# Help! Very Young Humming Bird - experience?



## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Tonight ( well, Thursday night) just before midnight, got-a-call, a gal had found a very young Hummer on the ground, in an area that has Night and Day Cats and small Dogs, her small Dog was sniffing something so whe went to look. Little Juvenile Hummer, just standing there on the ground, not a flier yet. Anyway, she got my number from an all night Vet here, and called and brought the little one over.

It wanted to perch and nap so I let it perch on my finger a while till I got a cramp in my hand, then got it set up in a screen cage on a small folded terycloth, in a Cage with drapes over it. They are endothermic by this age, and he is fully fledged but looks young to me anyway. I set a heating pad, covered in a towell, on the Cage bottom and have it on low, his little cloth is on that. Wings blurr when he adjusts his perching, but is tired so I let him sleep after a few sips of some protean-sugar-soup in a needle-less 3 mL syringe into whose small opening on the end I gently allowed his Beak tip to go a few times. So...

Anyway...

Anyone here have any experience with these?

I know they technically Hybernate every night or else they starve to death overnight. come daylight he will be HUNGRY...

Oddly, I have some decent info on what to feed him...but nothing about "how" to feed him. I know how to feed younger ones, who gape, by useing a very small Catheter directly into their Crop, and as their skin is transclucent at that age and they have no Feathers, and as they are very willing to in effect gape up and around the Catheter so it goes down in there from their doing it almost, that is actually fairly easy...but this one is older and has a longer Beak and full feathers...and I do not know if this one shall gape. His Beak is about an inch long and his size in Feathered mass is about the scale of the last joint of one's little finger, with a little tail and 'Penguin' Wings of course...and tiny feet. Hummers do not walk supposedly, but may only fly or perch or stand.

Any advise would be much appreciated...I shall be seeing about possible local rehabbers tomorrow who I have heard of that might have some experience with Hummers...but, who knows what if anything shall come of that...

If anyone can post an image on here, I can make and e-mail one to them tomorrow. From what I know I would guess he is about 20 days old or so, maybe a little more. should soon be ready to do some flying anyway.

I would conside to try and return him to his Nest area tomorrow but for worries about the Dogs and Cats which are supposed to be all around there...so...

I do not know how to post an image here, so, for that matter, if someone wished to let me know how, feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]...

Thanks all!

Nighty night...I am bone tired...off to bed now...

Another Day in Bird adventures...!

God Bless them...

And all of you as well...


...sigh...

Phil


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

A few years ago we had a recently fledged hummer that had gotten stuck in my in-laws' garage. I made a temporary cage for it using a little plastic fish tank and twigs for perches. It seemed completely unafraid of me. I didn't want to release it hungry so I fed it the same sugar mixture we use in our hummingbird feeder (I'm sure yours is better as it contains protein, too) and the bird willingly drank it from an eyedropper. Don't know if yours would do this, as it's youger, but seems worth a try. I held the end of the dropper to the tip of its beak and released a drop. It caught on immediately and then eagerly drank from the dropper. 

When I was sure it was ok I released it in my in-laws' back yard and it zoomed up to a tree.


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Birdmom4ever,

Well, he/she is sure one handsome little Hummer...! So poised ! Little Beak is more like 5/8ths of an inch long...for some reason last night it looked longer...I was tired...

And, once I let some light in, sure enough, is doing a little "Tweet!" every few minutes.

I have tried about twenty times so far to inspire him/her to gape, but no luck. Seems very comfortable and unafraid as your mention yours did.

I will try an Eyedropper...so far, since at this age they would still be fed by Momma, I was temtping them with a regular direct-crop short length of No. 3-1/3 Catheter on a Syringe...but no luck getting any gapes...

Thanks!

There are two semi-knowledgeable Humming Bird rehabbers here and I talked to both of them this morning, both are old grouchy impatient gals who do not listen and who condescend something terrible while not listening, and who launch off into long digressions about unrelated things, and both are allways 'buisy' with non bird things this time as well as when I had called them in the past, and have that mood of not wanting to be bothered with annoying questions about Birds...so...oh well...supposedly they both have experience raising Hummers from various ages, but it is horrible trying to talk with them about it...

Wish me luck!

If anyone is planning to head to San Diego and passing through Las Vegas, I know there is a good rehabber there who has many on hand as we speak of varying ages, and has a fine Aviary for them full of tiny gnats and Flowers and so on for them to learn their ways in while being looked after and fed as need be...but I can not drive to San Diego to bring him there...

Till next,

Phil


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Hi pdpbison,

Sounds like you have your hands full, for a change  . With as much rescue work as you do, you might want to think about opening a free account with webshots so you can post pictures whenever you want. It was suggested to me when I had trouble posting a picture through the PigeonTalk site. The software that I use for the digital camera creates files too large to post here.

Good luck with your new friend.

fp


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## bklowe (Oct 21, 2003)

You can use some vinyl coated wire to suspend a 3mm needle-less syringe filled with your nectar which he can reach from his perch ... positioned so the nectar does not drip out .... he should be able to feed himself as needed.


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

I know some wonderful rehabbers, but I'm afraid I've also met the type you describe, Phil. Where are you located? I know someone who knows a hummingbird rehabber--perhaps she would be willing to talk to you. But I honestly don't know if she's the type who listens or not.


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi feralpigeon, 


Good idea, I will do it...it would be fun to share the occasional image.

I know how to put low-pixel count images on e-bay for fast loading, but that is the only one I know how to do.

I will get that free account here in a minute.

Thanks!

Phil
Las Vegas


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Bruce,


Thank you...good idea...

I am useing a 3mL syringe!  but we have just gotten it together (as of about 3:30 this afternoon my time, 6:20 now) for him/her to gape and to insert their little Beak into the center aperature of the Syringe's (plain ) end. So far they are putting it away to the tune of about .9 mL an hour.

Today's fed-ex brought me some food I had ordered several days ago, in case I were to get any young Hummers, it is a powder, smells wonderful and tastes great. It is mady by "Roudybush" and is called 'Special Diet Lory Nectar 15 Powder', and is suitable for very young Hummingbirds. Just add Water and mix.

He/she seems to like it! And no 'dairy' either so far as I can tell.


Now, one can make about the same thing out of various from-scratch ingredients, but I figured it would not hurt to have some of this on hand. 

Hummers, like other babys, in theory, need a graduated degree of proteans as they get older. New Hatchling Babys need the most of course, and then less as they grow into full size. So, one does well to try and consider the protean content of the the formula one is useing...so that the diet may be 6 percent, 9, or 15 percent or what of Protean, and so much or other for fats and sugars...

Lots to learn in all this...!

Anyway, I may try suspending the Syringe in there for them later on, but for now, I want to make sure they eat often and not much more than about .15 mL every ten minutes or so, or .2mL every fifteen...

We shall see how that goes...

I think it is a 'Ruby Throated' kind, it has a delicate vivid little 'Ruby' colored small area below it's throat...green irredescent back and black Wings...very pretty...

Phil
Las Vegas


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Birdmom4ever,


I am Las Vegas, Nevada...

Where good listeners are hard to find...!


Lol...

Phil


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi all, 


I went to the 'webshots' site and got a free membership...thanks again for the tip!

Here are some Images of the little Hummer, these show a few right before we got the feed thing figured out earlier today, and some of him/her feeling satisfied and well fed, resting with a happy Crop...
when the Wings are in action, it he/she resembles a Moth...just a blurr of thise little 'Penguin' Wings. These do not really walk you know, but to move even an inch, in essence, the fly over an inch kind of hovering while they may move their tiny feet at the same time. 

http://community.webshots.com/album/311619096IbNlkc


Their feet are built only for perching, not for walking...he/she seemed to like the Terry-cloth more than a little branch I had in there at first, so I will try some other slender branches later when I can find some...Pencils were too slick...

Putting away about 1 mL an Hour of formula...soon it will be time for beddie-bye...


Phil
Las Vegas


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

*Q*



pdpbison said:


> Hi all,
> 
> 
> I went to the 'webshots' site and got a free membership...thanks again for the tip!
> ...


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

Hi Phil,

Thanks so much for sharing the photos. What an adorable little creature--I just love hummingbirds. I grew up with them, as my mom always had a feeder up. In the Santa Cruz mountains where I grew up we had swarms of them. One year we counted 50 hummers at our feeder. Went through pounds and pounds of sugar. Here in the valley I have a feeder, but we just get a few at a time. Still, I enjoy them. 

I'm happy to hear the little one is eating well. I'm sure he'll be ready for release in no time.


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## bklowe (Oct 21, 2003)

Great news Phil, sounds as if you have everything moving toward a successful release.


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Bruce, all...

Thank you !

I do have my hands full right now...

The little Hummer is so enchanting...so oddly 'Penguin-like' somehow...and quite an appitite! You may be sure..

Keep him in your prayers that he will recover whatever had compromised him so he may get about his Life in the out of doors...we should have lots of Flowere here from all the rains. Vacant lots that were usually barren and drab with a few low bitter weeds, are lush now with knee high greenery...

Phil


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