# what to give a wild baby bird?



## Titch1980 (Mar 6, 2006)

hi
we have just been on our way home and found a baby(what looks like some sort of tit) god knows how old it is, it hasnt got a tail it looks as though the feathers on it have been snipped?
it keeps looking up at me with mouth wide open so is obviously hungry, but as elliott died i no longer have mealworms and stuff in and there arent any shops open that sell that kind of stuff, what should i give it over night? i can get to shop in morning and get some mealworm but we have tried looking for worms in garden and cant find owt. is there anything i can buy from a shop to give it?
the only reason i brought it home is it was beside a busy road and couldnt fly i tried getting it to and it just dropped down if you can help please reply as soon as poss
ta 
rach


----------



## Andy b 1 (May 14, 2007)

if you dig up some earthworms and mash them up it should be ok and they love nectarines


----------



## BADGERS MUM (Dec 5, 2006)

i think blue tits and the likes eat insects so mealies/earthworms are the best bet,i think you have to find out definate species as its dangerous to give them the wrong thing,definately not milk and bread mashed up,try to PM corvid2d as he rescues lots of orphans and he will tell you correctly


----------



## Esarosa (Jul 13, 2007)

If it is a tit in the wild they mainly feed on small insects, spiders, fruits, seeds and nectar. Love mealworms.we used to have a feeder in the garden.

Had a few orphans in the past (usually coz my bleedin cats killed the parents  ) N as an immediate feed i'd try earthworms mashed...

They do eat them.its just not the sole thing in their diet... if u cant find any in garden we used to find that spraying some lawn/soil with water...then using apitch fork to airiate the lawn..got the worms up

So as nowhere is open this time i'd say this may be the best bet.


Other than that call your local wildlife centre..they're usually on cal 24/7 n would come n collect it in theory


Katie


----------



## brian (Oct 22, 2005)

Washing up liquid and water brings up the worms so quick you would laff then wash in clean water also regular size meal worms


----------



## corvid2e1 (Jan 21, 2007)

already replied to the PM but for anyone elses sake, earth worms are fine, although and hard work to obtain. mealworms are ideal when you can get hold of them. a good staple though, that is much easier to get hold of is cat food. wash any jelly or gravy off, as it will give them the squits, but the meat choped into fine pieces is fine. personaly I use a mixture of cat food, mealworms and waxworms, and they thrive on it. if you are using just one type of food it is probably best to add a good vitamin suplement as well. SA37 is a good one for this. 
as for species, all small birds (other than pigeons) raise their young on insects, even those such as finches and sparrows that feed on seeds as adults, so when they are young it is not too important to be 100% sure on the species. once they fledge though, they will wean off the baby food and start to forage with their parents, and so learn what to eat and what not to. at this stage if you put a bowl of apropriate food, and one of water into the cage, they will eventuly learn to feed themselves.
if it is a tit of some sort, insects are fine then too, although they will pick at a few seeds as well. the most common tits to find as orphans are blue tits, which actuly start of green and yellow.
here are some of mine for comparison










great tits are also fairly common. these can be easily identified by a black stripe running down the centre of the cheast.


----------



## Titch1980 (Mar 6, 2006)

have just replied back to your pm too, lol
but thought i may aswell post this bit here as you said for anyone elses benefit
so.....................obviously im gonna have to let it go at some point(its illegal not to isnt it?) anyway, how do i ake sure it doesnt get too used to us and how would i get it ready to be let go etc?
cheers
rach


----------



## basky (Dec 11, 2006)

we used to raise ours on maggots (which we cut a hole in) and occasionally mealworms (fatty), we used tweezers for this and did it every few hours, however they will let you know if they're hungry. if they won't have the food off you (which is more than likely) GENTLY press the sides of there mouth and put the maggots in, once they've tasted them they won't stop eating. as for stopping inprinting, as soon as they start to pick up there food by themselves you need to get them into an outdoor avairy and try to stay away as much as possible.


----------



## Titch1980 (Mar 6, 2006)

i think its a coal tit
i have looked here The RSPB: Birds by family: Tits and going by the colours on it, but i cant find any baby ones so i dont know for 100%


----------



## corvid2e1 (Jan 21, 2007)

it is generaly illegal to keep a healthy wild bird just for the sake of keeping it, however it is also illegal to release it if it is not able to survive in the wild. if it does become too tame to survive on its own that is classed as a disability and under the abandonment of animals act it would actuly be illegal to release it. it is not overly dificult to rehabilitate them though, espesualy as yours is already a fledgling. if he has just left the nest he should be compleatly indipendent in about 2 or 3 weeks. this varys with individuals, but generaly ones that have been raised from very young take longer to start feeding themselves than ones that have been picked up as fledglings. as said, once he is feeding himself compleatly and flying properly it is best to get him out into an outside aviary, idealy with other young birds of the same or compatable species, but this is probably not posable in your case. it may be posable to set up feeders or a bird table near to the aviary to incourage him to interact with the wild birds though.

coal tits are the other one that I was going to mention that get picked up from time to time, although not as often as the other two.
they actuly look quite similar to blue tits as youngsters, very yellow down the front, fading to white as they get older. the main diference is the black cap and the square pale patch on the back of the head.
we have them in ocasionaly but this seems to be the only picture I have of one. (the one in the red tub obviously)


----------

