Kathy's advice: Should you find a bird which has flown into your window and is unable to fly,
please rescue it. Do not leave it on the ground, as it is vulnerable to any passing hawk,
cat, or curious child. The name of the game is WARM, DARK, AND QUIET. Place the bird in a
box large enough for him to stand and move around in comfortably. Always place a towel in
the bottom of the box for good footing - NEVER place a bird on the bare bottom of the box.
The smooth surface allows the bird to slip and slide with every movement and causes
further injury. Also, the towel will absorb bird poop and keep poop off feathers and out
of any wounds. It is not necessary to place water or food in the box with bird for two
reasons: It will not eat or drink in the first few hours of captivity and the closed box
will be dark and the bird can't see in the darkness of the box. Food and water will only
be spilled, making for a wet, dirty bird with a big headache!
If there are no obvious signs of
injury, such as bleeding from the mouth, ears, or nostrils, labored breathing with open
mouth (panting), dislocated beak, or obvious fracture, put the box in a warm, quiet
location away from all human noise. Reducing stress for the bird will go a long way in
helping him to recover quickly. One of the best places is in your enclosed garage - it's
usually much warmer than your house and the sounds of human activity are muffled.
Let the bird recover for two to
three hours without disturbance. Then take the box into a small room such as a bathroom
(catching an escaped bird in a small room is much easier than chasing one throughout the
whole house!), and peek inside. If the bird seems alert, is hopping around, and appears to
be using legs and wings well, take the box outside and open it all the way. Most times the
recovered bird will shoot out like a rocket back to freedom.
If the bird does not show signs of
improvement after several hours of quiet rest, or if there are obvious signs of injury as
listed above, call your local rehabilitator immediately. The quicker an injured bird is
given appropriate medical care, the more likely it is to recover from its injuries. Also
remember that most warblers and other migrators are insect eaters. Without the proper diet
these small birds can quickly weaken and die from starvation in a matter of one to two
days. Don't wait to get help for a hurt bird.
Baby
birds
Kathy's advice: Most of the baby birds brought to me are not in need of
rescue. Instead, they were taken from their parents by well meaning but misinformed
people. When a person finds a baby bird on the ground, he automatically assumes it has
been kicked out or fallen out of the nest. This is not usually the case if the bird is
fully feathered. Almost all baby birds, when they leave the nest, can barely fly, and so
often end up on the ground. It may take the baby several days before it is strong enough
to fly back up into the trees where it is safe. This is a natural process. Most babies
just need a boost into a nearby tree or bush (to keep them safe from kids, cats, and
dogs!).
It's okay to touch a baby bird because the mother
will NOT reject it. Most birds have very little sense of smell and only care how their
babies look and sound.
The easiest
way to tell if a baby needs to be rescued is to feel its chest. A baby cared for by its
parents will be quite plump and the meat on either side of its breastbone will be rounded
and even with the breastbone. If the meat is sunken in on either side of the breastbone,
the bone sticks out like the keel of a boat and you can pinch the bone between your
thumb and first finger, this baby has probably lost his parents to a predator and should
be taken to a rehabilitator immediately.
DO NOT give the baby bird water with an
eyedropper. This is a good way to choke or even drown it. NEVER try to feed a cold baby
bird, as a cold baby cannot swallow or digest food.
First, warm the bird. Line a shoebox with a
towel, place the bird on the towel and put the box half on-half off a heating pad set on
low. A higher setting will cook the baby! Then, call a rehabber! Sometimes the difference
between life and death can be minutes. Don't wait, CALL ME! That's what I am here for!
If the baby chirps and opens its mouth to be fed
before you can get it to a rehabber, a temporary emergency diet can be made using one-half
can of canned cat food (any flavor) and one hard boiled egg yolk (not the white). Mash
these ingredients well and using a pair of blunt tweezers, grab a glob of the meat mixture
and place it in the BACK of the baby's mouth, where it will be much easier for him to
swallow. Don't put food in the front of his mouth; he will have trouble swallowing. If any
food gets on his face, immediately wipe it off with a damp rag or Q-Tip. Food left on the
baby's face or body may cause a bacterial infection and damage any growing feathers.
Baby birds eat constantly. In the wild they
receive more than 100 meals a day from their parents, one bug at a time! In captivity this
is no exception. It is a continuous job from sunup until well after sundown. It's an
exhausting schedule, but the rewards of watching the baby return successfully to the air
and freedom far outweigh the endless hours of nonstop feeding. It is a feeling that warms
my heart.
Baby
squirrels
Kathy's advice:
Most of the baby squirrels brought to me were grabbed by someone's cat or orphaned and
starving to the point that they bailed out of the nest in a desperate search for food. The
first and most important thing for a baby squirrel (or any baby for that matter) is
WARMTH. Babies, both bird and mammal, will die from cold before they die from a lack of
food. Also, a cold baby will not or cannot eat.
To warm the squirrel, line a shoebox with a towel,
place the squirrel on the towel and put the box half on-half off a heating pad set on low.
Place a washcloth or other small, light towel on top of the baby to contain the heat.
Having the box half on and half off the pad allows the baby to move to the warm side if
it's cold or to the cool side if it is too warm. Then, call a rehabber!
Once the baby has been well warmed, is active, and
ONLY if you believe it is severely dehydrated, a SMALL amount of Pedialyte or other
electrolyte solution can be given with an eyedropper. This must be done VERY carefully as
it is easy to get the fluid into the baby's lungs and drown it or make it susceptible to
pneumonia. However, it is always best to contact a rehabber before attempting this. As
with baby birds, sometimes minutes make the difference between whether a baby squirrel
lives or dies. CALL ME! That's what I am here for.
At my facility I have many, many animals: dozens
of squirrels, several baby doves who were attacked by cats and are slowly recovering from
their wounds; an orphaned baby sparrow who fell from its nest and was found baking in a
shopping center parking lot; a kingfisher who became trapped in a pool enclosure and
almost drowned, a screech owl who suffered a broken wing after it was hit by a car; two
Blue Jays who were shot by BB guns; a crow who was fed a diet of only peanut butter and
bread; a turkey found as a day-old baby, a baby deer with a mild fractured leg suffered
when it was hit by a car; a baby bunny whose nest was discovered by a cat and is the sole
survivor, and many, many others. Stay tuned for updates!
Danger
from cats
Many of the animals Kathy receives are the victims
of cat attacks.
"These are not wild cats who are hunting to
eat," she noted. "These are someone's pet cats, like yours and mine, who go out
during the day and do what comes so naturally to them: hunt and kill."
It is not malicious, she noted, just the nature of
a cat.
"Don't be fooled into thinking that because
you have never actually seen your cat with a dead bird, he is not out there doing his fair
share of hunting," she said.
Domestic cats kill more than seven million song
birds each year in this country and that is only a conservative estimate. The actual total
is much higher, Kathy said. The ONLY sure way to make sure your cat is not killing is to
keep him inside where he is safe from the many dangers outside such as automobiles, BB
guns, other cats, and diseases such as rabies and leukemia.
"If
you have to let your cat out, please put it on the night shift which means out only after
dark and in first thing in the morning," she said. "The only thing your cat can
kill at night are rats and mice. Baby birds, their parents, baby squirrels and their moms
are safely tucked in their nests in the trees out of harm's way. It's such a simple thing
and it could make a world of difference to the wildlife around your house."
If you have questions or need more information,
e-mail Kathy Paynter.
Critter
advice column