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  #1  
Old June 19th, 2007, 05:46 PM
Sadie's_Mom Sadie's_Mom is offline
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Help Baby Robin

We have a baby robin that as fell out of it's nest.. Right now he/she is sitting on my daughter's bike handle bars.. I have seen the mother feed it ..He/she as no flight feathers yet ..My questions is what should I do?

We can't find the nest .. should I place it somewhere else or leave it .. We do have a lot of stray cats around..

Thank you in advance!!

Please Help
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  #2  
Old June 19th, 2007, 06:01 PM
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BMDLuver BMDLuver is offline
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The mother will take care of it and protect it. When it's no longer daytime, she'll most likely move it to a safer spot. Touching it will stop the mother from helping it as will keeping too near it. Best to let nature take it's course
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Old June 19th, 2007, 09:31 PM
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Actually I don't believe the mother can move a baby without flight feathers and also it is not true that a bird will stop caring for thier young after it has been handled. Putting the baby back in the nest would be the best thing if only you could find it. another option is to construct something close to where you saw the baby being fed, up high enough and out of danger. I'll take a look around for some instructions on how to do this.
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Old June 19th, 2007, 10:09 PM
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Well I took a look around but didn't find what I was looking for:P If you are sure the baby is too young to be out of the nest than I'd call around to some rehabilitation centres for advice and keep it safe with as little contact as possible. If it is a fledgling than just putting it up high on a branch away from predators is probably all that is needed. Good luck.
Quote:
Dealing with Fledglings

A fledgling bird is older and ready to go; it's in the process of learning to fly and not on the ground as a result of some catastrophe. Fledglings have no sheaths on their feathers and usually feature a stubby, partially-developed set of tail feathers as well.

The best we can do for fledglings is leave them alone. The youngster may require two or three weeks before it masters flight. The parents know where the young bird is and are taking care of it. The fact that the bird may appear confused or frightened isn't unusual. Parents will disperse their fledglings into different areas to mitigate the odds of a predator getting the entire brood; so yes, it's alone, but no, it's not orphaned. A fledgling knows how to call for mom or dad if things get dicey.

Keep dogs and cats indoors or walk them somewhere else when fledglings are in the vicinity. When at home, keep an ear cocked, too, for loud agitated squawks and such, which could mean a neighbor's pet or something else is harassing the bird.
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Old June 20th, 2007, 08:51 AM
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if you're still caring for the baby bird.... use a clean margarine tub (or similar plastic container with NO TOP) - poke holes in the bottom, line it w/ a paper towel, and secure it safely up in the tree where the nest and/or baby was found. Be sure to secure the "nest" out of the sun. this creates a safe and secure make-shift nest for the mother to care for the baby out of harms way.

if the mother doesn't come for the baby within 2-3 hours, contact a rehab center or person for further instruction.

This advice was given to me by a wildlife rehabber when I was caring for 2 young birds (younger then fledglings).
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Old June 20th, 2007, 01:20 PM
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dovelady4 dovelady4 is offline
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What jessi76 said is the best thing you can possibly do. Does the baby have any feathers? I breed doves and sometimes babies will start climbing out of the nests a little early. When you found the baby, do yuo recall seeing or hearing the parents anywhere. If they're still around, they're bound to help the baby as long as you put it back soon...
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Old June 20th, 2007, 09:14 PM
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We get a lot of baby birds here who are out of the nest but can't fly yet. Their parents are around and do come down to feed them and squack like crazy if there's danger around. Leave the little one alone, it will be looked after.

Cindy
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Old June 21st, 2007, 02:41 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jessi76
if you're still caring for the baby bird.... use a clean margarine tub (or similar plastic container with NO TOP) - poke holes in the bottom, line it w/ a paper towel, and secure it safely up in the tree where the nest and/or baby was found. Be sure to secure the "nest" out of the sun. this creates a safe and secure make-shift nest for the mother to care for the baby out of harms way.

if the mother doesn't come for the baby within 2-3 hours, contact a rehab center or person for further instruction.

This advice was given to me by a wildlife rehabber when I was caring for 2 young birds (younger then fledglings).
Execellent advice and that was exactly the info I was looking for but didn't feel confident enough to explain myself. Hopefully she didn't just leave it if it needed help. The first advice I usually hear with regards to this is "leave the bird alone" which is not the answer for every situation.
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Old June 21st, 2007, 07:57 AM
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I think too many people interfere, with good intentions of course, with baby birds that they think are abandoned or have fallen out of their nests. Most robins and starling chicks leave the nest (fall out), before they can fly. Mom and dad are around and do look after them, but won't if someone is hanging about watching the baby or toting the baby around looking for mom and dad. I've had both baby robins and starlings this year in the yard and had to rescue them from the pond. Put them in dry shaded places in the garden and their parents were back in no time. You'll find baby crows are the same thing, mind you their parents may actually dive at you if you try to get too close to the youngster. Had a couple of those youngsters last year and was quite happy when they could finally fly and let me move around my yard in peace Crows, robins, starlings, all have large aggressive young who are prone to leaving the nest before they can fly. Probably by jostling around with siblings. No matter how well intentioned, interfering is only going to hurt the baby, not help it.

cindy
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Old June 21st, 2007, 04:39 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clm
No matter how well intentioned, interfering is only going to hurt the baby, not help it.
I agree with you if indeed it is a fledgling. Unfortunately in some situations they do end up out of the nest to soon and need help. This was the case when I called a rehabilitation centre about the baby gull I rescued. They assumed I was just interfering and told me to leave it alone. I really wanted too but after seeing that the parents didn't come back for him and he couldn't fly at all I had to make a decision based on the situation. The cats would have got him if I hadn't done something which isn't really nature taking its course. And when I brought him in to the centre they were like ya its good you brought him in. :P
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