For many of us, spring time can be an exciting chance to see nature spring to life. The flowers you’ve planted begin to bloom. You see find baby birds and many animals frolicking about.
We are all reminded that new life is constantly being created.
However, sometimes this life gets off to a shaky start, and when you find baby birds in your yard it can leave anyone clueless about what to do next.
Step Back and Observe
It can be tempting to swoop in and pick up the poor baby. But the truth is that most baby birds are not actually abandoned.
Most babies start wandering out of their nest a few days before they’re ready to leave home.
Their parents swoop down to discipline them and help them learn to fly, so what you may be seeing is a bird who is merely temporarily away from its parents.
It is extraordinarily rare for a parent bird to abandon her babies voluntarily. Most of the time she’s forced away from her babies or was involved in an accident of sorts.
If the bird has all or most of its feathers, odds are it has not been abandoned.
Before doing anything, bring all your pets inside. Make sure dogs, cats, and young children cannot get to the birds and injure them or their nest.
Find the Baby Bird’s Nest
If the bird does not have most of its feathers, odds are good that its lost. Look nearby for the nest, and if you find it, place the bird back into the nest.
It is a myth that birds will reject babies that have been touched by human hands. But you may want to wear gloves to avoid contracting or passing on any disease the bird may have.
Make sure to check back in later and ensure that the bird’s parents have come back for it.
It’s possible that if the bird made its way out of the nest, it has been abandoned by its parents.
Don’t Try To Go At It Alone
If the baby bird you find is an orphan, and you cannot find a nest, it’s time to take action. However, hand raising birds to adulthood is tedious work.
Not only does it require round the clock care, it also requires an experienced hand. Feeding these babies incorrectly can cause them to get infections, pneumonia, or lead to sudden death.
One of the most complex parts of caring for a baby bird is feeding it. Experts do not recommend you to feed it unless you can’t get in touch with them. At this point it is absolutely necessary to begin feeding the bird.
Put the bird in a box with a small warm cloth and ensure that it is in a warm area of the house. One method you could go with to keep the baby warm is to lay a heated sock under the cloth.
Be sure to supervise it at all times so that it does not escape and injure itself. You will need to contact a local wildlife rehabilitator immediately. These are experts with state licenses, and there’s at least one in most areas.
They will raise the bird to adulthood and then re-release the bird where you found it, so you’ll get to see the bird as an adult.
After all, birds make great pets and adopting a baby bird as your own is admirable.
