URGENT!! Help! Abandoned Baby Red Cardinal!! (1 Viewer)

[n2hawaii]

Hi,
I've had a red cardinal nest in my backyard for weeks. There were 3 babies in all. One was killed by my dogs (unbeknownst to me until later). Yesterday I watched the mom and dad teach one baby how to fly... but they never came back!!! There is one bird left. Last night was a thunder storm and it rained really hard. Today, the baby is on the ground, just sitting there. I know it has to be hungry because yesterday after the mom & dad left, it was sitting on the edge of the nest with its mouth open waiting for food. It can't fly yet. It looks under-developed, like maybe it hatched later than the other two. What can I do for this poor baby? I don't want it to die... I can't just leave it there to fend for itself. It will definitely die, and I don't think the parents are coming back!

 

[KC Foggin]

Your best bet would be to get it to a vet or a bird rehabilitator asap as without the proper permits, it is actually not legal for you to care for this bird.

Here is a link to all the rehabbers in Kansas:

Kansas Rehabbers

Just scroll down until you find one in your area. Also see this link here at BirdForum.

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=36564

 

[n2hawaii]

Hi thank you. I did read that post. Problem is, the baby doesn't have all its feathers... it's got some, but then it has some fuzzy stuff sticking out everywhere like gizmo from the movie The Gremlins. I don't think it is developed enough to fly. My dogs are going nuts at the back door and we have 3 local cats that frequent my back yard. I don't want to raise it, I just want to keep it from dying. I checked the link you gave me for Kansas, but there is nothing on there for Wichita. Surely there has to be some place for Wichita. I'm going to keep searching. Problem is, I just don't know what to search for. I love birdwatching in my back yard, but that's about the extent of it so I really am clueless!

 

[KC Foggin]

Okay, then call you local vet who will have a list of rehabbers hopefully, for you area

 

[n2hawaii]

I will do that right away. Hopefullly there is somebody open on a Sunday. Thank you!!

 

[n2hawaii]

Good news and bad news. The good news is, I see the mom and dad birds now and the baby is being watched over. It can't fly, but it is getting fed. I hope they can keep predators off of it through the night. The bad news is, before I realized the mom & dad were still around, I picked up the baby to put it back in the nest. After I put it in the nest, I discovered a ton of little, TINY black bugs (I assume mites) all ove rmy arms (no bigger than a spec of dirt, only they were crawling). Ew! Let that be a warning to anybody wanting to do the same thing. I immediately went and took a shower & tossed my clothes in the washer, but like I said, ew! Even though the baby can't fly, it did hop right back out of the nest and to down to the ground. So hopefully the mom & dad can keep the predators off of it until it can get all its wings. Unfortunately, I don't think this bird will probably make it either. I doubt there is any way it can live on the ground only able to walk long enough for it to gather the strength and grow the wings to be able to fly. Best I can say is at least I tried /

 

[KC Foggin]

Now it's time to let nature takes it course. I know it is hard to just stand by but that is really all you can do at this stage.