Help with robin chick?

[HisAngel]

Ok so a family friend found a baby robin the other day. She couldn't find a nest nearby and he was on the sidewalk beside a very busy street so se took him home... She now cannot care for him and through my friend has called me to help him. :/ he will be dropped off here tonight. She took it to a vet and they said it was probably 2 weeks old or so. They then told her to call a wildlife rescue and when she did they told her to let it die, or bring it to them for them to out it to sleep. so obviously neither of us want that.

Are there are resources online I can read up on helping a wee robin? I want to release him here, so basically I need to keep him fed and warm until he is big enough to fend on his own, and I need to figure out how to teach him how to do that.

He will likely be kept in the downstairs bathroom, away from everyone so he does not bond, and doesn't put Rosa at risk.

Any guidance would be appreciated. The rehabbed would not even offer any advice as they were pretty adamant he die... Seems counterintuitive to me but.. *shrug*

Thanks!


Ps - sorry I have been absent my life is insanely busy right now but Rosa is doing AMAZING! All of her feathers are coming in and she's loving being able to put a harness on and get outside. She's a real blessing!

 

[Kalidasa]

Feed him as many live worms that he'll eat during the day. You don't need to give him water, he could aspirate. You should be able to elicit a feeding response by gently tapping the beak on the sides and tip.
Btw, if he won't be fed until you get him tonite, he may get too weak and die. He needs to be fed right now.

 

[HisAngel]

Ok. No water in a dish even? She has been feeding him worms, so I guess it's good we've had rain. Looks like kids and I will be going outside to harvest. Hah!

 

[Kalidasa]

No water. The worms have enough moisture. I've fledged dozens of robins by doing exactly that. We have millions of robins here, and there's always a chick in need. Good luck
If you have trouble finding worms get the fish-bait worms. (Gas stations, Meijer, etc carries them) they're huge.

 

[MikeyTN]

If your able to post pictures of the baby robin I would like to see him. It is so true most wild life rehab, humane society and such places will tell you to do is let them die, they told me if I bring them in they will most likely euthanize them.

To add to what Kalidasa posted, here's something I also did to raise the baby robin years ago. I'd be sure to treat the baby for mites first of all, that's important to do!!! I feed worms I dug up in the yard or when I don't have time I do buy them from bait store, walmart have them too. I also supplement with crickets, mulberry, and baby bird hand feeding formula. I used to observe wild robins when I caught them eating mulberry.

 

[HisAngel]

Thanks everyone. She has decided to try and save him herself, but I passed on all of this info to her.

 

[Kiwibird]

I am glad the baby wasn't put down or left to die. My grandma saved countless wild birds in her lifetime, and a few she kept. She fondly talked about the crow and a pair of grosbeaks she said were the best pets she ever had. In those days, it was not illegal to keep them, but I'm pretty sure you can't keep wild birds as pets anymore. Hopefully this little one makes a full recovery and gets to be returned to nature

 

[ruffledfeathers]

OK strangely I just read this post this afternoon and this evening when I got home from work there was someone on my walkway with a box containing a baby robin. She said it was a sick robin and was about to be hit by a car so she ran out and scooped it up in a Tupperware. When I saw it, it appears to be a young fledgling?? It has all its feathers but some are fuzzy sticking out and it has no tail feathers yet. it can hop/fly only. we let it out of the box and it hopped/flew to a bush next to my porch as is still perched there. I didn't handle it or box it up because I didn't want to cause more harm than good if it is possibly old enough to be out of the nest?? Of course I took pics of him. Simply adorable. Anyone think I should do any intervention or simply leave him perched in the bushes?? there are a lot of robins in the neighborhood and all over my yard right now.

 

[lquan]

When I was 9 years old, some kids in my neighborhood got a baby sparow (they probably stole him from his nest) that they were going to feed to crows. I felt sorry for the sparow and offered those kids my Hotwheel car for the bird. They accepted the tiny toy car and gave me the sparow. My mom kept telling me it was stupid trade and I should put the bird in the bush let nature take care of its course. I kept that sparow alive by feeding him moistened dry cat food. I don't recall how I came to know of baby bird can be kept alive with cat food. I had never clip his wings as he was growing up fast. That sparow stayed with me uncaged off and on for 3 years. One day he just left and never came back.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

He is still in the bush beside my porch. I dug up a few good sized worms and fed him and he seemed to very much appreciate it. He ate like a baby and made the babyish calls when I was feeding him, and held the head up with beak wide open, waiting to be fed. He ate enough that he wasn't so eager to eat anymore and he pooped a huge dropping.....but I just don't know for sure what is best to do now. Should I bring him in and put him in my enclosed porch where predators can't get him? He was able to hop/fly out of the cardboard box my neighbor had him in so I wonder if I should just leave him? I don't want to cause him more harm than good but I figured feeding him was a good start.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

this is the little guy.....he looks fairly young to me but I am certainly no robin expert.

 

[lquan]

Keep him in a box out of sight of night predators; cats, rats, mice, ants. It is summer so he will survive outdoor. Don't handle him unless it is absolutely necessary. Wash your hands right afterward before going near your birds. Wild birds can carry mites.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

I may have found mama. I fed him again and scooped him out of the bush and put him in the box, he got really annoyed and flew out of the box and onto the ground (quite clumsily) and then there was an adult robin right there closely watching. He went hopping over to that bird and the two of them went through the yard together. He went into my dogwood and she flew away but hoping she returns. I don't want to meddle if mama bird is there for him. It appeared for a moment from my safe distance that the bird fed him so I assumed it was his mother????

 

[Kalidasa]

Definately one of his parents if they showed the least interest...robins won't accept strange chicks. Now that a parent has found him, your job is done. They'll take it from there, he's a fledgling, and parents are feeding him until his flight skills are up to par. However, if you see him alone it won't hurt to drop a worm or two into his mouth. Sometimes they get lost, they get weak and are unable to call their parents. Then they need a little help until they get enough strength to call and be located by parents. Sounds likes he's safe.
I definately wouldn't move him now

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Good that's what it looked like. I checked on him again and a number of times I saw an adult robin heading toward the dogwood so I guess my job is 'done'. i'll check again tomorrow. It had just rained so I was all wet in rain boots but worms were easy to find and he was pigging out. ADORABLE. I loved it.

 

[Kalidasa]

Awesome! I got lucky like that last year with a cedar waxwing chick. It was hiding among the flowers very weak and dehydrated and unable to call. I fed it all day, then a storm hit at night so I brought him in the garage to spend the night. The next morning after a few feedings I took him outside and he immediately started calling and got a response. I set him down and the parents came straight away and fed him. Then I put him in a magnolia where they fed him all day, and he practiced flying from branch to branch, then eventually flew away with them. It was very rewarding

 

[veimar]

Just wanted to add - if you need worms, Walmart has them for about 3.50 a jar in the fishing section. I bought them a few times for fishing and they were really good and stay alive for very long time if you feed them a bit (mine never died - I just let them out to the garden in fall).

 

[ruffledfeathers]

When I got up this morning he is still perched in my dogwood. He pooped a lot overnight, so clearly didn't leave that spot. But I thought I saw the adult/mother bird leaving the tree when I first got up. Just to be safe, before leaving for work I dug up more worms to feed him. He ate only 2 big ones and refused the third--I presume mom is taking care. Because yesterday he ate like a pig and kept doing this kind of pathetic call. Now he isn't calling and less hungry.