Baby birds diet
This guide can help you know what to feed a baby bird, how to encourage it to eat, and how often to feed. If the baby is being fed, rest assured that the parent bird is well able to keep up with its demands, and no intervention is necessary if the baby does not appear injured or ill in any other way. Avoid mixing batches of food more than a day ahead of time. Feed seed-eaters high protein dry infant cereal mixed with water (for example, Gerber brand baby oatmeal), wheat germ, corn or oatmeal that has been powdered in the blender. For insect eaters: chopped mealworms (available at pet stores) or insects like flies, crickets, grasshoppers, and moths. Seed eaters tend to be the smaller birds (sparrows, chickadees, doves, etc). You can also feed them boiled chicken or live insects like flies and mealworms. Birds get plenty of water through the appropriate food source for their species, so it is not necessary to supplement their diet with water. If the baby bird is not being fed, however, and if it appears to be growing weaker and more lethargic, the first step should be to find a licensed rehabber to provide it proper care. Mix up the amount of bird food that you will need for one feeding at a time-- generally just a few teaspoons for a small bird. Baby birds have delicate digestive systems and can only tolerate certain types of food. Bear in mind that it may take just seconds for a parent bird to deliver a bite to their chick, and inattentive observers may miss several feeding cycles. Different types of birds eat different types of food. For example, some birds eat only seeds, while others eat only insects and worms. Otherwise the food will go bad and will harm, or even kill the baby bird.
Write an Article Request a New Article Answer a Request More Ideas. When contacting the rehabber, ask for their evaluation of the bird in question before attempting any emergency feeding. Before you can feed a nestling, you need to know what kind of bird it is. If you have a large social network on Facebook or Twitter, you can also try posting a picture of the baby bird and asking for help with an identification. Depending on their age and species, baby birds may eat every 10-20 minutes for 12-14 hours per day, consuming a diet rich in insects for sufficient protein to ensure healthy growth. As the chicks grow, feeding may also be less frequent, and one parent bird may be tending to several offspring in different locations, so parental visits may be uneven. No human other than a licensed bird rehabber has the proper equipment, food supplements or endurance to keep up that frantic feeding schedule. If they recommend feeding the baby bird, they may have specific suggestions in mind as an emergency measure, and those suggestions should be meticulously followed. Meat-eating birds tend to be the biggest ones, birds of prey like falcons and so on. Community Dashboard Random Article About Us Categories Recent Changes. When you get a response, be sure to do a Google image search to verify that the identification is correct. Expert Reviewed How to Make Baby Bird Rescue Food. If you find a baby bird that seems to be unfed, watch the bird closely for 1-2 hours to see if the parents return to feed it. Remember that most baby birds eat food that has been digested and regurgitated by their parents, so keep the consistency wet but not liquidy. If you find a baby bird that appears to need feeding, the very best thing to do is not to feed them, but to get them to an appropriate bird rescue organization.
