Rainbow Wildlife Rescue and Wildlife Rehabilitation in Texas

Rainbow Wildlife Rescue and Rehabiltiation
Rainbow Wildlife Rescue and Rehabiltiation

If you find a Baby Bird:

Many baby birds are found by people and taken in to be cared for. People believe the baby bird is rejected by its parents, lost, or can not get back into the nest. The fatality rate of baby birds that are taken in by kind-hearted individuals is very very high.

Many people ask if a baby bird will be rejected if a person handles the baby and the bird parents smell the human. This is just an "old wives'" tale. Baby birds are NOT rejected by their parents if a person handles them. In fact, most birds have a very poor sense of smell.

Many fledglings are scruffy looking and look like they are unable to be on their own. They may leave the nest, scurry on the ground, etc., looking like a lost baby bird. The parents care of these fledglings and keep track where they are until the fledglings can live on their own. So the baby bird you see may be a fledgling that is being taken care of by its parents still.

If the baby is NOT fully feathered and has fallen from its nest, the very best thing is to put the baby back into the nest. Remember, depending on the age and species, a baby bird may need to eat every 20 minutes during daylight hours. The parents can take care of it so much better than you can, no matter how hard you try.

If the nest has blown out of a tree, you can nail or wire it back into the tree. If you can not find the nest but know the general area the nest was located, you can take an empty margarine tub or something similar, put some dry grass or a bit of material in it, nail the new "nest" to the tree, and put the baby or eggs back into it. Then leave the baby and nest alone so the parents will come back and take care of it.

DO NOT put the baby or eggs into a new birdhouse and hang it up. If the parents built the original nest in a tree or shrubs, they are not cavity-dwellers and will never find the baby in a birdhouse.

If the parents have not come back after several hours, then give a wildlife rehabber in your area a call, and follow their directions.
Here is a list of Wildlife Rehabilitators by State, find one in that list and call them for help.

Please visit the links page for more useful information and resources.

1-Time-Donation:

Common Myths and Facts about Birds:

Myth: All Birds eat Worms
Fact: Although some birds do eat worms, best example the American Robin, most birds cannot handle the parasites associated with them.

Myth: Baby birds that have been touched by humans will be abandoned by their parents
Fact: As far as songbirds are concerned, they have a very poor sense of smell and will return to young as soon as we humans leave them be.

Myth: Give baby birds water so they don't get dehydrated
Fact: Never give a baby bird water alone as they cannot close their airway to allow it to pass into their crops. They drown easily and their air sacks are very susceptible to bacterial infections.

Moisten bread for a temporary solution, pieces of fruit or mix a baby bird mash into a paste with water and place it in the crop with a 1cc syringe, without the needle. They will gape for vibration or peeping sounds. Insert the syringe in past the windpipe and inject it slowly into the crop. If any backs up into the throat, clear it with a Q-Tip. The windpipe is the hole directly behind their tongue.

Myth: Birds imprinted on humans should never be released
Fact: A bird that has imprinted on people is at a definite disadvantage for the first few weeks of freedom. Any that outlast these weeks have as good a chance as any other. You still have to supplement the diet of a freed bird at regular intervals through the day, they will learn to forage and will imprint on it's own kind in time.

Myth: My cat brought us a bird, but I rescued it and it is fine
Fact: Many times a bird that has suffered a cat or other animal attack appears fine at first but dies within 24 hours of the attack. This is usually due to a bacterial infection caused by the animal's saliva. Birds may be in great condition a day after an attack, only to die an hour later.

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