Rescued House Finch Just Hatched Baby Wild Bird

This is a house finch who had just hatched out of his shell. The mom who had been tending this nest immediately outside our window disappeared. She had conjunctivitis and was very sick. The eggs were not incubated for over 24 hours. I thought for sure they were not feasible. Nonetheless, I put the eggs in a rubbermaid container with cotton balls, and put the rubbermaid on a warming pad. The next morning, this guy had hatched...I could not believe it!! He immediately went to a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. I do NOT suggest EVER doing this unless you KNOW the mother bird is dead. This mother had conjunctivitis so badly that she was essentially blind; I was near positive she wasn't coming back. Also, I have done a lot of rescue and volunteered at the Wildlife Rehab Center. St. Paul, MN, 2006. I found out later that he was very cold and had little body heat. He was put in an incubator. I feel guilty for even having him in my hand like this...do not repeat my mistake.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• House
• Finch
• Hatchling
• Hatching
• Wild
• Bird
• Rescue
• Hatched
• Baby
• Wildlife

[nathanielsgirl15]

Im in sort of the same situaiton right now. I have four sandpiper eggs im trying to hatch cause the mom got run over a couple weeks ago. I volunteer at a wildlife place too and i will take them there if they hatch. How long did it take for your finch to hatch? did you feed it right away? What did you feed it? I need advice so I know what to do. the wildlife place cant take them right away so they said they will give me supplies but i need more advice. I really wanna save these little guys.

[amyhinmn]

@nathanielsgirl15 Hello, good for you! You have to keep the eggs warm and moist (I used a human heating pad on low underneath a rubbermaid with moist cottonballs and the eggs inside). Any wildlife place should take a hatchling, I would not recommend feeding or doing anything or you could easily kill them. I would get them there right away. I had some formula from the Wildlife place, and I fed them once before taking them b/c I have experience. You have to get it far enough down the throat so

[amyhinmn]

@nathanielsgirl15 You don't let them breathe it into their lungs. You also don't want to give them too much. Most important thing, though, is body heat. They do not make any and have to be kept warm, which is where a Wildlife Rehab place comes in--they have incubators. They feed them every 1/2 hour, which is very hard for a human to manage.

[hermit855]

what do you feed it with :D?

[amyhinmn]

I fed it with a very very small syringe from my vet. If you aren't super careful, you will drown it. That's why, as I said in the comments section, I took it almost immediately to a wildlife rehab center (or licensed person), who knows what to do and can keep it warm, and feed it appropriately.

[shangooboman]

i wish it is still OK and for safety put him warm!

[amyhinmn]

If you read the text I wrote under "info", you will see that I took him asap to a wildlife rehabber.

[Funster791]

Awwww so CUTE!

[terriergal]

I found for very small altricial hatchlings you can put them in a plastic jar with some tissue and tuck them in your bra to keep them warm! For men you could even put them in a chest pocket but it'd have to be closer fitting and have enough fabric over it to keep the heat close to your body. It'd be too hard to do that with eggs, unless they were very close to hatching. For my pet finches I have used a large prescription bottle with holes drilled into the cap and the bottom, lined with tissue.

[MugenFighter12]

me and my friend found one that fell out the nest(i believe) and it was on the steps of my other friends house. My friend took the bird in, fed it and took care of it but it died today...we buried it in my backyard :(

[xUnwantedSouls]

ಠ_ಠ



[118horseheroes]

I name him squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my squishy

[dragonsember]

In a way, it's kinda cute!

[3yearappentice]

may i ask are they ray ban sunglasses your bird is wearing, ?????

[URAbunnylover2]

it looks like a 10 day old chicken embryo O_o

[kristionezz]

I DONT NO IF THT IS STRAIGHT OUT ADORABLE OR KIND UGLY. XD

[ChemicalPixel]

Oh god, that is some ugly bastard! I love birds, I have a mockingbird and another one I have no clue what he is, they are here for almost two months now. They come and go every day, the mockingbird is starting to sing, he goes to play with the other adolescents in the area and come s with missing feathers in his head. Thanks for saving him, very nice of you. I raised another two Mockingbirds this year in May, they left like a month after being here, I see then once in a while.