Well today I was drawn outside by the sound of my dog having a freak out. I discovered that just out of her reach sat a baby blue jay. I can only imagine that it fell out of it’s nest or flunked its first flying test. There is a particular tree I suspect it fell from because I have seen birds nesting there in the past. Though with all the leaves I can’t spot the nest this time. Even if I could, the tree is far too tall and does not have low level branches for me to take the bird back to it’s nest.
I’ve been scouring the internet for information on what to do. There are good tips to be found, but for a much younger bird. This one is old enough to have feathers, but it cannot yet fly.
Since I have an outside cat, who just loves birds, I have taken it inside for the moment. I have this bedside trash can I’ve placed it in. Not big enough for a long term stay, but large enough for a temporary fix. I’ve also placed in some leaves and a stick in a poor attempt to recreate a natural environment and placed some water in there as well.
I don’t know if its parents were still regurgitating it’s food, or if it is eating on its own yet. The information I’ve found said that blue jays eat a varied diet. Vegetables, seeds, berries, and even mice and salamanders were mentioned as the diet of choice for the adult. I was thinking about opening up a can of corn and mashing some of it up for the little guy. And while I have no mice or salamanders to speak of, I have considered getting a can of sardines and offering it small pieces.
Another concern I have is even if I’m successful with this part, when it reaches a stage in maturity to be released back into the wild, I’m nervous it won’t be able to fend for itself at that point. Unless there is a way for a human to teach a bird how to do bird things.
What do you guys think? Do you have any advice or experience in rescuing and caring for a baby blue jay? Any help would be appreciated.
Awww. . . how cute, even though I really don’t like Blue Jays. They’re the orneriest birds I know. They always chase my Finches away.
Did you touch him with your bare hands? If you didn’t, I would suggest trying to find its nest (since you have an idea about where he lives) and but him back into it. If the mother smells a human scent on the bird, however, she won’t care for him. Whenever I find baby barn swallows that have fallen out of the nest, I would put on my gloves and put them back in when the parents aren’t around. But I guess by now the baby reeks like you (absolutely no offense. . . I bet you smell wonderful. . . like pheromones) so the parents probably won’t take care of him.
My guess is that if it doesn’t have feathers, its parents probably still shove food down it’s throat. I would suggest calling someone who specializes in bird care.
you won’t believe this, my ex girlfriend is a renowned amateur bird rehabilitator… they bring her rare species that fall from their nests… they normally eat bird vomit… so you want to be the Alton Brown of bird vomit… jays are carnivores, so they would produced a pulp of bugs and worms… go to a put store and buy live worms, chop them up into little pieces, and if you have a long fingernail scoop them under your nail (little bird will think the nail is a beak full of yummy barf) and carefully drop them into the bird’s mouth… keep the bird in soft shredded material, but not at the bottom of a steep box or it might suffocate in its own carbon dioxide, we lost a baby jay by putting it at the bottom of a styrofoam coler… once it gains wing strenght and starts flapping, let it grip your finger and float it up and down fast enough to feel the air, it will instinctively begin to exercise its wings… the it should have a bar to grip… once they reach adulthood, their instincts take over pretty well..
my sister had tried to rescue a young bird she had found. she called a local vet and they recommended getting meal worms from the pet store and feeding them a few every few hours (even throughout the night). i used tweezers to hold the worms and place them far enough down in the bird’s gullet so that it could swallow them. also, get an eye dropper so that you can feed it water. it sounded like the vet’s office did not want to bother with treating a wild bird, and we did not know what further to do with it. sadly, it died after almost a week. i think the best thing to do is give it over to someone else who knows more of what they are doing. maybe call a pet store, vet or humane society for recommendations.
Thanks guys for all of the great advice. Unfortunately last night when I got up to check on him, he was dead. I’m still puzzled. My best guess is maybe he recieved an internal injury after falling from the tree. As I mentioned before, the tree I suspect he came from is a very tall tree. On occasion I can spot nests placed near the top. I now know he must have fallen and not simply been trying to learn to fly because on closer inspection he only had half of his feathers, and those on the wings were not yet long enough to hold him up.
except for dogs and cats which we understand, most people don’t know how to care for wild animals, so don’t blame yourself… many of them are so terrified they die from the stress.. that’s always a risk until they acclimate… and many critters are sick.. often we find them ill, the strong ones get awsy quickly, actually it is unusual to find a healthy animal lying around…
) so the parents probably won’t take care of him.
I’m still puzzled. My best guess is maybe he recieved an internal injury after falling from the tree. As I mentioned before, the tree I suspect he came from is a very tall tree. On occasion I can spot nests placed near the top. I now know he must have fallen and not simply been trying to learn to fly because on closer inspection he only had half of his feathers, and those on the wings were not yet long enough to hold him up.