baby blue jay care instructions

[Jarhead]

I need some info for caring for a baby blue jay chick. The nest fell from a tree in last nights storm. 2 chicks were inside, 1 is dead, 1 is strong and alive. The one that died was less developed than the one that is alive, so I am not surprised it died. The living one is partially feathered, strong for it's size, nice and warm, very vocal and hungry. I put the nest back up in the tree probably not where it was originally, the mother has not yet come back, will she? I have fed the baby worms and a slug, which it readily accepted. It has pooped as well. If the Mom does not come back how can I keep it alive and raise it? Does it need water or does it get enough from the things it eats? How often do I feed it? Tips on keeping it warm? I feel like I should at least try to help it alive. Any advice is appreciated!
Thanks

 

[monarc23]

It's illegal to. You are going to have to contact your local wild life rehabitliator. It's very very illegal to even be holding that bird im sorry to say....only a qualified (and im pretty sure) licensed wild life rehabilitator should be doing what you're trying to do.


I'd leave it alone (reading more of your post now) and let nature take it's course feeding it and handling it unless you're taking it to a rehabitliator isn't the best thing to do legally.

 

[citalk2much]

Hope the mom comes back is there a wildlife rehab in your area? By law that is where it needs to go

 

[citalk2much]

If you PM me the county you are in I will try to find a rehab for you

 

[Cetawin]

I raised all the babies that fell from nests or were abandoned...then released them.

I purchased parrot baby food and monkey biscuits then made a mash for them. when they were older I gave them meal worms and so forth. Most birds require that you put the food in their mouth. Starlings for example will practically swallow your finger as they are accustomed to being fed that way by their mama. Doves, Robins and the like I fed with a syringe (need removed of course).

You can contact your department of wildlife and contact a rehabber to take the baby if you want to or try to feed it and release it. Yes it is illegal in some cases and in some states. The migratory bird act prohibits interference and so forth.

Good luck. I always enjoyed seeing them fly off knowing I had made sure they survived and were not a stray cat's meal.

 

[citalk2much]

Here is a link


http://www.agfc.com/wildlife-conservation/rehabilitators.aspx

Please contact a TRAINED rehab way to often I see bad care information given out on here I am sure that they mean well but there is a lot of training needed.

 

[gabrielle1976]

good luck whatever you decide to do ,
Im a bit of the rebel myself when it comes to orphened will life but thats beacuse if you call fish and game or what not around here they will say one of two things , leave it and let nature take care of it OR kill it . Never gotten any other anser from them ,,,
me "what do I do with the raccon caught in the feral cat trap I set "
Wild life guy " oh you go get youre self a large garbage can fill it with water and drop it in "
me " just found a nest that was in the roof of a house that got bull dozed what should I do can you come take them to a wild life vet or something"
WIld life guy " naw just leave em there they are pests most likely any ways"

You get the picture

 

[nstamper2000]

I raised have raised two robins and let them go. The less hand off the better. They are right about a local wildlife rehab person, but if you can not find one, you can go to a pet store and they make baby bird food. You mix it with warm water. You get a syringe and feed it to it this way. The baby bird will automatically open its mouth for you to feed it. Both of the birds I raised done well on this. I only handled the bird when it was time to be fed and by the time it could fly it could survive on it's own. I also did take it outside to forage for bugs and other things when it was bigger. I let it go near where I found it. After I let it go it found a family of other robins and stayed near my house for a long time. I do know it survived. It does take a lot of work though and a lot of time.

 

[KellyandKatie]

to offer insight on where the rehab places are coming from with their 'leave it to nature' stance
you can most certainly keep a baby bird alive feeding it like above mentioned, and you can feel great about releasing it into the wild
.... but you do not have the skills to teach it how to get food on its own after you release it, and you do not have the skills to teach it how not to become food on its own..
....see what I am saying?
so... yes! Call a rehab place, get some trained help that understand birdie development, it will take more than food to give it a shot at survival
and -- they will most likely ask you NOT to feed it before you drop it off with them

 

[monarc23]

i've raised wild baby birds in the past as well, I am guilty of it myself however like others have said feeding them and letting them go are not what wild life rehabilitators do they make sure they are wild and can find their own food and such before they are released.


Also the only birds you can take from the wild (in ANY STATE) is pigeons, starlings, and house sparrows.


Everything else you need a special permit for to even capture to look at and release.

the reason that some places say to let nature take it's course is because that is nature

I know it's hard to understand that sometimes but it truely is. Sometimes there are injustices though. LIke a doe with both her front legs broken we called the game commisson and they told us if she wasnt standing there for them to come put her out of her misery there was ntohing they could do and i wasnt allowed to shoot her myself. She went off and died or was killed for sure... and it's just sad because she could have gotten broken legs from someone hitting her to slipping on ice or falling down a cliff you never knwo. Either way i would have perferred to put her out of her misery but facing HUGE fines for something that a coyote would benifit from isnt something im about to do without getting legal *go ahead*

I know we cannot make you do anything that you don't decide to do. You are your own person but just be careful who you tell, and realize that after you release that bird it may not make it because it did not have parents to teach it what to do. Blue Jays are group birds without it's group it will be pretty lonely. Also its feathered it may very well be fledged and ready to hop out into the grass anyhow?