Hi, just joined today in hope that somebody with avairy experience may be able to offer some advice

One of my cats has a habit of bringing me animals that are still alive, if they are well and healthy other than shock i cannot just leave them. Sometimes i can release them just after a quick check but often they are babies.

Whilst i was bringing my washing in the other day my cat came out of some tress licking his lips, their was a greenfinch(male i think) flying from tree to tree obviously panicking. A little finch chick hobbled out and threw itself towards me, i took Archie inside(the cat) and left the chick hoping that its parents would maybe sort it out, (although looking at the size of the chick it is not that much smaller than its parent and with the nests being high i didnt see how the parent was going to get the chick back up in the nest.) I left him outside around 45 mins, when i went back outside he had fallen asleep in the same spot, parent nowhere to be heard or seen. It was going dark so the only choice seemed to pick him up and keep him inside overnight. I then let my dogs off, one of them dragged the carcass of one of the greenfinch adults out and then i felt something behind me and another chick was sat looking at me the dogs luckily hadnt seen it so i took her inside and put her in with her brother.
I have raised abandoned chickens, geese but not small avairy type birds. Im guessing the main differences are that these types are totally dependant on their parents and their diets differ. I made up a mash with some chick crumbs i had, hemp protein powder, a green vitamin mix i had, sunflower seeds mashed and small amount of celery leaves mashed, i fed them 3 times last night, after they calmed down they started asking for food and as i didnt know the last time they where fed was, i figured they would know they needed feeding. Today they have been feeding every 30-45 mins, the female is not as lively as the male and is also eating much more, she opens her mouth fully for me to drop it in whilst the male prefers to perch on my hand and pull his food from the tweezers. He is not eating nearly as much but like i said is more lively than the female, although both are doing alot better compared to how they where early hours of this morning at points i thought the female was dead.
I know it is hard to tell female from male but im quite good at sexing when supposedly unsexable so im going with the genders for now lol.

The reason i am posting is i have no experience with raising avairy type birds, i have gone on instinct and a little info i found on the internet. By looking at them from an inexperienced point of view i would guess they are around 3-4 weeks old?(i have attached a photo) their second lot of feathers have come through ,very little down left. At the moment i am keeping them in a very small incubator lined with straw. I would hope that i could eventually re-release them but the age that they are i know that would be very difficult. How long do i roughly have before they will need a a bigger space? What size housing would you recommend? Could they live with chickens and/or a 3month old cockrel(obviously not locked in together at night, but in a run?) Can you let small birds out for the day and they come back at night? or do they not work like that haha. Is the diet i am feeding them on okay? I read that compared to other birds such as robins, blackbirds, starlings etc they hardly eat insects, so no need for worms?

Thankyou for reading.

Attached Images

finch2 003.jpg (45.7 KB, 12 views)

Hi there, i dont know if this will help but worth a look.Are you intending keeping these birds if they survive? if so i should point out i think you will find it is illegal to keep wild birds.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-254123

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Hello, thanks for the reply. did you link? because it is not showing if you did.
If they survive i was thinking about it IF they could not be re-released, i only thought it was illegal to keep wild birds if you had 'captured' them. Surely if they are injured or abandoned?? Would it count as 'keeping' them if i provided housing and food but they lived in the garden?

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.......... I HATE TWO FACED PEOPLE...ITS SO HARD TO KNOW WHICH FACE TO SLAP FIRST!

I would get some expert advice. I don't where you are but igoogle wild life rescue centres or ask at your local vets if there are any experienced people that can help you out.

What area are you in?

They would be better off being reared and rehabilitated by wildlife experts so that they can then be returned to the wild ASAP.


Any Janice is 100% correct, it is illegal to keep them in captivity.

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It is illegal to keep them. We hand reared a baby blue tit last year only as we couldn't get any help. We were successful but I think this was more luck than judgement. I did get alot of online help regarding this & it is possible to re-release but you need to do this gradually.
I really can't give any advice as I am no expert but would urge you to speak to a resuce centre regarding this

This may help you slightly: Hand Rearing Garden Birds etc. (Small Passerines) (Techniques)

Especially with diet.

A wildlife rehab centre would give them the best chance of survival.

__________________

I am just a worthless liar.
I am just an imbecile.
I will only complicate you.
Trust in me and fall as well.
I will find a center in you.
I will chew it up and leave,
I will work to elevate you
just enough to bring you down

Thankyou. Sorry to alarm everybody, Honestly i have left chicks before when it is obvious that they are well equipped. But with me seeing the dead parent and leaving the chick out until sunset and it still not being taken back, i had to do something. I will contact a wildlife rehabillitation centre ASAP My intentions for these birds are pure, i would not want to keep them in an avairy and any chance of them getting back into the wild i know is the best option for them. I am one to get angry when people think babies are abandoned in spring/summer and end up taking them from their parents, i assessed the situation as i have many times and if it had been morning time they would of been left out longer.
I understand what the law is there for etc as some people do take advantage of this, even if not on purpose.

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My holiday pics.http://zafirasphotosofwales.webs.com/






http://www.save-me.org.uk/
.......... I HATE TWO FACED PEOPLE...ITS SO HARD TO KNOW WHICH FACE TO SLAP FIRST!