Detailed information concerning wild birds In my research in trying to help  people find wildlife rehabs in there states I have discovered that they are far and few in between or often do not have the facilities to take in every little bird that comes along. If you are lucky enough to have someone in your area that does take in wild birds I highly recomend that you choose this option. Although raising a bird can be very rewarding, there is so much involved I would like to ask that if you know of a wildlife rehab in your area that you would email me the information so I can start a page with those contacts. On the previous page I gave you basic instructions to get you thru the first steps. Please make certain that baby has been abandoned before taking matters into your own hands. Often fledgelings will leave there nest at a age that WE think is to young when in fact they are simply under intense training by there parents. If you should find a bird that you KNOW without a doubt is to young but still see the parents, try to place baby back into the nest. If that is out of the question you can make a new nest for baby out of an old easter basket or cool whip tub or something similar. If you use a tub place a few nail holes in the bottom so that when it rains it will drain out. Then use some shredded newspaper or dried out leaves or pine needles to line the bed.  Then you will need to find a safe area to place the nest out of harms way. You can use a nail to tack it to a tree nice and snug between branches or up high in a nice bush. Once you have done this THEN put baby in it and leave the area for a bit but keep an eye out to make certain that mom did not abandond baby. Birds do not seem to care much for the old saying that if you handle it they desert it. If you have determined without a doubt that baby needs help then follow the basic instructions on the previous page and try to find a wildlife care center in your area. OK lets say there is none and you have done the basics and it looks as if you will be the one who has to finish raising baby. As baby gets a little older you will need to place baby in a cage and  start offering insects such as crickets and meal worms. When first starting it is a good idea to pull the head and legs off the insect. As baby learns to peck then you can place one bug at a time into the cage and let baby try his skills. At this time you should also offer a small dish of water,  seeds, suet, crushed dog/cat food, etc. The feeding times should also be reduced to every 30-40 minutes depending on how well baby is pecking. Just be certain to make sure baby is not losing weight. You can do this by feeling babies breast and belly. It should be nice and plump. As baby becomes more active it is also a good idea to take them outside to allow them time to hop around on the ground to learn "bird" skills. This is also a good time to throw a insect on the ground to help baby learn to catch bugs. Never leave unattended during this time for handraised babies have NO fear. If you have other pets it is VERY important that you not allow your pets and baby to intermingle. During this time you need to try and teach baby that there are dangers outside, for example if you see a dog or cat just make a big fuss and demand that baby get into a safe location. You will feel silly but this may one day save its life. Baby will also have NO FEAR of humans so you will need to inform your neighbors of what you are doing other wise baby will see a human thinking it is a food source and will go to land on him or her and if this person is not aware then there is a good chance that the person will freak and swat the bird killing it. Ok now baby has flown up into the tree for the first time and is screaming at you to fly up and save and feed it. Relax, baby WILL learn to fly back down. No need to panic...it might take most of the day but baby will eventually come down and will be STARVING and demand to be feed NOW. This is when you put him back to bed and fill his little belly, then try again tomorrow. For the first couple of days it is a good idea to put baby back in his bed at night. It is OK to feed baby as he is learning to be a bird. Sometimes he will even proudly bring you a bug that he caught on his own. Some birds wean away quicker than others but that is OK. It is also a good idea while baby is still young to use a whistle or sound that baby will recognize as you and feeding time. This will help you locate baby as he begins to venture out on his own. Lets say you have a dove or pigeon. Well, the care and release are basically the same but the feeding technique is VERY differant. If you have a dove you will need to go to the pet store and purchase a baby kitten nurser bottle. If a pigeon a 4 ounce human baby bottle. You will also need a rubber band and some thick plastic or rubber type material. (ex. playtex gloves)  If nothing is available you can use saran wrap folded over several times. You will still use the hand feeding formula for birds but make it thin enough that it will go to the top of the bottle when you tip it over.  Take the rubber or wrap and place it over the top of the bottle and secure with a rubber band. Next place a slit in the plastic large enough for baby to insert its beak but not so large that food spills out all over baby. Doves and pigeons are inverted feeders which means that they insert THERE beak into moms mouth and mom then feeds that way. So you will now put babys beak into the slit and tilt the bottle so that baby can eat. The first try or two will probably be quite messy but you will both get the hang of it. You will find that hand feeding any species of bird is quite messy so it is a good idea to have a nice warm wet rag on hand following each feeding. Maybe even a small bowl of warm water. Just be certain to keep baby nice and warm untill dry. If you allow the food to dry on baby clean up is much harder and even though the food breaks down well once wet it can result in a lot of feather loss Well, hopefully this will help you to get thru raising baby. Just remember the survival rate is not the greatest with handraised birds that is why it is so important to try to find a wildlife rehab center. People there have been trained for the proper care and release of these guys giving them a much better survival rate. If you have any questions or need more info feel free to email me. dingygal62@yahoo.com RETURN TO KBCBIRDRESCUE