How to Hand Raise a Baby Bird
Hand raising baby birds is a rewarding experience for a bird owner. Proper hand raising creates a strong bond between you and your pet that will last all throughout the lifetime of your bird. Baby birds need special care, including the constant warmth they would receive from their mother after hatching. Whether you've adopted the baby from a breeder, or you've rescued the bird from the wild, you can create a special bond with your bird, but it is imperative that you take proper care to ensure the bird's safety.
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Things You'll Need
- Wooden box
- Glass tank
- Hot water bottle
- Towel
- Baby bird formula
- Eye dropper
Instructions
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Remove the baby bird from the parent birds after two to three weeks, if possible. Babies who spend the first couple weeks with their parents tend to be healthier than those who are hand-raised from the day they hatch.
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Place the baby in a safe environment, such as a high-walled wooden box or glass tank. You will want to keep a heated water bottle wrapped in a towel in the tank with the bird to keep it warm. Birds that have not yet grown their feathers will need more warmth than babies that have sprouted feathers. Chicks need an environment heated to approximately 70 to74 degrees Fahrenheit, but avoid overheating the environment, as this could kill your baby.
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Hold your baby securely in the palm of your hand with your fingers and palm cupped around the body.
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Feed baby birds between 2 and 8 weeks of age bird formula. There are a variety of different bird formulas available in your local pet store. Follow the instructions on the brand you choose.
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Touch an eyedropper with the pre-measured amount of formula mix to the left side of their beak. The bird will begin bobbing his head and lapping at the formula. Do not force the bird to eat, as this could make your baby sick.
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Develop a four times a day feeding regimen for baby birds between 2 and 4 weeks of age, switching out to a three times a day regimen between 4 and 6 weeks. After babies reach 6 weeks of age, feed them twice a day; once in the morning and once at night. At 8 weeks, start weening birds by feeding them once a day at bed time.
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Always clean baby birds after feeding, and before placing them back in their home. Dry their skin gently, as a wet baby might catch a chill that could lead to sickness.
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Monitor the baby carefully for signs of distress or sickness. This will include chills, abnormal skin patches or feather growth, failure to gain weight or excessive weight loss, skin discoloration, abnormal stool or lack of stool and vomiting. If your bird displays any of these conditions, take her to the veterinarian immediately.
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Set a small dish of chopped fruit and seed in the box with your bird around 10 weeks of age, but do not force the bird to eat. He will begin to experiment with solid food on his own when he is ready.
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Tips & Warnings
If you are hand raising a baby bird for the first time, keep close contact with your veterinarian to make sure your bird is healthy. You may not be able to identify signs of distress since you are new to caring for a baby bird, and a veterinarian's help can be crucial to ensuring your baby bird's health.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit baby bird image by Dwight Davis from Fotolia.com
