Nursing a wild baby bird back to health can ensure a higher survival rate upon release.
Raising a wild bird can be a great way to give an otherwise helpless animal a second chance at life. Many baby birds die within the first few months of life. With proper care they may be more likely to survive than they would've without the help. Birds nursed to health by humans have a 50 percent survival rate upon release into the wild. By learning to care for wild birds properly, including giving appropriate housing and feeding, you can give baby birds a second chance to survive.
Instructions
Feeding Wild Birds
1. Soak puppy chow in water for one hour to soften it for feeding. The food should be very moist so it is easily swallowed and digested. Warm food to room temperature before feeding to birds.
2. Hold the bird gently with one hand, opening its mouth with the other and placing a piece of puppy food in its mouth using tweezers. Feed the bird one to three pieces of food at each feeding.
3. Feed baby birds every half hour from sunrise to sunset. Baby birds can starve to death in only a few hours.
4. Place food for adult birds directly in the cage to allow them to hunt. This food can include small pieces of fruit and mealworms.
Housing Wild Birds
5. Place straw in a small cardboard box for housing baby birds. As the birds grow, they will need a bigger home. Use a large cage when birds are jumping and able to get out of the small box.
6. Decorate the large bird cage with branches, leaves, grass and a sturdy water bowl when the birds are older. Baby birds should only have straw in the boxes.
7. Place the bird's housing in an area where it can see the outdoors. It's important that birds have a sense of nature.
8. Place bird housing in a warm spot with no drafts to avoid cold temperatures. Once birds have been self-feeding for at least two weeks, move their cage outside.
9. Clean bird cages on a regular basis to avoid messes and illness.
Releasing the Wild Bird
10. Teach birds to fly indoors to avoid injuries and keep them from escaping before they are ready.
11. Find an area with suitable bugs and food for the birds to live. There should be other birds of the same species close by.
12. Release the bird into an area with birds of the same type once it is capable of flying well and feeding itself.
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