This year’s sparrow rescue is going well. Girliebird and Babycheep are all on their own now and no longer come when we call. They have become part of the wild flock that lives on the farm.
Cheebeep able to fly around the house despite her injured tail.
Cheebeep, our next rescue sparrow is also doing very well. She is still indoors living with us, but that’s really just because we haven’t released her. Her tail feathers mostly filled in where she was injured, so she is well able to fly. She’s molting now and we expect her next set of feathers to be perfect. So, she will also be able to join the wild flock outside.
Peep the day I found her.
Next came Peep who was very small when I found her, but I had no idea just how small until I found Heap a few days later and put the two side-by-side. Though they are no more than three days apart in age, Heap is clearly much larger than Peep. Here’s where the mystery comes in.
Peep (top) and Heap (bottom). You can see the difference in size between the two of them. Peep is so much smaller even though they are likely only a day apart in age.
Though the two of them have been on the same diet which includes bird vitamins, Heap has grown up healthy and strong, whereas Peep has some serious deficiencies. Heap is now flying around and learning to be independent, but Peep’s feathers are just atrocious. She also has the same crippled feet that Cheeboop suffers with.
Heap (top) and Peep (bottom). You can see Peep's deformed feathers and crippled foot.
We’ve seen mild versions of this where the feet may be just slightly crooked, but straighten out once the bird begins perching. Sometimes there is a lighter colour in the feathers, or the feathers aren’t quite perfect, like in the case of Rumplepuff, but this is the worst case we’ve seen yet. You can see that the feathers on the lead edge of her wings are so poorly formed that they don’t even cover her skin and her wing feathers are almost completely white.
I am at a loss as to what’s causing this problem. Most of the sparrows I rescue end up perfect, a few are a little off, and so far only two have had permanent defects. I suspected diet, but have modified that to better simulate what the sparrows naturally eat. Actually, these indoor sparrows eat better than the wild ones. And here I have two sparrows of the same age raised on the same diet with Heap turning out perfect and Peep severely crippled.
Since I plan to continue rescuing sparrows, I’m going to try to contact an ornithologist for information.
In the meantime, Peep will become a permanent resident and we hope that when she molts this fall, her new feathers will be perfect allowing her to fly at last.
Tags: birds, rescue, wild animals
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November 17, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Anna
Hello…i just found a sparrow…baby one and wondering what to feed it on…any thoughts?
November 25, 2009 at 1:12 am
admin
Anna, baby sparrows do quite well on dry dog kibble that’s been soaked in water until it is soft. Once they have their feathers, you can begin adding seeds, carbs and veggies.
May 26, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Christene
My husband and I just raised 3 orphaned sparrows we found in a nest in an old camper we purchased from another town. They were maybe a few days to a week old when we found them. They didn’t have fully formed feathers yet, but weren’t tiny either just small and hungry. Now they have all their feathers and have been flying around in our screenhouse for several days. We want to release them but are afraid they won’t know how to find food. They still eat the moistend dog food from our stick the way they did we first found them, although they do approach us now for the food when we enter the screenhouse.
I want to free them but I’m worried about them. How long until they are fully weened? Can we let them fly off now? I’ve seen them pecking occasionally at the bird seed we leave out for them, but if we haven’t feed them for a couple of hours they’ll all fly to the top of the open bird cage and open their mouthes to be fed. It makes me feel that they are not ready to go.
I did see another sparrow this morning that flew up to the screenhouse to check them out. Do you think it’s safe to let them fly out of the screen house? Will they come back if they are hungry? I wouldn’t mind feeding them longer if they come back. I’ll definitly fill our bird feeders up for them too, and leave their bird bath out for them.
Sorry, I must sound like an anxious mother. I look forward to your response.
Christene
June 6, 2010 at 12:01 pm
admin
So glad to hear you successfully raised the babies.
Yes, you can let them go. They will likely hang around for a while and you may be able to feed them outside, but they may also just fly away and you’ll never see them again. Necessity is the mother of invention and they will get better at fending for themselves when they have no other choice. You’ll want to keep the feeder full, just as you suggest. If you can keep a birdbath or other shallow water dish available, that’s good, too. They won’t have much experience drinking yet, so you want to give them a safe water source — if all they have is deep water, they may fall in and drown.
Another thing I’ve observed is that adult sparrows will feed hungry fledglings even if they are not their own babies. It seems the parenting instinct is too strong for them to resist those desperately fluttering young birds. So if you have any other sparrows around, they will feed your babies, too.
June 20, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Fritz Lachoff
Hey there, I’m at a loss as to what has happened to my 2 week old sparrow. Last week he was perching all night, flapping his wings and was really a handfull. Now he seems like he is crippled as his left foot is drawn, his balance is off and he now sits on the bottom of his cage looking like a hen on eggs. He still has a great appetite, gravy train and a bit of apple sauce. I rinse off the gravy coating before i soak it in water. He is alert and not sickly at all, just physically in bad shape. Please help me if you can. Sincerely, Fritz
June 23, 2010 at 5:02 pm
admin
Hmmm. I’m at a loss as well. The foot problems I’ve been seeing occur during development. By the time the birds are flapping or perching, the damage is done… either that, or in the majority of cases the bird has matured just fine.
In your case, I suspect your bird is ill or injured (possibly a broken leg or hip) and a visit to the vet is required.
June 23, 2010 at 6:45 pm
Fritz Lachoff
Thank you for your response and my little bird is still unbalanced but other than that, doing great. What an appetite! And today, he ate his first piece of food by himself. I’m starting to think he is just lazy, he has good strength on his right and is very alert, just weak on his left side. He seems to be a content, happy little guy. I’m hoping that he’s going through a phase, like a kid as now he has learned to spit his food out or toss it, if it isnt down his throat far enough. He answers when he’s whistled at. I wouldn’t trust a vet in my area to tend to him and as you say, the damage, if any, is done.
July 1, 2010 at 7:53 am
Fritz Lachoff
An update on my little bird, doing just fine and full of energy. He will perch but doesn’t seem to like it, he would rather be on the floor of his house un-ravelling his flannel blanket or tearing up the paper towel that covers his floor. His feeding times have gotten closer rather than further apart and applesauce is his favorite dessert, second to a fresh blueberry innard. Gravy train is still his mainstay and his left side is still under-developed, 3 or 4 feathers on his left wing compared to a full set on his right. Special-abled birds is a good read that i have found at avianweb.com, Claire the sparrow was paralyzed and as time went on, recovered enough to enjoy a good life. I do believe that the worst is over for my little guy. Thanks again for this site and all of it’s great info. Sincerely, Fritz