Baby Sparrow

06-25-2007, 11:50 AM

I hope all goes well - I've only had him/her 3 hours.

I was out sketching with one of my students & we decided to walk thru one of the small villages in our area. In front of the closed movie theatre was a dark brown clump on the ground. I didn't have my glasses on. I walked over to it & saw it was a baby sparrow.

I picked it up - because it was in the middle of the sidewalk. I put it in the municipal flower box & kept an eye on it for about an 1- 1/2 hours [we were sketching nearby] - no Mom. I was worried & finally decided to take him home - stopping off at the organic store for a box & some groceries.

I've been on the web looking at feeding ideas. He's eagerly sucked down water mixed with organic baby food, from the end of my dropper [& literally grabbed the stopper & tried to swallow it whole] - sweet potatoes & chicken.

He looks just like the baby in this site: sparrow page

Q - is the sweet potato going to harm him? we were thinking of getting some cat food or baby meat puree.

06-25-2007, 11:52 AM

Aww, good luck with him!

I'm sure Joel and others will be along soon with advice.

06-25-2007, 12:35 PM

Meal worms, earth worms, ground up, a tooth pick can be used as a spoon, small amounts of the ground up worms on the tip.
One can also use Kaytee exact baby bird formula (very runny) the main issue is impacted crop.
Fresh water with each feeding, unless using Kaytee, the baby will need to be fed every 2 hours to assure proper development.
Or like you have said dried dog food mixed with luke warm water until runny, again, the only worry will be a impacted crop.
Please feel the crop to assure it is emply before each feeding.
You will want to limit the human touch for a successful release.
Thank you so very much for the kindess you have shown towards the baby sparrow.
Good Luck

06-25-2007, 01:01 PM

I have found many baby birds and do much as Arty has said. I also take them to the local wildlife sanctuary we have close by and they will nurse them if they are ill or wounded.
Yes...The more human touch they have, the less likely they will survive in the wild once again.

But, doesn't it feel good to care for a living being knowing that you had a part in it's survival?

06-25-2007, 01:48 PM

How full should the crop be at the end of a feeding? - it was empty when i got him.

I've gotten some watery canned cat food down him - ground chicken - earlier i had mashed some chicken i cooked & added it to the baby food & he did eat that. He was mostly interested in drinking the watery broth. But the crop isn't very big at this point - i can hear him cheeping - he's in a box on the balcony [protected].

I don't have to hold him to feed him - the stopper is great for liquids but a small coffee spoon is working well as it opens his beak nicely. I was giving him a little every hour - unsure about feeding him too much of this stuff.

I'll look into a wildlife sanctuary - i think there's one in Mississauge - near here.

06-25-2007, 02:00 PM

I would recommend this diet:
Baby Starling Care: precise information on caring for wild baby birds

It's a proven diet, with great results.

I would also take a look at this,
Frequently Asked Questions about European Starlings
This goes for sparrows as well as starlings. Here is a message board for baby birds, especially starlings and sparrows: Starling Talk Message Board :: Register
a lot of the people there are really experienced with orphaned babies and are very helpful.
good luck with your baby! she's a cutie!

06-25-2007, 03:16 PM

AWww that little guy is adorable! I always sit and watch the little sparrows that play in the bushes infront of the windows at work.

06-26-2007, 05:36 AM

Well he seems to be taking to the mixture of baby food & cat food.

He slept thru the night on the balcony - in his paper towel nest. One thing i have to say about him & probably sparrows in general - boy is he smart. He backs up to poop & then pushes forward to get away from it. He also tries to poop outside his nest. He never poops in the same area either. Of course his poops are 50x's bigger than a Budgie's & he's 1/3 their size. Nice diet. But the pops look just like the ones on the sparrow site.
I haven't even had breakfast & i've been dealing with cat food & sparrow poop.

By the way my hands are really dry - washing & washing them. off to get some hand cream.

Oh & good morning!

06-30-2007, 09:10 AM

He's only been here 5 days! - boy is he growing.

His little tail is twice as long & he sat up yesterday - no more sitting on his legs.
He eats - if he's persistent - every hour. But because i'm out sometimes he has to wait up to 2 hours. My husband took pit on him yesterday when i was out - thank goodness.

Today he hopped out of this small box/nest so i put together another bigger one. One of my students has a house nearby & has raised lots of baby birds over the years - i think I'll ask her to help with the release.

The box was for my son's work boots & the top was a project that i didn't finish but had to kind of finish so it would keep him safe. Inside is dry grasses, flowers, catnip, thyme + 2 willow perches.

1-showing his tail growth 2-his little nest box 3-eating from a straw 4-his food

06-30-2007, 09:26 AM

Here's his new box - some details + the local on our balcony table

PS - i normally don't pick him up - unless it's to wash food off of him - but for the photos i did pick him up. He hates to be held of course. If he's not asking for food he'll try & bite me. So i still think he'll be Ok as a wild bird.

With the new box i can introduce a water dish & some seed for him to check out. I'm really winging it here - not sure how his development = food & independence issues.

I think i'll be calling my student this weekend - but anyone who has more info please advise - thanks.

PHOTOS: 1-box on balcony 2-close-up of lid 3-Brownie in his nest part 4-interior of new box with old nest between willow perches 5-baby face with food on it.