Rescuing fledging brought in by cat

Dublin Deluge

Hello,

I hope this is the correct forum for this post. Please advise if not and I'll repost in the correct forum.

Yesterday afternoon my cat brought two fledgings into the house. We managed to get them from the cat. One of them was dead but the other one was alive but seemed injured.

What I normally do when the cat brings a bird home is to put the injured but still alive bird in a cardboard box with holes in a warm area beyond the reach of the cat for the night. Usually, by the time the cat brings the bird into the house, it's too shocked and usually dies peacefully during the course of the night.

To my surprise, this fledging is still alive and kicking this morning and seems to be very alert and it's been actually asking me for food. It does seem to be a bit injured though and some feathers are broken. I fear a wing might be broken. But I can't tell as I don't know anything about birds and would like to hand in the bird to somebody who is able to look after it and eventually re-release it into the wild.

I tried to ring the DSPCA (I live in the Dundrum area) but all I get is a recording saying the offices are closed and to ring the Gardai in the case of an emergency. I really doubt the guards will be able to help me with this bird. Hopefully in the worse case scenario, I'll be able to take care of the bird until Monday when the DSPCA opens and hopefully they'll be able to take it in.

Anyway, I tried getting some advice online. It seems that caring for a wild fledgling is really a specialised skill, which obviously I don't have.

In the meantime, I'd appreciate if people can let me know if they know somebody who would be able to take the bird during the weekend. I would also appreciate if people can give me feedback on caring for the bird. This is what I've been doing so far: This morning I put the bird my cat's pet carrier, which I bedded with shredded pieces of paper. I've been feeding the bird with a mixture of bread and water. The bird has been eating it, but I think he doesn't like it very much. So, I'd appreciate feedback on food. It's standard brown bread for toast from Aldi. Hopefully the bird won't get too constipated. I only feed the bird when it opens its mouth. If it doesn't open it, I don't feed it. I noticed that after feeding, the bird does a poop and then falls asleep. The bird pretty much stays in the same position within the box, doesn't move around too much or flutter too much.

Another thing, I have no idea what type of bird it is. I'm attaching a picture to see if somebody can help identifying the species.

EDIT: This might sound obvious, but decided to mention it just in case: When reading on websites such as irishwildlifematters.ie and dspca.ie, they suggest to bring the fledging back to where it was found so that its parents can take care of it. My problem is that I don't know where the bird was found as the cat brought it in!

Thanks!!

Alun

Some cut up worms or caterpillars might be a better choice of food I think.

Once it seems a bit perkier it might be better to put it back outside somewhere where it's mother can find it, and keep the cat inside for a few days.

Not sure what it is, but it's quite compact, so possibly a robin?

Pocoyo

And this is why i hate cats. Each domestic well fed cat still kills 30 animals per year its becoming a serious issue in the uk and ireland. time for a ban!!!!

Pocoyo

If you know where the babies were nested get a plastic tub or build a bird house poke holes in the bottom for drainage and make sure it has some form of cover from the rain then nail it as high up the tree as you can,the mother will return despite what you may have been told. Do it asap tho and dont forget bedding.

Bonedigger

It looks to me like it's a robin fledgling.It doesn't look that bad either despite its ordeal.I have to say I don't have any experience of feeding fledglings,but I've looked online and it would appear hard boiled eggs and dog food may be okay to give to the youngster.If you live close to a pet shop,you may also be able to pick up mealworms.Here's a link to the Kildare Animal Foundation: http://animalfoundation.ie/.

These guys have invaluable experience in dealing with such situations.Contact them and get some advice.Bread and water by all accounts is not good for young birds,so I'd stop feeding it that.It's also important to feed the little guy as often as you can too.Hopefully someone with a bit more experience in this regard can also offer you advice here.I wish you the best with this and keep us posted.

Capercaille

Kildare animal welfare foundation are the people to contact. I brought a poisoned buzzard to them for aftercare and it was successfully released. Put a couple of bells on the cat and it will limit the cats ability to kill.

Dublin Deluge

Thanks for the advice so far. Unfortunately, I don't know where the babies were nested. So I wouldn't know where to put it.

Would cat food be good for the bird?

Dublin Deluge

Also, thanks for the info about the Kildare Animal Foundation. Sounds like they should be able to help. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Pocoyo

Dont feed it anything but worms insects etc get down to your local large pet shop or fishing bait shop,From the picture it looks very strong and at the later stages of infancy. But still young enough for you not to scare it to death. well done by the way for looking after it,Just dont get too emotionally invested in the bird as they tend to look for any excuse to die.

Bonedigger

Dublin Deluge wrote: »

Thanks for the advice so far. Unfortunately, I don't know where the babies were nested. So I wouldn't know where to put it.

Would cat food be good for the bird?

The cat food might be okay for the moment,but I'd contact the Kildare Animal Foundation as soon as you can and find out what's best.Just looking at the photo again,the bird looks even too young to have fledged.It's possible the cat plucked it out of the nest along with the less fortunate one.

Canis Lupus

Whatever about bread just make sure it's super soaked for a good while otherwise you'll end up potentially killing the bird.

Hondo75

I heard you need two bells on a cat for it to be effective

LeinsterDub

Pocoyo wrote: »

And this is why i hate cats. Each domestic well fed cat still kills 30 animals per year its becoming a serious issue in the uk and ireland. time for a ban!!!!

{{citation needed }}

Pocoyo

LeinsterDub wrote: »

{{citation needed }}

https://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCYQFjAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencenews.org%2Farticle%2Fcats-kill-more-one-billion-birds-each-year&ei=HvSSU5POMo-I7AbNqYDIDQ&usg=AFQjCNFMsiEjbkOeflXVzxJ0slHR3nySRg&sig2=pPjbUvcp3i4JCxQF9SlhFQ&bvm=bv.68445247,d.ZGU

Dublin Deluge

Thanks again everybody for your feedback and comments. After some discussion here at home, we decided to bring the bird to the DSPCA shelter as it opens from noon and is way closer than the Kildare Animal Foundation. Less distance to drive and less stress for the bird.

The DSPCA accepted the bird and they did say it was a fledgling and that was NOT injured at all. Forgot to ask what species it was. They took it in and will release it back into the wild when it matures. I told them about the bread and water mixture I was feeding to the bird and they said that whilst that wasn't ideal, it was OK. I'm assuming they'll be feeding the bird some proper food now.

Bonedigger

Dublin Deluge wrote: »

Thanks again everybody for your feedback and comments. After some discussion here at home, we decided to bring the bird to the DSPCA shelter as it opens from noon and is way closer than the Kildare Animal Foundation. Less distance to drive and less stress for the bird.

The DSPCA accepted the bird and they did say it was a fledgling and that was NOT injured at all. Forgot to ask what species it was. They took it in and will release it back into the wild when it matures. I told them about the bread and water mixture I was feeding to the bird and they said that whilst that wasn't ideal, it was OK. I'm assuming they'll be feeding the bird some proper food now.

Fair play Dublin Deluge!That's certainly the best place for the little guy.We can rest easy now!