Help— fledgling stuck in yard

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  • #27174
    Lisa
    Participant

      I have a baby who fledged this morning who was hopping around and chirping but now is sitting quietly in one spot. Two of the siblings fledged 3 days ago and I assume they’re fine because Mom and Pop get mealworms and carry them away. Baby number 4 is dead in the nest. I’m not sure what happened with that one— it looks fully developed. I tried feeding the baby in the yard with mealworms on tweezers but she wouldn’t eat. Now if I poke her gently with a stick she chirps and hops, then goes back to sitting quietly. I saw Mom try to feed her earlier today. Not sure what’s wrong. She’s very tiny and it looks like her tail wings are very short— not sure if that’s normal? I’ll look into bird rescue groups— anyone have suggestions?

      Lisa

      #27178
      Lisa
      Participant

        Update: Went ahead and intervened as she seemed lethargic, sitting motionless for long periods of time. Gave her a little bit of water drop by drop with a syringe and she perked up quickly, hopping around again. Mom and Pop found her and I think they’ve been feeding her. She’s sitting on stone and I’m worried about her getting hypothermic overnight although it’s not going to be cold. Guess I should leave her alone now, will check on her again in the morning and put live mealworms out as usual. If anyone has advice please chime in. Thanks!

        Lisa

        #27189
        tamsea
        Moderator

          Can you pick her up and look her over. Usually I would say that she’s getting fed by the parents so don’t worry but it sounds like something else could be wrong. She’s either not quite ready to fly or something’s wrong.
          Don’t give birds water. Here’s a copy and paste why. “Mothers do not feed baby birds water because their airway is on their tongue and they can not close it when you drop water into their mouths. This means you drown them, if they dont die right away they develop pneumonia and decline quickly without antibiotics.”

          You have to pry the babies mouth open in the corners to get them to open to feed mealworms. Sometimes you can lightly squeeze that area but I use the tip of tweezers and lightly put it in the corner.
          You can dip the mealworm in water or better yet, Pedialyte. I can give you a homemade recipe.
          But if something is wrong the baby will need a rehabber.

          Tammy

          #27192
          tamsea
          Moderator

            Short tail is normal.

            Tammy

            #27196
            tamsea
            Moderator

              Small amount of Pedialyte recipe.
              1 cup water, 3/4 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp salt

              Tammy

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