# Baby Robin



## birds+me=happy (May 21, 2009)

Okay....... I just recently found a baby robin out in our yard. I did locate the nest but only to find it all bloody with flies swarming around everywhere.  So my guesstimate is that the others were killed somehow and that luckily he servived with only a cut on the right side of his beak. I now have him in an old canary cage in a nest made with straw. He seems to be doing allright just sleeping alot. He is somewhat a teenage bird with prety many feathers. Any advice would be well appreciated. I am thinking about just feeding him cut up worms for now, and I think I'll just use a dropper for water. Any ideas??????????


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## yopigeonguy (Oct 22, 2009)

OK!!! this is the thing! DO NOT FEED HIM EARTH WORMS!!! they have this coating on them( the slimy stuff) that will kill it if it has too much! so, a small worm a day is ok... but not too many! do you have a cat or dog? if so, soak some of the kibble untill it is mushy, then feed it to the bird untill his crop is halfway full... ( about 5 fair sized kibble )

let us know how it goes!

will help you when you reply!


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## jameswaller (Nov 4, 2008)

*baby robin*



birds+me=happy said:


> Okay....... I just recently found a baby robin out in our yard. I did locate the nest but only to find it all bloody with flies swarming around everywhere.  So my guesstimate is that the others were killed somehow and that luckily he servived with only a cut on the right side of his beak. I now have him in an old canary cage in a nest made with straw. He seems to be doing allright just sleeping alot. He is somewhat a teenage bird with prety many feathers. Any advice would be well appreciated. I am thinking about just feeding him cut up worms for now, and I think I'll just use a dropper for water. Any ideas??????????


robins do eat worms,,unlike pigeons.//.the mother eats and regurgetates the worm for the baby,,if he eats drinks by himself you are in business,,otherwise you will have to syringe feed,,and read up on other food things to feed..good job,,,sincerely james waller


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## birds+me=happy (May 21, 2009)

Ya we got a dog, but are you sure they eat dog food? Well i fed him a small worm the other day and he at that great. I dont think he can eat by himself Yet but i think hes prety darn close. How do the they get water, should i just use a drpper?? Okay well hes chirpen so i better go.


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## Msfreebird (Sep 23, 2007)

*You don't feed it water! They get their water from the food they eat* - that mom brings to them. She will bring them whole insects, bugs, worms and small frogs 
I raised my Robin (from 1 day old) on "bait" worms and crickets, then switched him over to Eukanuba small bite puppy food (soaked and "puffed" in hot water). I had to put him to sleep at the age of 13 after he survived a heart attack and had sever neurological damage from it 
So you have a couple of feeding options and they are very easy to feed whereas they "gape".
You can buy canned insects and worms at larger pet stores or you can soak a good quality "small bite" puppy food in water (until it puffs) and feed him one piece at a time. If he's a fledgling, you can put a small dish of water in with him so he can experiment with it and learn how to drink - but they get their water from the insects and soaked food.


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## birds+me=happy (May 21, 2009)

Well i think ill go natural and just feed him insects and worms. We ha looottts of those here. How often should i feed him?


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## Msfreebird (Sep 23, 2007)

birds+me=happy said:


> Well i think ill go natural and just feed him insects and worms. We ha looottts of those here. How often should i feed him?


Until they learn to eat by themselves - I use to feed mine everytime I walked by his cage! - ALL day, dawn to dusk - 1 or 2 bugs, half a worm or couple pieces of "puffed" puppy food (should be *small bite "puppy"* food) at a time.


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## Msfreebird (Sep 23, 2007)

birds+me=happy said:


> Well i think ill go natural and just feed him insects and worms. We ha looottts of those here. How often should i feed him?


The main problem with feeding them earthworms is that they can get roundworms from earthworms. 
Mine was non releasable and my avian vet at the time had to give him a shot of ivomec because he started vomiting worms. He was the one to advise switching to a high quality puppy food. "Baby" live for 13 years on puppy food *only* after he was wormed. He also enjoyed tiny pieces of apple  AND he had free flight in the house so my house was "bug free"!!!


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

i actually won't feed earth worms from outside because they can have a parasite on them that causes gape worm, adults can handle it, but young ones can succumb to it.
i have a little composting worm farm in my basement just for the robins, i also feed them mealworms.
as a base diet for the babies, i make a slurry of 
1 cup science diet kitten food
1 to 1 1/2 cups water
1 2.5 oz jar of beechnut chicken baby food
1/2 tsp avi-era bird vitamins
1/4 tsp calcium carbonate powder
1/4 tsp bird bene bac
2 TBS powdered egg white
store in the fridge and serve it to him warm not hot
either freeze some or make a new batch everyday
i slurry the whole batch up in a blender and use a 1cc syringe to give them just a small amount at a time, make sure he swallows with each bite, feed him as much as he wants with each feeding.
if your uncomfortable with syringe feeding use less water and just mush together with a fork and find something to scoop bite at time into his mouth
if he has feathers but a very short tail you should feed him about every 1/2 hour sun up to sundown, if you sleep in past sun up or miss feeding go later in the night with feedings.
it's still okay to feed him store bought insects, or small bits of fruit like peeled bits of grape or small berries like wild blueberries a couple a feedings a day
the problem with trying to feed a "natural diet" is us humans can't possibly find enough variety of bugs to grow a healthy baby that won't end up with problems late in life.
if he is still in the nest, you may want to put him in something like an aquarium or kritter keeper with a heating pad set on low under his little nest, which you can use a bowl with tissue, replacing with fresh tissue when soiled.
.
as he grows and starts hopping out of the nest you can start spreading apart the feeding as he will be able to take more at each feeding and you can set him up in a little cage.
when he is hopping around and perching you can soak cat food with the calcium and vitamins and leave a little dish for him with blueberries, a small dish of mealworms and small dish of water .
when his tail is getting nice and long they like a bigger bowl of water to take lots of baths in


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## birds+me=happy (May 21, 2009)

I fed him some soggy puppy food and he ate it quite well. But hes been chirpen an awfull lot today. Is that because hes still hungry or he just wants his mother.


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

hes hungry, feed him, give him as much as he wants at each feeding, feed a little more often if he's complaining a lot 
they usually go to sleep for a little while after they are full, i wake them up to feed


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

can you post a pic so we can determine the age?


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## birds+me=happy (May 21, 2009)

sorry, the pics wont work. He is doing GREAT though. He chirpes when hes hungry, i feed him, he goes to sleep, thats the routine. he has a prety big cut on his beak though.


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

how's the bb


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## Bella_F (Nov 29, 2008)

Robins are the best- I hope the chick is doing ok? Any updates?

I'm in a different country, and feeding worms or slugs to chicks cause gape worm in many species here too. But its area specific- only some places are infected, and they stay that way for many years. I agree that its a great idea to worm your little Robin just in case.


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