Will a broody hen raise a songbird fledgeling?

[Michellep224]

Hello!
First thing's first, I know the laws. I know it's illegal to keep wildlife. I don't need to be attacked.
I have an indoor/outdoor cat who just LOVES to kill and eat anything that moves. She has proudly killed numerous baby animals; birds, mice, moles, rabbits, etc.
So on my way to feed my chickens this morning I hear an upset bird call. Instinctively i sprung into action searching for the source, and cause, quickly discovering a pair of fledgling chicks hopping in the yard near my kitty's favorite sunny spot.
I set my feed down, and caught the chicks. I tried to catch Mommy, but she wouldn't get close enough to get in a net.
Frustrated, and knowing I don't have the time to hand-feed young birds, I got out a wire birdcage. I set it on the ground with the small door open so Mommy could feed them, but Kitty couldn't get in. I come back after work and could only find one baby! Mommy is still around, but after looking everywhere I am concerned Kitty might have ultimately gotten one baby. (Heartbroken)
So yesterday I candled my broody Bantam hen's last egg, and discarded it because it died in late stages of development. (Heartbroken again. No luck with chicks!! >_<)
Anyway, unsure what else to do, I put the fledgeling chick in broody hen's nest box after dark. When I checked back later the hen was very affectionately keeping the chick warm, holding her wings the way she would around a clutch of eggs.

Now, while watching TV this evening, I did some research on the birds. They are gray catbirds. (At first I thought mockingbird, but they didn't sound the same, and this chick has a few fluffy brown tailfeathers)
The chick is fast, and can hop, but no flying, just flapping. Defenseless...
My question is: will the broody hen take care of the chick until I can release it? I don't want it, but I don't want it eaten either. Lol
And please leave rehabilitators out because I'm not driving 30+ minutes to a center, and there is no transport. Had this arguement over birds before.

Anyone experienced?

 

[jwyles]

Hello!
First thing's first, I know the laws. I know it's illegal to keep wildlife. I don't need to be attacked.
I have an indoor/outdoor cat who just LOVES to kill and eat anything that moves. She has proudly killed numerous baby animals; birds, mice, moles, rabbits, etc.
So on my way to feed my chickens this morning I hear an upset bird call. Instinctively i sprung into action searching for the source, and cause, quickly discovering a pair of fledgling chicks hopping in the yard near my kitty's favorite sunny spot.
I set my feed down, and caught the chicks. I tried to catch Mommy, but she wouldn't get close enough to get in a net.
Frustrated, and knowing I don't have the time to hand-feed young birds, I got out a wire birdcage. I set it on the ground with the small door open so Mommy could feed them, but Kitty couldn't get in. I come back after work and could only find one baby! Mommy is still around, but after looking everywhere I am concerned Kitty might have ultimately gotten one baby. (Heartbroken)
So yesterday I candled my broody Bantam hen's last egg, and discarded it because it died in late stages of development. (Heartbroken again. No luck with chicks!! >_<)
Anyway, unsure what else to do, I put the fledgeling chick in broody hen's nest box after dark. When I checked back later the hen was very affectionately keeping the chick warm, holding her wings the way she would around a clutch of eggs.

Now, while watching TV this evening, I did some research on the birds. They are gray catbirds. (At first I thought mockingbird, but they didn't sound the same, and this chick has a few fluffy brown tailfeathers)
The chick is fast, and can hop, but no flying, just flapping. Defenseless...
My question is: will the broody hen take care of the chick until I can release it? I don't want it, but I don't want it eaten either. Lol
And please leave rehabilitators out because I'm not driving 30+ minutes to a center, and there is no transport. Had this arguement over birds before.

Anyone experienced?

I don't think it'll work personally not to mention the risk of disease and parasites your dealing with putting a wild bird in close contact with your chicken. If the bird is truly a fledgeling then mom wants it out of the nest to start learning to fly and fend for itself. I'd do my best to keep your cat away and get the bird somewhere safe but in the general area so that mom can help it through this natural stage.

ETA: when I encounter a fledgeling that seems to be struggling with takeoff but is at risk bc of my dogs, I usually will do something simple to give it opportunity to escape. Example: a blue jay feldfeking in my hard, I propped a long limb up on my fence in the corner of my backyard near a tree line so it was able to hop up the limb and into the trees for safety when it needed. Locked the dogs up and within minutes baby had figured it out with the assistance of the mother bird. It was honestly more rewarding than interfering, which usually doesn't work out in the end for the bird. I just left the post their jic baby ended back up in the yard.

 

[Michellep224]

The issue with the cat, Sable, is that we can't force her to stay inside. She gets mad and pees on beds and furniture if she doesn't get let out when she wants to be.
It seems to be a very healthy, active little bird. Acts very normal, and gapes when I quickly come above it.

What if broody does happen to accept chick? What do you think I should expect??

 

[Folly's place]

Have you researched the diet this bird needs? Aside from all the other issues, I doubt that your broody hen will manage a baby with drastically different needs from a chick or even a duckling. Can you feed it appropriately? If not, things will not end well.
Mary

 

[Michellep224]

Omnivorous. Typically their diet consists of insects, and will eat fruit when seasonally available. Eats from the ground.

 

[jwyles]

The issue with the cat, Sable, is that we can't force her to stay inside. She gets mad and pees on beds and furniture if she doesn't get let out when she wants to be.
It seems to be a very healthy, active little bird. Acts very normal, and gapes when I quickly come above it.

What if broody does happen to accept chick? What do you think I should expect??

I don't know what to expect. A wild bird has different behaviors from a chicken so not sure it will learn the things it really needs to learn from mom from a chicken. And I'm honestly doubtful it will survive. At fledgeling stage the baby bird is meant to be out of the nest and on the ground. That's normal. I understand the cat but I think I'd probably try to contain it somehow- In a bathroom with a litter box perhaps? - before I put the bird in with my chickens. Wild birds usually have lice and/ or mites and it just doesn't seem like a good idea to expose your chicken to that especially when the baby bird is not in need of rescue.

 

[FeatherstoneFrm]

The only time you should ever interfere is if the mother has been killed. At this point the mother may abandon it after being handled so much. And it will surely not survive.
The hen can't teach it the skills it needs to survive.

 

[Rysktal]

You described perfectly normal fledgling behaviour and interfered drastically, unfortunately.

If there is a next time, remove your cat or just leave things be.

When I see fleglings hopping about, I tie up my dogs and let the kids know to just watch, no touching.

 

[chickens really]

Put it back outside where you found it. Momma Bird will take it back. Touching them has no issues with the Momma caring for it..It won't survive if you don't leave it be.

 

[CutieChicken]

You can still give it back to mom, if she’s still around. Research on wildlife rehab sites shows that contrary to what most people think, mother birds do not reject babies or fledglings just because they’ve been handled by humans. If you can find mom, just get the little guy to start beeping, then set him down where mom can see him. She’ll start tending him as soon as she realizes he’s there. My husband and I spent about an hour reuniting a baby mockingbird we found roaming a parking lot. We heard mom calling nearby, so I just walked around with him in my hands, gently moving him up and down so he’d beep, then mom eventually heard him and came closer. Eventually she was close enough for us to put the baby down in the grass where she’d see him. As soon as he beepeed, she swooped in and started tending him. The only reason why we interfered was because if the baby stayed in the parking lot much longer, he was going to get run over. And mom was more than happy to have her baby back.