Orphaned Starling (nestling stage) found

[Bronwyn]

I have a really really young bird here, maybe a starling, has anyone raised one before? It fell out of its nest and I can't reach it. Who do I call?? Freaking out here!

 

[MumsyRat]

Is it a fledgling? If so it's best to leave it on the ground where you found it and let it's parents come for it.

Otherwise I would say to contact the wildlife centre in Toronto. They should be able to give you some helpful advice. (I hope!) www.torontowildlifecentre.com

I've raised some baby birds but it's not easy!

 

[Bronwyn]

Thanks Elizabeth!

Sorry about the caps...I'm still pretty freaked out knowing how fragile they are.

He/she fell out of a nest in a portable behind a school and was on the cement, a field where dogs often are let loose (how I found it!) and the nest was tucked up and in a black space I could never reach, even if I got that high it would be hard to blindly shove him in, guessing of course, where it is, since it's like a black abyss.

It's really young. Bald patches and only hints of pin feathers. I thought it was a starling? Not 100%. Anyway, I left a message with Toronto Wildlife Servies and I hope hope hope they call in the morning. He's calling out so much with such urgency, it's breaking my heart.

 

[Bronwyn]

I think the TWC only takes birds from Pickering or Richmond Hill...er...I NEED to get this poor baby in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing. Or could tell me what to do.

A photo from the net - he must be between 6-7 days old.

 

[skinnyhippiechick]

Don't know if they'll be able to help but.... you could try calling [personal # removed] and asking for Christina. She's a young girl I bought a cage off of recently and she had at least a dozen birds in her care, one of which was a grackle, now a month old, which she had rescued as a baby and hand-fed. It was amazing, I've never seen a young grackle so tame, she was amazing with her flock..lol. She plans to breed (parrots, I believe she said, she had two parrotlets and a beautiful albino cockatiel youngster) eventually and has been involved in raising birds for years, seemed quite knowledgeable. Hope this helps, poor baby...

 

[Cityratt]

bearing in mind that it is illegal to "foster" wildlife in Ontario without a liscence...not that im going to run off and tell anyone. im just throwing that out there....

Also just a cautionary note about imprinting...once that lil dude opens its eyes if its anything like an owl or some water fowl he's gonna think hes a person if thats all he sees....

I agree that its a starling...they usually have those bright yellow beaks....

:hugs: Bron - hopefully someone gets in touch with you soon! the only other thing i could think of would be to try to get in touch with someone at Earth Rangers....

Poor lil baby birdy...

 

[MumsyRat]

If you want to keep this little guy alive you are going to have to feed him and keep him warm.

I don't imagine you want to go out and catch bugs and mash them up for him so try to think of something in your kitchen that is mushy and proteiny. In a pinch even something as simple as bread mashed with soy milk will do. After you've given him some food cover up the box so it's dark and he should go to sleep. Feed him again before you go to bed and first thing in the morning. If possible every 2 hours or so all day.

:thumbup:

 

[Godmother]

You wouldn't happen to be near to a library or bookstore? Linda Johns has written a couple of lovely books recounting the rescued birds that have lived with her and her husband. They took in a couple of young starlings. I know that when the birds got older she was outdoors hunting bugs for them! If I can find my copy of Birds of a Feather I'll search for info about what she fed the baby birds.

But the girl who has the many birds sounds like the best bet for now.

 

[Keltera]

If you want to keep this little guy alive you are going to have to feed him and keep him warm.

I don't imagine you want to go out and catch bugs and mash them up for him so try to think of something in your kitchen that is mushy and proteiny. In a pinch even something as simple as bread mashed with soy milk will do. After you've given him some food cover up the box so it's dark and he should go to sleep. Feed him again before you go to bed and first thing in the morning. If possible every 2 hours or so all day.

:thumbup:

The best to feed him would be wet cat food, its the BEST for them, and ive raised many baby birds on it. Though i suggest trying to get your hands on some electrolites.. maybe even some pedialite for human babies. if you have a blender, blend up a bit together with the cat food to make it soft enough to put it in a syringe that fits on the babies mouth.
Done feed it to much at one time, make sure his crop is full, and not to full. Just take a look at the bottom of his throat, if you can see a nice large bulge, he should be full (for that time being). And make sure he keeps warm. he could pass if he is to cold.

 

[Bronwyn]

Thank you sooo much for the feedback!

I found this recipe: http://www.starlingtalk.com/babycare.htm and fed it to him (minus the calcium...that part made me too nervous but it's on the table here) and he's quietly sleeping after hours of squeaking. I've also given him some Gatorade by leaving drops on his beak - he seems to suck it in. His skin is red so I'll be working on that more tonight.

Thank you SO much for Christina's number. I'll call her tomorrow!

I've raised a Mallard, which I remember being illegal, but I think starlings and pigeons are exempt on that list since they're a pest. This is in my head from 4 years ago so I may be totally wrong. Anyway, yeah don't worry I know about that legality bit. His eyes unfortunately are already open but he hasn't imprinted to me yet. The duckling was imprinted pretty badly - he wouldn't stop crying at night unless he could see me. (that story ended happily!)

I must find this crop...I'm new to the altricial (sp?) bird raising! o.o He tried to swallow my finger which felt really weird, but did indeed eat. Makes me happy.

So I think I'm calmer, lol. I think. I'm not 100% sure how to keep him warm without overheating him. I filled a hot water bottle, covered it with a towel, put him in a plastic container with towels and sort of draped them over him. Apparently he needs to be at 85 F? But that would fluctuate during the night. Or would that matter a lot?

I've incubated duck eggs without an incubator for weeks so I'm used to the dedication. I'll try my hardest.

(made a long leap from total panic thinking he was a goner!)

 

[Keltera]

this is the best sample i could find, the crop it the yellow part of the neck (looks to full to me) its where they store the undigested food before its moved to there stomic

 

[MumsyRat]

I'm glad he's fed and sleepy.

It's been so long since I've had a baby bird I just couldn't remember exactly what to give him. I think "mushy and proteiny" is a good description of wet cat food, don't you think? :wink2:

Do you think you're going to try and raise him?

When I was raising a baby robin I would go to a bait shop to buy worms and then I cut them up.... eeewww! When he got older I would take him outside and pick grubs and stuff, to show him how to find it. After a while he got good at doing it himself and I didn't have to anymore. He would fly around finding tasty morsels but always came back to me and would sit on my head. His flights away lasted longer and longer until eventually the day came when he flew off and didn't come back. I wasn't a Momma bird anymore. :cry3:

 

[Bronwyn]

I'm really worried about his hydration. The site said his mouth should be moist, and it is (can't not notice that when they swallow your finger) but his skin is redder than the baby I posted. : / I'm still working on leaving those drops which he does take in, but I'm not sure if there's a better way? The site warned against putting water down their throats so I'm at a loss. How fast would they start to turn their normal pale pink if hydrated? I don't want to sleep while he's still this colour.

And I don't think I found the crop, which is scary since he's eaten so much! Maybe he was really really hungry...I don't know how long he was on the ground before I found him. for the record, I really hate that I took him in, partially that is, it's just there was nothing else to do other than leave him in the dog park of all places. Interfering with nature was absolutely not my intent. Not that anyone here scolded me, that was just for me, heh, I was spazzing when I found him and noticed his nest was way too out of reach.

I don't think my parents would let me raise him to be honest. I'd like to try but I'm soooo afraid of killing him. I was way more confident with my ducklings since they can eat, drink and walk on their own and won't fly anywhere, lol.

The worm part confuses me since that site says not to feed worms because of parasites, but if you did it, it must be okay, wouldn't it? That's really touching about the robin! That would be really cool if I could raise him like you raised your robin. I remember teaching my duckling that too, lol, he picked it up really fast. It's amazing he eventually left too! That would be so fantastic if this little one could be wild again.

Okay, back to drop feeding! 0.0 It's going to be a long night if his skin colour doesn't cooperate with me.

 

[Bronwyn]

taken just now. : /

 

[Keltera]

Such a big mouth!!

i sugest seeing if you can get some pedialite from your local grocery or pharmacy, its for human babies, and helps with dehydration, something i was told at a vet could help baby birds.

Edit: don`t worry to much that you can`1t find his crop, only worry about it when you feed him, just to make sure your not over feeding him, soon after he has eaten it moved to his stomic

 

[Bronwyn]

I'll definitely grab some in the morning! I got Gatorade which was all I saw at the tiny grocery store but I'm hoping the electrolytes in there will help for now. Currently trying bread soaked in milk, just waiting for him to wake up.

And yeah the photo seems to put a strange angle on him, haha. I used my Macbook which was a poor choice. The Nikon will be up and running soon, I'm just afraid of, well, getting attached and finding him dead. x.x

 

[Bronwyn]

Okay there's the first one...I didn't want to wake him up and panicked when his eyes opened. I think I'm getting a taste of motherhood!

Edit: I need a poop analyst. The first few hours it was a mix of white and green. The latest was just green with some clear fluid. Why do I get the feeling this is bad?

 

[Bronwyn]

Don't know if they'll be able to help but.... you could try calling [personal # removed] and asking for Christina.

This might sound silly, just thinking of what I'm going to say to her...who may I say referred me?

By the way he survived the night! :happydance: Just waiting for his food to warm up to room temperature now as I kept it in the fridge overnight.

 

[jorats]

If anyone is equipped to do this, it's you Bron!!
If you are very worried, find a wildlife rehab center in your area.

 

[skinnyhippiechick]

Not silly at all! So glad to hear that he survived the night. You can tell Christina that Donna-Lynne, the lady who bought the cage from her last week, was the one that said she might be able to help. Keeping my fingers crossed.
dl
:thumbup: