Young Swallow Rescue

Whilst out seeing to the poultry earlier I found a Swallow fledgling on the ground , so held it in my hands to warm it for awhile .
Son got the ladder & put said bird back into nest . My good deed for the day .

 

It may seem a good deed to us, but when the bird parents will smell trace of humans they will not like it...

 

The bird would probably have died otherwise , parents did go bk in to the nest , I waited to see .

 

How do you know that?

 

It often happen in spring to find a young bird lying under a tree or not too far away from it. It may be a first flying attempt gone wrong. The parents encourage the little ones to leave the nest in order to follow them, but, very often, the first flights end up in a fall.

The parents are usually not too far away, and ready to help the young bird when needs occurs.
It is therefore safe, most times, to leave him where he is, even if he is chirping desperately, and move away from the area, in order to allow the parents to approach.

The other reason why it is advisable not to touch the bird is that the parents would eventually not recognize his smell and not take him back.
If you are sure that the bird has been calling for far too long and is getting no help from the parents, or the fall takes place where cars could run him over, or cats are likely to get to him, it is preferable to just come to the rescue.

Otherwise the bird would eventually give up, after calling incessantly, and he would enter an unresponsive state, after which he is not likely to survive.

Types of bird that are often found, fallen off the nest, are: turdus merula (Common Blackbird), of which the eggs are light blue and the newborn have got a yellow beak. Also: Sreptopelia Decaocto (Collared Dove), Columba Livia (Rock Pigeon) and Passer Domesticus (House Sparrow).

A special mention goes to the cuckoo bird, which is not actually the type you will find on the ground, but the one who pushes chicks off the nest!
Cuckoo birds lay their eggs in nests of birds of other species, after making room by throwing one or two of the existing eggs out of the nest. The cuckoo bird will predilect one variety of bird, which is the one where she originates from.

The cuckoo egg is much smaller compared to the proportions of the adult bird, and this is an adaptation to her unusual reproducing habits.
Last but not least the newborn cuckoo bird is always very hungry and to make sure that he gets enough food he can reach the point of pushing one or two siblings off the nest.

Now, back to the subject of rescue… When you pick up a bird from the ground, you can place him in a shoe box with a lid and several holes for ventilation, which is a good option as a shelter. If some padding is desired it should be something that cannot get entangled to the bird legs or wings.

If the bird is injured, he will try to escape from you, no matter the extent of the injury. In doing so, he may actually worsen his condition. So it is important to reassure the bird and keep him in a dark and quiet place.

It is important to supply an injured bird with some water, either by means of a syringe without a needle, or water drops. His resting area has to be maintained free from food residue, which would otherwise deteriorate and produce harmful bacterias.

Depending from the variety of bird and how young he is, different food will be administered. It is therefore helpful to detect the variety of bird and be familiar with its diet. Some of the food that you could consider is: yellow egg +flour dough, seeds, lean beef for him. It is also advisable to integrate the food with a vitamins and minerals solution that you can buy at pet stores.

In order to help reintroduce the bird to nature in the smoothest possible way once he is healthy and strong, human contact toward the bird must be minimised. Ideally, always the same person should feed him and do so in an impersonal way, for example using a stick.

If you want to provide a habitat for birds in your garden you can rely on trees such as pines, spruces, firs, arborvitae, junipers, cedars, and yews. These provide shelter, many branches where to place nests in the spring, protection from the cold and excessive heat.

Bushes such as oaks, hickories, buckeyes, chestnuts,butternuts, walnuts, and hazels will also provide a lot of branches plus food in form of nuts and acorns.
Fruits and berries will also be very welcome by birds, although you may not like the idea of them getting there before you. In that case some nets would prevent that.

article source: http://www.dedosites.com/pets.html#birds