Hello fellow BBSers, Yesterday a baby (well not able to fly yet) mockingbird fell out of its nest in front of my apartment. I know not to touch it, b/c the mom won't help it if it has human smell or something like that. So, I corraled it into some bushes and it did a good job of hiding in there for most of the day. Then nighttime came, and we have a few stray cats that roam the apartments at night. Now, I'm a cat lover, but I just didn't want them to get this little guy. So, I brought the daggon thing into my apartment, under severe reprimands from the wife. Now, my situation is, I don't know what to feed it. I tried to dig up some earth worms, but no luck. So far, I've been giving it ham lunch meat. I smash it up real good, and give it to the little guy. I had to pry his mouth open the first time. But, now whenever he's hungry I just drop it in as he's screaming his little lungs out. I have also been giving it water with a straw. I thumb the water and put the straw over the bird's beak. It seems to work real well. 1. How much water should it be getting? 2. What can I feed it, and where do I get it? (I live at the intersection of Kuykendahl and 1960, so in that area). To tell you the truth, the first thing I thought when I saw it was that I was gonna stomp it to get back at the mother mockingbird. Because that stupid ass thing has been squawking ALL NIGHT for the past month or so. I swear, if I had a BB gun I would've shot it by now. But, thankfully, I came to my senses quickly, and decided not to take it out on the little guy. I still might settle the score with the other one, if it doesn't shut the hell up, though. ------------------ DREAMer's Rocket Page
The old wive's tale about baby birds is not true. You should pick up the bird and put it back in the nest ASAP. Go to google.com, and enter the key words BABY BIRD HUMAN SMELL, and you will find many good websites on this subject. ------------------
Feeding Preferences The Mockingbird's primary diet is insects (beetles, ants, grasshoppers and spiders),berries and seed. Mockingbirds will not typically visit your seed feeders. However you can attract them to your backyard by: chopped dried fruit, grapes or raisins. ------------------ "For there is nothing either good or bad, thinking makes it so." - William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Hamlet
DREAMer, for a second there you had me scared. I was worried you weren't a conservative anymore until I read this part. ------------------ "I guess that's YOUR theory"
Bob is right. Make sure you chew up the insects and fruit VERY well before you spit them into the baby bird's mouth. Good luck. ------------------
Does anyone else find it just a wee bit odd that this bird likes ham? ------------------ All hail Fadeaway's Cyberfish -- your 2000-2001 BobFinn* Fantasy Basketball League Champions!
Thanks for the help guys (for those who did anyways). I called a pet store and they said to try "meal worms". So, I went out and bought some. 50 worms for $1.20. Not a bad deal. They're the small grub-type worm, look like larva of some sort. The bird does seem to like these. I do not think it "liked" the ham lunch meat. I think that was all it was gonna get, or die from starvation. It's been over 24 hrs since it fell out of the tree, and it doesn't seem to be injured at all. I just need to get this little squawking monster to fly. The weird thing is, my cats don't seem very interested in him... yet. Although, it's not like I am letting it run around the apartment. ------------------ DREAMer's Rocket Page
Dreamer, I'm no expert on the 1960 area by any means, but I did grow up in the Memorial Northwest Neighborhood off Louetta and if Im not mistaken, there is a pet store right there at 1960 and Kukyendahl??? ------------------ American business long ago gave up on demanding that prospective employees be honest and hardworking. It has even stopped hoping for employees who are educated enough that they can tell the difference between the men's room and the women's room without having little pictures on the doors.
Wait, Ill correct myself. The pet store Im thinking of is at 1960 and Stubener Airline where the Spaghetti Warehouse and Hollywood video is. I told you I was no expert ------------------ American business long ago gave up on demanding that prospective employees be honest and hardworking. It has even stopped hoping for employees who are educated enough that they can tell the difference between the men's room and the women's room without having little pictures on the doors.
I had two baby birds fall from their nests in my backyard in consecutive weeks. They were real lucky as my big dog was trying to eat each one, would grab it in her mouth, and start chomping on it. She likes to do that with big frogs, too, and she foams real bad from the experience(yuck). She didn't chomp hard enough to hurt the babies, though. But, no way I can handle taking care of little baby birds. So, I made a few calls starting with my vet. It led me to a bird-safe house some lady ran out of her residence. She basically told me that it was illegal for residences within city limits to raise wild birds unless you have some kind of certification/license to do so(in Ft. Worth). I was like...hmm...I doubt anyone is going to enforce that one unless you have a bird farm in your house. Jail time for helping a little bird . Turns out she did have a bird farm and she was registered to do so! I go over there and she's cradling a little bird like a mama and has all these little birds everywhere in her house in little boxes and running around. Then, she shows me her garden and different species of birds are nesting there as well. That is a lot of work from what I gathered from that visit. Anyway, it gave me some definite relief to let her do the baby bird raising. That task needs time and attention I don't have time to give. Of course, she would release the birds when they were old enough. I'm not exactly sure how that works...seems like you got to teach the little bird how to prey for food or it would starve once released? I wonder how they do that...an earthworm battlefield? Surf ------------------ If the Rockets lose, then we all lose.
A month or so ago, my mom found a pigeon that decided to build a nest in an old flower pot my mom had in her backyard. A baby bird fell out of and started wailing away. My mom didn't want ants to get at it, so she brought it inside for a while and gave it something to eat... not sure what. She then just put it back into the pot and the mama bird came back and all was cool. ------------------ "I'll tell you this, the older I get, the less I trust people. It's true. It's damn true." -- gr8-1 going through some growing pains.
DREAMer: Sorry, I just got back in town. Normally, you should leave the bird in the yard or put it back in the nest. The best resource for questions is the Texas Wildlife Rehab at713-643-WILD. They have an extensive voicemail system and volunteer numbers to call. Best of luck. ------------------ How the hell should I know why God would allow the Holocaust. I don't even know how the electric can opener works. - from Hannah and Her Sisters
Well, leaving it outside the apartments meant certain death via cats. I couldn't put it back in the nest either, because I can't find the damn thing. Just the other day I climbed into the tree with a hand saw to cut that friggin' nest out, but when I got up there, I couldn't find it. So, for now, I will keep feeding it meal worms, and hope it can fly soon. ------------------ DREAMer's Rocket Page
It died.... I am very frustrated. I did everything I could think of to keep that little guy alive. I climbed that stupid tree looking for its nest. I shooed it into the bushes. I hand fed it ham, then meal worms, then moist cat food (as advised by a web site). I took it out of the kitty carrier and let it run around for exercise...... What's really sad was after school I went to Petco and bought some wax worms. They were fatter and softer than the meal worms, and I thought for sure the little bird would love them. He never got to try those fat b*stard worms........ I am sad now. ------------------ DREAMer's Rocket Page
How did it die ? ------------------ "norm, would you like to buy an indian scalp ? This deal isn't gonna make or break me Norm, so don't jerk me around." Harry Carey "Norm, if I had a mohawk scalp, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."
