehabilitation or rescue organization will be able to care for him or her and be able to carefully raise it and sucessfully release it, without having the bird imprint on people or loose it's fear of humans.
Some species, especially passerines like sparrows and song birds, feed their young a pure insect diet. They choose only the right kinds of healthy insects, and will often remove sharp bits that could harm their offspring. If the bird is one of these types, it will need a high-protein content food like hard-boiled egg yolks mixed into a somewhat loose but dough-like, multigrain baby cereal (50:50 yolk to cereal). Kaytee Exact hand-rearing baby formula will be best, but depending on species, you may need to adjust carbohydrate, protein, and fat ratios.
The food should adequately provide all the necessary water/moisture content the baby bird needs, but not be runny or too watery. Never try to force water, or runny food, into the throat or crop, they can easily or accidentally inhale it, choke, aspirate or drown.
Most altricial birds are fed usually every four hours or less by the parent, depending on species and age. Species like doves, may feed nestlings crop milk during the night, but most others will just ensure a large, last-minute meal and an early large breakfast at first light.
Keep him/her warm. This is very important, and may be why your bird is having issues, aside from type of food. The baby bird will definitely need a very warm environment in order to properly digest meals, especially if they are small or very young. For small nestlings, with little feather down or feathers, they will need constant warmth at around 35-37°C.
Also, if the air is too dry (<30% relative humidity), provide a little air moisture by placing a damp, clean rag or washcloth nearby, and change daily. Proper air humidity is important, especially in very young or small birds.
Also, try not to overfeed them when there is undigested food still in the crop. You can easily see into the crop, as both the skin and the crop membrane is very thin and nearly transparent, especially in baby birds.
With proper humidity, warmth, and feeding he or she will have a very good chance in thriving, granted there is no health or illness concerns.
If you suspect a fall from the nest, especially if the bird doesn't have any flight feathers or isn't fledging/flying, or could have had a far fall on hard ground - the little bird may have injuries. Check especially the legs for injuries or broken bones. Check the body skin for bruising or hematomas, especially on the underside. Ensure there is no popping or light clicking sounds while the bird is breathing. Any of these will warrant emergency urgent care and epert treatment.
You will need to make an artificial nest out of a small bowl or a rolled-up old sock with padding and grip. This is so it's little legs don't splay out on either side of it's body, but are kept underneath. It may cause permanent leg disformity if left splayed outwards for a few days or more, depending on it's age, development and strength.
If you live in the US, and the bird isn't a native species like an European starling, Eurasian/English House sparrow, an Eurasian Collared dove, or a feral (Rock dove) pigeon (unlikely it is a feral pigeon, as they don't nest in trees), you can call a vet and/or find the nearest wildlife rescue/rehabilitation center (or call animal control), as other native species are protected by law in the US. A vet can advise and give people permission to pick up and rescue a wild species on a case-by-case basis. You could get into trouble and be fined $10,000 even for picking up a wild bird in the U.S.. Most other countries have similar laws on native or migratory birds. Any licensed or accredited vet, or rehabilitation or rescue organization will be able to care for him or her and be able to carefully raise it and sucessfully release it, without having the bird imprint on people or loose it's fear of humans.
I truly hope he or she is doing okay still and I am sad and shocked no one replied any sooner. Most baby birds don't fare well going without feeding several hours or more. You can force feed bits of food by gently prying the beak open and popping in a piece of balled up moist food. There are plenty of decent YouTube videos out there on handfeeding baby birds, and a few good methods depending on type of bird.
I also hope he is still ok. Can you please post a photo? You can feed soaked catpellets to the babies of insect eating birds like starlings for example. A baby pigeon will do best when fed a handrearing formula for parrots. So very important to first determine what kind of baby you have.
Thank you all for answering! Your advices were certainly helpful and I will try my best to follow them 
Giving an update on the situation, right now the little bird seems to be doing fine. After a little bit of research, we think that he/she is around 10 days old? After we managed to let his/her little improvised nest a little bit warmer with the bottles, he/she started eating more, and now is chirping like crazy haha Answering your questions: I suppose he/she is maybe a pigeon or a dove, considering is the most common type of bird around here, after little sparrows ( the baby is way to big to be one) and there are yellow and gray feathers showing up, what apparently is common to doves, but I am not sure. About what we have been feeding him/her, we improvised with corn meal mixed with warm water (the wildlife rescue center we called said it was fine to give them this kind of food until they grow a little bit more. After birds grow feathers, it is adviced to give more grains) . We already checked if he/she is injured, and doesn't seem so, the little guy wings are fine and once in a while he/she tries to open them, he/she is also jumping around and walking fine. Plus, his/her head seems to be in a normal condition. I don't live in the US, but we already called two wildlife rescue centers, and both couldn't do much about it. They said that if the bird is not injured, it was for the best that we took care of him/her until he/she learns how to fly.
‘’This is so it's little legs don't splay out on either side of it's body, but are kept underneath. It may cause permanent leg disformity if left splayed outwards for a few days or more’’ now this made me worried. We put him/her into a little box, but it doesn't have much space to walk around.We are worried that maybe, if we put him/her in a big box, he/she will try to get out the blankets in the middle of the night or walk around.
Now, there are some things I am doubtful about: when is the right time to give the little guy water? The food we are giving him/her already has water in it, but I don't know if it is sufficient. Also, is there a way to keep his/her little nest warmer? We put a lot of dry blankets in it and clean it every day, and every once in a while, when he/she gets out, we put him/her back. We were planning to put the box under the sun for a little bit of time when stops raining, but I don’t know if it is a good idea.
Should we keep him/her in the little box that is warmer or try to put him on the big one? He/she keeps trying to walk around, so I think he/she wants more space, but I am worried that he/she will be cold if we do so.
There is one more problem: now that he/she is eating a little bit more, he/she makes a mess with the food and it ends up on his/her ‘’neck area’’ , sometimes it even ends up tangled with the growing feathers. We tried to clean it, but the little bird gets super stressed. Is there a a way to clean it without stressing the baby?
I apologize for the amount of questions; I never took care of a bird before, much less a baby one. As for the photo Marina B. asked, I will try to take one when the baby wakes up
Giving an update on the situation, right now the little bird seems to be doing fine. After a little bit of research, we think that he/she is around 10 days old? After we managed to let his/her little improvised nest a little bit warmer with the bottles, he/she started eating more, and now is chirping like crazy haha Answering your questions: I suppose he/she is maybe a pigeon or a dove, considering is the most common type of bird around here, after little sparrows ( the baby is way to big to be one) and there are yellow and gray feathers showing up, what apparently is common to doves, but I am not sure. About what we have been feeding him/her, we improvised with corn meal mixed with warm water (the wildlife rescue center we called said it was fine to give them this kind of food until they grow a little bit more. After birds grow feathers, it is adviced to give more grains) . We already checked if he/she is injured, and doesn't seem so, the little guy wings are fine and once in a while he/she tries to open them, he/she is also jumping around and walking fine. Plus, his/her head seems to be in a normal condition. I don't live in the US, but we already called two wildlife rescue centers, and both couldn't do much about it. They said that if the bird is not injured, it was for the best that we took care of him/her until he/she learns how to fly.
‘’This is so it's little legs don't splay out on either side of it's body, but are kept underneath. It may cause permanent leg disformity if left splayed outwards for a few days or more’’ now this made me worried. We put him/her into a little box, but it doesn't have much space to walk around.We are worried that maybe, if we put him/her in a big box, he/she will try to get out the blankets in the middle of the night or walk around.
Now, there are some things I am doubtful about: when is the right time to give the little guy water? The food we are giving him/her already has water in it, but I don't know if it is sufficient. Also, is there a way to keep his/her little nest warmer? We put a lot of dry blankets in it and clean it every day, and every once in a while, when he/she gets out, we put him/her back. We were planning to put the box under the sun for a little bit of time when stops raining, but I don’t know if it is a good idea.
Should we keep him/her in the little box that is warmer or try to put him on the big one? He/she keeps trying to walk around, so I think he/she wants more space, but I am worried that he/she will be cold if we do so.
There is one more problem: now that he/she is eating a little bit more, he/she makes a mess with the food and it ends up on his/her ‘’neck area’’ , sometimes it even ends up tangled with the growing feathers. We tried to clean it, but the little bird gets super stressed. Is there a a way to clean it without stressing the baby?
I apologize for the amount of questions; I never took care of a bird before, much less a baby one. As for the photo Marina B. asked, I will try to take one when the baby wakes up
You can put him in a larger box during the day. Make a "nest" for him in the one corner, he will go back there if too cold. A heatpad will be the best option for heat, otherwise use a hotwaterbottle covered with a soft fleezy blanket. You can also try a lightbulb hanging down into the box, that will also supply him with a bit of heat. Make sure he can move away if too warm.
They get splayed leg if the surface is too slippery. If he sits with both legs tucked under him, the all is ok.
Can you get hold of frozen green peas? You can blend the defrosted peas and feed that to him. You can also add some small seeds to the pea blend. Do you feed him with a cut-off syringe? There a lots of videos on youtube how to do this. No need for water if the food is watery. Never syringe liquids into the beak, he can aspirate. You can also post a photo of the droppings. There should be plenty of droppings inbetween feeding. You can add a bit of human baby applesauce to the pea blend, will also help with digestion. Clean him after each feeding.
A photo will help a lot. He might be too tame to be released. When raised by humans, they don't know where to find food, water and shelter. These survival skills they learn from their parents.
They get splayed leg if the surface is too slippery. If he sits with both legs tucked under him, the all is ok.
Can you get hold of frozen green peas? You can blend the defrosted peas and feed that to him. You can also add some small seeds to the pea blend. Do you feed him with a cut-off syringe? There a lots of videos on youtube how to do this. No need for water if the food is watery. Never syringe liquids into the beak, he can aspirate. You can also post a photo of the droppings. There should be plenty of droppings inbetween feeding. You can add a bit of human baby applesauce to the pea blend, will also help with digestion. Clean him after each feeding.
A photo will help a lot. He might be too tame to be released. When raised by humans, they don't know where to find food, water and shelter. These survival skills they learn from their parents.
Thank you again for the reply, it really helps a lot. We will try to make a comfy nest for the little guy in the big box then.
I am pretty sure that we have some frozen peas in the fridge and small seeds, so we will try the ''recipe'' that you recommended. And, yes, we were feeding with a syringe. We also tried to put the food in a bottle cap and see how it goes, and the little bird seemed to be able to eat well like that, so we are considering changing to that.
You can see the photo right here: https://imgur.com/h3kxmhg
(I tried to upload in the site, but it ended up being way too big haha). I sincerely hope we can release the little bird, because we have a not so bird friendly cat at home.
I am pretty sure that we have some frozen peas in the fridge and small seeds, so we will try the ''recipe'' that you recommended. And, yes, we were feeding with a syringe. We also tried to put the food in a bottle cap and see how it goes, and the little bird seemed to be able to eat well like that, so we are considering changing to that.
You can see the photo right here: https://imgur.com/h3kxmhg
(I tried to upload in the site, but it ended up being way too big haha). I sincerely hope we can release the little bird, because we have a not so bird friendly cat at home.
Looks like a baby pigeon, still very young. Is that food around his beak? You will need to clean him up after every feeding. Just take a damp cloth and wipe him down. How much are you feeding him? Does he stick his beak into the syringe when feeding?
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