Baby birds

[WebLady]

We have a bird that built a nest in our garage (on top of a high shelf) and had babies. We found a couple of the babies on the ground, I guess they feel out of the nest.

I put them back in and then a few hours later another one feel out; it looks like it's leg might be broken, but I am not sure. I put it back in the nest anyway; I don't know what else to do.

I haven't seen the momma bird today either, so I wonder if she has abandoned the nest.

I don't know what to do, I would hate for the poor things to die. I would also hate for the dogs to get a hold of one of them too.

[tiffany.marlene]

Usually after a human touches a baby bird, a mother will no longer care for it. I'd call animal control to see what they can do.

[Jacklynn]

I was actually going to say the same thing. If you touched them with your bare hands the mom will probably not be back. Animal control may be able to help but I'm not sure. Hope it works out!

[jeni740]

NESTLINGS Baby birds that are naked for the most part (featherless or feathers just starting to come in) are considered to be "nestlings". These birds stay in the nest and the parents come to feed them there. These babies, when found, are usually on the ground directly below the nest. This occurs either because the baby fell out, blew out (common after wind storms), or was "pushed" out by a sibling. One must realize that this last behavior is actually adaptive for some species. This way, only the strongest of the brood survive and go on to raise young themselves.
What to do if you find a nestling that is out of the nest:
The best thing to do is to try to place the bird back in its nest if at all possible. If the nest cannot be reached for some reason, the following works very well. (This is also the procedure to use if you find the whole nest on the ground.)
Make a "makeshift" nest out of a clean Cool-Whip container or margarine dish. Make holes in the bottom of it to allow for water drainage. Line the bowl with paper towels. Then tack the makeshift nest back up in the tree as close to the original nest as possible. Finally, place the baby bird(s) into this and leave. The parents will usually come back in a short time and will feed the babies in it just like it was the original nest. (Often, you will see the mother going back and forth between each "nest", feeding both sets of babies.)
The only time we recommend bringing the baby birds in is if you KNOW that the mother is dead or if the babies are injured in any way. The natural parents do a much better job at raising their young than we could ever do. A baby bird that is featherless must be fed every 15-20 minutes from about sunrise to 10 pm! This obviously requires a large time committment on the part of the foster parent.

What if I already touched the birds, the mother won't come back, will she?
People often believe this to be true and therefore think they need to keep the babies. This is simply NOT TRUE and is just an old wives tale. Birds in general have a very poor sense of smell (vultures are one exception) and will not mind the fact that you have handled them (but will be bothered by your presence by the babies).

http://www.tc.umn.edu/%7Edevo0028/imgnote2.gif If you do find a REAL orphan or injured baby bird, please do the following:

Get it to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator AS SOON AS POSSIBLE; the longer the delay, the less chance it has of surviving
Keep the baby bird WARM and in a quiet, dark place until you can bring it in (a small cardboard box works well)
DO NOT give the baby bird any liquids (they get all they need from their food and very often will inhale any liquid)

[WebLady]

I actually read that most birds don't have a very good sense of smell and it wouldn't matter if you touched the baby. I didn't though, I am afraid of bird cooties ;) I scooped up the baby bird with a paper plate and a glove.

I sent an email to a local wild life rescue rep I found online. We will see what they say.

EDIT: Thanks for that info Jeni; I found something similar :) I also read that is was sort of illegal to try to care for or keep a wild bird yourself. You have to be licensed or something.

Grr, my email was returned; I will have to look for someone to contact tomorrow.

[woohoo2me]

awww poor baby birds. i hope they all survive and someone contacts you back very quickly.