Baby House Sparrow

Can I get your email address for some questions? My daughter found a House Sparrow egg on the concreate today with no nest nearby. The egg was cracked open and the chick is moving a little bit. I have no idea what to do when and if it fully hatches/lives. Not sure what size bugs etc.. to give it?

When and if it hatches you will need to feed it a formula. You can find it at most pet stores, just ask for baby bird formula.
You will need to feed it with a dropper. If you search youtube for feeding baby sparrow you can find lots of videos showing you how to do it.
I responded to your post here that way others can learn from it.

A House Sparrow presence has been gifted to walk beside me in this life. While on a spiritual retreat in Sedona AZ I jokingly asked my grandpa (who has passed) for a new baby (animal)to rescue. Animals seem to find me. Exactly a week later a barely feathered sparrow appeared on my patio. His mama never showed up with food while I watched from inside the house. After a while I fed him quickly then hid inside again. He always waited for me to come back to feed him. All others I rescued would flee the first chance they got but not him. He had no fear of me or my 6 dogs either. Which can be a problem since he walks on the floor pecking at crumbs. I syringe fed him every 20 minutes and now he thinks I am his Mama/Mate. He lives loose in my home with full flight wings. He has been outside twice but chooses to live with me. He has an open cage and plays in my silk trees. I have an 150 lb Newfoundland. He will swoop in and beat him to the water bowl, then hang upside down and make my Newfie wait while he takes a bath. My Newfie just stands over him unsure what to do. What an attitude he has! Oh, and does he have rules! His life is ran by his instincts. He gets so upset when I don’t know the rules. Like birds don’t eat after dark. At dusk we find our ‘night night’ place and we are not to be disturbed, even if the light is on in the house. I also didn’t realize there was a window of time when young to expose him to things and have him accept them as safe. Now, any new toy is evil and he won’t even explore the whole house! He only accepts exactly what I showed him when young. I never have to worry about him landing on the hot stove at least. He is a little over a year old.

I need some help. I rescued a baby sparrow on Aug. 18,2008 (feathers not fully developed, couldn’t fly) & a cat was just getting ready to pounce on it when I banged at the window. I went from feeding it scrambled egss mixed w/bread with a little karo syrup water; after a couple weeks it ate bread mixed w/chipped sunflower seeds. Then I started feeding it medium size meal worms around Sept 2. It won’t eat anything but meal worms now (20-35) a day. On Sept. 5 I coaxed her out of the house since she could drink and would peck the meal worms off the floor. She flew over the house and not in the backyard tree like I had expected where I had intended I could still watch over her & feed her. After almost 2 days she showed up on the deck just hopping around & pecking at the wood that was wet. She looked thirsty and ruffled. I said “Cheap, Cheap is that you?” And she started hopping towards me. So I yelled to my husband to get the meal worms. I threw a few to her, she had a little trouble at first cuz I think her mouth was dry as she was pecking on the wet wood. I filled up a frisbee with water and she immediately drank. She then just kept hopping on the deck by me trying to hide in a couple leaves on the patio. I could tell she’s not safe outside cuz there’s a couple cats that keep prowling the yards and kill birds. I stopped the human contact like her sitting on my finger and at about 10 days after I had her, (intending on releasing her with success) — but that didn’t work. She gets within a few inches of me. Anyhow, I crawled around on the deck saying her name and she just hopped about a foot in front of me for about 20 minutes so I could see if she would let me pick her up but she wouldn’t; but, she never flew away either. Then she tried to sit there and sleep. So, I got the tray plant tray I had in the house before and put the dried leaves in it that she used to play in and rustled the leaves a bit and she jumped right in so I brought her back inside. I hauled the flower pot with the tree branches and everything else back inside. She went right to it drank from her dish, ate more worms & went to a branch and tucked her head under her wing and immediately slept. After 1/2 hour she woke, ate, drank, took a sand bath, a bath in the water,rustled in the leaves, and slept, etc.

She’s now a bird living in my house in some tree branches (about 5′ high) stuck inside a flower pot. She’s never been in a cage and won’t eat ANYTHING but mealworms even though I have every kind of seed imaginable in two trays for her. I don’t know if she doesn’t know how to crack millet, or niger seed. She also has cracked corn and chipped sunflower seed.
I found out today from an audobon society bird person that she needs vitamins and shouldn’t just eat meal worms. I bought some vitamins and a parakeet stick (two different kinds) and millet seeds on a branch.
I can’t make her eat any of it. I don’t know if she doesn’t know how or if she’s just spoiled because after she got the meal worms she started cutting back what she would eat off my finger or drop it out of her beak and hop on the floor by my chair or fly by my head until I gave her the worms. I’ve tried not feeding her much of them today even if she begs but I don’t want her to starve.
Can you please tell me if she is old enough to eat seeds? Since I found her on Aug. 18 and she had her feathers, (tail feathers weren’t fully developed) and she couldn’t fly I was assuming she was maybe atleast 2 weeks old. (I fed her with an eye dropper at first and would drop it in her mouth). Would she be at least 6 to 8 weeks do you think? She takes a sand bath in her tray and has taken a water bath in a tupperware lid and seems happy but now I’m worried about her diet.
In the meantime, I need to figure out something big to put her in — that can still be inside the house. She stays in the family room but this morning flew into the kitchen begging for meal worms until I gave in and before I found out that that wasn’t good for her to eat just that.
Please if anyone can give me any info regarding what to do now I’d appreciate it and knowing if she really can’t eat seed or whatever. (Today, I also bought some dog food and let it soak and offered that to her but she wouldn’t take it. If I put a meal worm on top of it or anything she’ll just eat the worm.

If anyone can help me with the feeding issue I’ll worry what to put her in later but I do know I have a bird now who is living freely in my house.
Thank you.

I ride horses at a large barn near my house, and there are about 20-40 house sparrow nests at the very top of the roof. The occasional bird will fall, but most are able to fly by that time. However, A few pink little babies fall out as well (I don’t know how, they are barley able to wiggle around). It is impossible to get them nywhere close to their nest, even if we knew which one they belonged to. Since there are multiple barn dogs, I need to know how to take care of them and if it is legal. How do I raise them without them imprinting on me so I can release them? If they do become tame, is it legal to keep them at my home?
Please Help!
Thank you.

My friend and I found a bird outside. We are not sure what type it is but it looks a lot like a House sparrow. It can’t fly and we don’t know what to feed it. Could you send me some ideas for food that we could feed it.

Thaks

At the bird rehabilitation center we used this.

Kaytee Handfeeding Formula – EXACT HAND FEEDING FORMULA 18 OZ.

Question on how to release baby sparrow? I rescued her after she fell out of the tree. We have had her for nearly 2 weeks. She is now eating and flying around on her own. I am so worried that if I release her too soon she will not survive, that the cat might get her, or other elements, that she is not accustom to. Thank you for any advice..

If the bird is eating and flying on it’s own, it would be safe to let her free but not anywhere around cats.

Yesterday I had some trees removed and when I started to remove the branches I found 2 featherless (well, almost featherless, they each had a feather or two) sparrows along with 5 unopen eggs. I put them into a small jewlery box with cotton balls up into a tree near where I found them. I checked back hours later and noticed that one of the two birds were missing and blood on the other (but unharmed). I took the bird with the eggs in the house and started warming them and feeding the bird. It’s smaller then a dime…if you can image. Anyway, I’m surprise to see that the bird seems to be doing well. One of the 5 eggs was broken and the bird inside was dead. Another egg had a little hole in it and now is half open with a living bird. I’m hoping that they make it, but I’ve read that the odds of a featherless sparrow living in the care of a person is not good. Any advice would be appreciated.

Please help i found a baby sparrow and did feed it at 709pm its now 10 pm and he still is sleeping when should i feed him again he is only a day old please help should i wake him to eat

Baby birds do not eat during the night, so you don’t have to wake him up for his meals. They should be fed from sunrise to sunset.

You can find the proper diet information as well as other info on raising a sparrow here: http://www.starlingtalk.com

Hi all, just wanted to let you know that in some states it is illegal to be in possession of a wild bird. I live in Colorado and the fine is $5000 (that’s right, I said five THOUSAND dollars) if you are caught with one.

Also, if you feed a baby bird that is not close to release (such as the lady who said the baby will now only eat form her son), and imprint it, it is impossible to release that bird into the wild as it will be incapable of caring for itself once having imprinted on a human. This could be costly if it is illegal to possess such a bird in your state, because you can’t, in good conscience, release a bird that you know will die.

Please consider all of this information before deciding to keep a chick or fledgling yourself. Contact your local wildlife center and find out the laws and the best way to do it. The internet is great, but you can’t always depend on the information you find herein.

Felina – it is actually legal to keep wild house sparrows, starlings, and rock doves (pigeons) in the USA, as these are invasive species and are under no protection. Very few rehabilitators will accept them because they are considered pests.

Admin – I just found a house sparrow this morning on the ground, pretty sure it’s abandoned because parents didn’t come for it after a full hour. it looks just a little younger than the photo you posted – scruffier, but has almost as many feathers. Do you know how old yours was?

Kyla,
Unfortunately, I do not know how old it was. The baby was released less than a month from being found.

Felina,
As far as the law goes. Sometimes you just have to use your better judgement. For instance, I live near the beach and it is against the law to have baby sea turtles in your possession. They are protected by law. Last year we had several bad storms that washed loads of new hatchlings back onto the beach. I happened to be on the beach and saw several of them struggling in the sand and dying.

Now it is against the law to handle or touch these little guys but I grabbed a small bucket and put them in. I started searching for more of them. I found six total. I waved down a beach patrol who is a law enforcement officer and he was more than thankful. He took them and told me to gather any more I could find and drop them off at the lifeguard station. They would all be taken back out to sea by the coast guard. Sometimes you have to go with your gut instinct and help to save a little life!

If anyone is interested I have pics of the baby turtles here: http://www.searchingforloot.com/forum/index.php/topic,20.0.html

I found what I think is a house sparrow nest in a plant box and, i need to know. How long do the babies stay in the nest? I don’t want to hurt them and all the sites I find say that I should get rid of them and, I can’t.

My dad and I found a baby house sparrows a couple days ago in our front yard. We think her nest was takin over by cardinals becuase we found a few cracked eggs and cardnals were flying around the only nest in the tree. She is doing pretty well (pooping, standing) but she has a huge bulge on her neck. Is that because she is full or is something wrong? I am afraid we fed her too much:(

I’ve been looking a lot of info, so here are some tips.

NEVER FEED YOUR BABY BIRD LIQUIDS! The risk is too great that they will drown. For an accurate food guide go to starlingtalk.com. There is an argument to this however, so you can decide yourself what is best.

IT MAY BE ILLEGAL TO KEEP YOUR BIRD. State laws (US) vary. Contact a local wildlife official on the protection status of house sparrows (passer domesticus) in your area.

IS YOUR BIRD A HOUSE SPARROW? It’s difficult to differentiate one pink ball of bird from another. I’d advise you to look up a guide on identification.

YOU CAN’T OVERFEED YOUR BABY HOUSE SPARROW! At least not without forcing their mouth open. Your baby will likely start begging after a few feedings, and they aren’t like most pets in that they will stop begging once they are full.

A NOTE ON RELEASE. If you find just one baby it will imprint on you, and therefore identify with humans as it’s species. It cannot be released. If you cannot keep the bird as a permanent pet (if laws allow) then give it to a friend who can or (best option) GIVE IT TO A WILDLIFE REHABILITATOR. However, most rehabilitators will not take house sparrows because they are an invasive species.
It will take many months to prep your bird for release (This is only if you have more than one AND have not petted them at all AND they have had as much exposure
as possible to birdsong of their species.) and it must be done very carefully. I am no expert on this, however.
Best of luck,
Laura

Exact formula is not appropriate for baby house sparrows or most other song birds. You refer to the starling talk website which has recipes for baby house sparrows listed and specifically recommends NOT to use the exact baby bird formula. It is not high enough in protein and while the baby house sparrows will look ok, they are left prone to severe metabolic disease later on.

i found two baby birds below below 2nd story window where sparrows nest each year…one has not survived…they are just out of the shell…the one living is in a fetal position and is only an inch long…still in the shape of the egg…i have had it in the palm of mt hand for several hous to keep it warm…it has actually pooped (on my hand}…any suggestions on what I should do?

The Summer before I went to highschool, my mother and I found a baby sparrow that was about the same age as yours. It took a few months, maybe longer for him to get his wings. I taught him to fly by holding in my hands and moving him up and down so he would flap his wings. When he began to get used to getting some height, I let him practice flying into some pillows. When it was time to let Sydney go, he didn’t leave. (Imprinting?) We ended up giving him a room of his own with plants and potted trees. He lived a very long life for a bird. It was very worth it.

Today there is a little one below a tree outside that is hiding in a pile of rocks. I can’t get close enough to see how young he is, but his wings are short and he can’t fly up into the tree. He made it all day and he is the same color as the rocks. I’ll try a little food, and see if he’s able to eat it. My guess is that he’s too baby still to eat like a regular bird. Luckily it’s hot out now, so he shouldn’t get too cold, and smart enough to hide in the rocks when anyone comes near.

As far as food, we were told by a vet to use an eyedropper and feed it some mushed up beef dog food. The bird would get all the water it needed from the wet food. He did great on it. They said don’t use other birds (chicken, turkey), just beef. You have to get the eyedropper down into it’s stomach. If it’s young enough it will open it’s mouth up wide.

Hi all, I need advice, i found my baby sparrow 2 weeks ago. He was fuzzy and eyes closed, i took him in and he did just great, sleeping all night on his perch at 1 week old, flapping his wings. Now he can hardly move, he stays on the bottom of his cage, there is very little strengh in his left foot, he’s strong on his right and he is healthy still and eats good, he cant balance. What might be the problem? He eats gravy train and i rinse off the gravy coating, a bit of apple sauce. I’m bumming out over the little guy. Thanks for any help, Sincerely, Fritz

Hi,

Can anyone help me? my cat brought two baby house sparrows to my back door yesterday, unfortunately one was dead but the other was still in alive, but in shock…I have seen that there was a tiny bit of blood under her left wing, although I can’t see whether she is in discomfort, it is still hopping around though, and I haven’t seen any running blood, so I guess it’s stopped, the only blood on it is dried and theres only a little…
When I first found it I put it into a cardboard box with a little heat pad and blankets, so it wasn’t too hot or cold…At first a tried feeding it bread with a little bit of milk, but I have just found out you shouldn’t do this, is that right? When I was younger I rescued a song thrush and done the same thing then moved it on to garden worms and it worked…But imm not an expert…
The bird does have feathers on the top and wings, but hasn’t got any underneath, would anyone have any ideas how old it is?, it also has not cheaped for food but ive had it since last night, not sure what to do? Can anyone give me any advice please? (Especially when it comes to feeding)

Thanks
Lauren…

it is legal house sparrows are an invasive species

i just found 4 baby birds that i think may be sparrows in my dryer vent of my new house. the mother bird is around but there are dogs out here. i found them when i was installing my dryer. they came into the house, i put them in a box but the mother bird wont feed them in the box but she flies around it. they wont eat worms and theyve been chirping all day. WHAT SHOULD I DO?? I dont want the dogs to get them but i dont know how to care for them.

I also rescued a baby house sparrow and im feeding it soaked dog food every 30 min from sunrise to sunset.they sleep all night.no need to wake him when hes hungry hell wake up and start chirping and opening his mouth so you can feed him/her.

If you find a baby bird that can’t fly yet, you can feed it wet, mushed up dog or cat food with your finger. Going to a petstore and getting formula is probably the best thing to do though.