HELP the Red Red Robin Please !!!!

[free-2-b-me]

Ok - this may sound off the wall and some may get mad about this BUT - This is the way it is .....

Late last summer someone brought my daughter a baby robin . She didn't want it but it was like 2 weeks old and the person just left it there with her . So she fed it and took care of it and here she is today with a robin that needs to go but won't !!! It has been living with her in her apartment in a cage .

Today she tried to release it . She set it out in a quiet place in the open - it flattened itself out and watched her all the time . One fellow robin came by it and tried to make friends - it did not respond - another came by and talk to it and then jumped on it and pecked it in the head . He got scared and flew into my daughters arms . She tried again and it just flew back to her hands .

She brought it home . She feels as though if she just left it there it would die and I think she is right . I suggested that she try this every day - he might get some bearings .

She did say that he is smaller than the other robins - probably due to being caged .

I feel bad for her because she knows that it is not right to keep it and I feel sorry for the robin because he doesn't know what to do .

Anyone have any GOOD suggestions on what she should do ? She has tried and tried to get the attention of any wildlife rehabilitator and they are not interested . I guess a little robin is not worth the effort to them .

She wants him to be free but not dead !!!!!

[kitaye]

At this point it is to late. He is unable to adjust and having been with you this long, will never adjust. If you can't keep him then try to find a zoo that is willing to take him in and use him in a show and tell or who has a backyard birds display. Perhaps there is a bird santuary near you that will take care of him. They may even know of a rehabilitator who can take him off your hands and give him a proper home.

I'm sorry I couldn't give you something more useful.

[roughingit]

This late in his life I agree with Kit. He's bonded to humans and doesn't know how to get his own food or deal with predators or even his own kind. Sounds like she has a very charming pet.

[ladycat]

Unfortunately she can get heavily fined for having it in captivity. She needs to make an effort to get someone qualified to take it. If the local rehabilitators won't take it, she should ask them for a referral to someone who will.

[MaryNY]

Is there a "wildlife refuge", nature park, or other such facility nearby where she could take the little robin so the folks there who have expertise could get him used to other birds and animals and then perhaps let him loose? It might be worth making a few phone calls -- perhaps to the local parks director, or the local zoo director, etc. and they might be able to direct her in the right direction to find a new "home" for the bird. Good luck!

MaryNY

[ChickenMom]

In some places you can get licenses to keep them. You would have to check the laws where she is at, perhaps you could explain the situation.

[free-2-b-me]

I did find an extensive list of liscenced wildlife rehabilitators in our state . I have emailed it to my daughter . Some of them are nearby . She has contacted some rescues and they simply don't want to help and did not give her any leads as to where to go . Maybe with this extensive list she can get the right contact .
She managed to keep him alive this long and it would be a shame for it not to be able to return to the wild . She really did not treat it as a pet - she fed it and cleaned it's cage but - I guess it bonded with her anyway . Lucky for the robin that she knew how to feed it - there is a special way you know . She said it was only 2 weeks old when the dumb person dumped it off on her .
She lives in a second story apartment with no lawn or porch - in the center of town .
I live in the country with robins all over the place . I though about taking it and caring for it . Taking it outside in the cage and letting him get used to having other birds around . Letting it out daily to adjust .
We'll see where she gets with the list that I sent her . I would feel more comfortable having a rehabilitator taking him .