Posted by Bert on June 12, 2005

Q: I found a baby sparrow that is about 6 days old. I put it back next to its nest inside my eave but about 2 hours later it had fallen out of the hole and rolled down the roof and was falling off the roof again. I caught it in mid air. I have fed it water logged crushed dog biscuits quite successfully. Eyes still closed, no feathers along its backbone yet, some beginning feathers on its wing and tail. I am keeping it warm and am feeding iton demand.

Is it normal for the bird to have a large yellowish form under the skin on the neck on the right side just above the wing. Could this be why the bird was kicked out of the nest? Any suggestions?

A: If you can't get the baby back in the nest (or it can't stay there) then you may as well try to keep it fed and safe. May I suggest that you use cat food rather than dog food - the dry cat food is higher in protein. Moisten with water and make into bit-sized balls that your bird can swallow. However, don't feed your bird this exclusively - it needs other foods too. Soft insects make good choices (caterpillars, flies, etc). Baby birds need to be fed approximately every 20 minutes or so although the cat food pellets may give you a bit more time in between. Your bird will let you know when it wants more.

The yellow coloring under the skin makes me think you're seeing fat under the bird's translucent (can see through) skin. If that's not what it is then I'm stumped. I rather doubt that this caused the parents to kick this baby out but I can't be sure. Good luck on your baby project.

John Wiessinger ( June 13, 2005)