How to Raise Birds

Baby Robins

Learning how to raise birds is a most rewarding experience. Whether you are thinking of raising parakeets for breeding purposes and ultimately for financial gain or simply want to help out a little bird you picked up from the ground with no possibility of returning it to the nest, there is some skill that is required. Follow these steps, and you will be well on your way to not only understand how to raise birds but also ascertain if you are up to the challenge.

Things You'll Need

• Nest box or shoe box
• Alfalfa
• Water bottle
• Swatch of soft cloth
• Feeding tool
• Starter cage
• Water dish
• Mature bird
• Large cage

Instructions

1. Identify the species of bird you are seeking to raise. If you are trying to breed birds you may have purchased, this is a rather easy task; if you have picked up a little bird off the ground, it might be harder. It is important to find out what the regular diet of the bird is and then backtrack from there to find out what kind of food it will require in the beginning.

2. Understand a baby bird’s needs: it requires warmth, security and food. Warmth and security may be offered by making its temporary home a nest box or shoe box stuffed with alfalfa. Press down this bedding and place a tiny swatch of very soft cloth on it. You may place the little bird on it and it will keep some of the alfalfa from actually poking its skin.

3. Install a water bottle—such as is used for hamsters or guinea pigs—in the nest box to permit the bird access to water at all times. Check frequently that it is not pushing against the little ball in the nozzle and actually gets water all over the alfalfa and itself in the process.

4. Get up early. Birds begin clamoring for food when the sun rises and do so until it is well past setting. Be ready to feed something to the little bird ever two hours or so. Start at about 6:00 AM and continue on until 9:00 PM. You may stop earlier if the baby bird shows no more interest in eating after dark.

5. Determine which kind of feeding tool you need to use by taking a good look at the bird’s beak. For early feedings of mashed mealworms and eggs, a dropper might do. For bigger birds, a small spoon may prove worthwhile. Feed recipes are found on the internet and need to be adjusted, depending on the bird’s species, size and age.

6. Clean up the nest box frequently as a little bird that eats a lot also produces a lot of fecal matter.

7. Move the bird to a starter cage when it begins hopping around in the nest. Wait with putting in any of the higher perches until later, but do install a perch right above the ground. This allows the bird to get used to sitting on a perch.

8. Entice the bird to eat by itself. In case of insectivores, this may be accomplished by placing a tip proof dish of squirming mealworms in the bottom of the cage.

9. Place the bird’s starter cage next to the cage of a mature bird. This permits the fledgling bird to take clues from the adult bird on how to self feed and also sit on the higher perches.

10. Move the bird into a larger cage when it is time for it to spread its wings and work on the muscles that control flight. The only way for your baby bird to learn how to fly is by watching other birds do it. Once again, placing a mature bird in a cage next to the little bird is a good idea. Placing both in an aviary might also work, but it is wise to watch the interactions to ensure that the adult bird does not attack the smaller fledgling bird. If this occurs, you may need to place a separator mesh into the aviary.

Tips & Warnings

• There is no hard and fast rule with respect to how much you should feed a bird at any time. When raising a bird it is best to get your cues from the baby bird itself as it will let you know when it is hungry and when it had enough. Rapping on the nest box should be greeted with an opened beak when the bird is ready to eat.

• Against popular opinion, you cannot teach a bird how to fly. It will acquire this skill by watching other adult birds.

• Always be careful with handfeeding. You can easily aspirate a bird. If you have never hand fed before, contact an avian certified veterinarian or a breeder and have them teach you how to hand feed.

Resources

• Visit the EPA.Qld.gove.au website which holds tips from the State of Queensland on meal preparation for pretty much any kind of baby bird imaginable.
• Find valuable information on raising ducks, geese, and other rather mobile birds from the Geocities.com/Drosera123 website.