Oh dear, I think they're wholly seedeaters. Is there a vet or forestry or someplace that deals with wild animals you could call? Poor little guy.
I know the adult cardinals love goober peanuts and sunflower seeds. Perhaps the chick could take some of those, ground up? I still think it's a good idea to call the vet and see what they know about it.
We have saved a lot of young birds. What we feed them is cooked eggs cut up or ground mixed with canned dog food. You take just a little at a time and put it in it's mouth you can use your fingeers or a popsicle stick or something similar as long as it's not sharp. Give it water with an evye dropper. The bird sounds old enough that you shouldn't have to hard of a time. Also keep it awat from drafts. I'm assuming that it has all it's feathers, if not you may have to keep it warm with a light bulb but not to close so it can stay away from the heat if it needs to. Any questions let me know.
Last year I raised 3 house finches from pretty little babies to them going back to the wild. I fed them ground up hard boiled eggs and ground up some raw sunflower seeds mixed with a little sugar water. If at first they don't open their beaks for food you can try chirping at them. Kind of a whistle. Our finches had to be taught to eat seeds after awhile. But the survives, much to everyone's surprise, as they did not have feathers yet. I used a heating pad to keep them warm. Let us know how it goes Good luck
cardinals aren't just seed eaters, they will eat bugs as well. They nest in bushes, the wilder the better, so look around where you found him, especially if there is a wild rose bush. My clump always has a cardinal family in it every year. They do not nest in trees and their nest will be fairly low in a bush (no more than 5 ft or so off the ground). Do you see the parents around your yard? Look to see where they are going (especially the female). If they have any other babies left they will be going to the nest very VERY often to feed them! I can always see the bugs in their mouths and know their babies have hatched. You can also feed them raw hamburger. Mel-
Anytime you find a bird out of the nest the best advice when you can't find the original nest, is to build an alternet nest and put it nearby. The parents will almost always find their nestling and although they can't return it to the original nest, will still care for it in the new location. Hand raised birds turned free have a dismal survival chance.
Good Going! May I suggest Mealy worms from the bait bouse. Keep well, good nutrition and they supply important fluids. While the bird is small, worms can be fed in pieces on the end of a toothpick....and don't let anyone discourage your efforts. When I reach my office there will be a perky Mocking bird there, helping raise his fourth year of babies and seems to remember all the worms I fed him. Glen
And just who is looking out for the snakes interest? You have deprived a wild animal of it well earned food. It burned valuable calories stalking the baby bird only to have it snatched away at the last second. How very cruel of you. Kirk
Cardinals are super parents. If the baby is up off it's hocks, (basically means he stands up and hops around) then he is a fledgling and not a nestling. His parents will continue to look for him for several days. Both male and female cardinals feed their young and this includes those babies who have fledged. Actually other cardinals may help also as they can be very communal during this time of year. It is easy to make an alternative nest. One way is to take a milk jug and cut it in half. Punch several holes in the bottom so if it rains, the bird wont drown. Add something in the way of soft straw (grass is cold, straw is better) and nail the milk jug as high up a tree as you can reach. Watch from a distance to see if the parents tend to him. I have little doubt they will, from what your saying. If he is a fledgling, then he will more than likely will jump out of the nest, as it should be. When birds first fledge they are often very unsure and clumsy. Much like a child starting to move about on his own. They gather quickness very fast and become mobile. Cardinals fledge quickly and have a high protein and calcium requirement while young. If your forced to help in this situation, call your Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and see if there is a Rehabber in your area. In the meanwhile, dried catfood can be used. Soak the pellets until they are soft and mushy, then offer to him. Of course cut them down to size if need be. They eat very often. Primarily during the day, that is what the parent do... they go back and forth feeding their young, with the peak times in the early day and early evening. They do not feed their young at night as they have roosted in for the night. If you have a dog you can use dry dog food instead. Cat food is just normally higher in protein than dog and also canned foods. Kitten dry food is good. Just remember to soak it first.. Watch for temperature. A bird's temperature is much higher than ours and if they chill, you have a problem. Good luck.
Hey Smith, I see you're trolling here now instead of on the Equine forum. Folks, save your good advise as Smith will be able to come up with a reason to not take your good advise and tell you how cruel and unknowledgeable all of ya'll are. From the "Unwanted Horse" thread on the "Equine" forum we users of said forum have determined she/he/ is a 15 year old without much parental guidance and has too much time on her/his hands and has been reported to the Florida Horse Protection Association of Florida for possible horse abuse/neglect by myself and I don't know how many others on the Equine Forum. She's a knothead and a twit. Don't get sucked in by feeding the troll. By the way, she also goes by the name FilaBrazil and Unregistered and is suspected of going by the identy of a supposed sister posting under the user name "Smith" and "Unregistered". Check out the "Unwanted Horse thread upon which Smith has deleted all her posts, in one of which, the sister told us they feed her horse dog food, orange juice and chicken nuggets. http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=43431 She also deleted all her posts on the "Horse rescues in FL?" thread: http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=47579 And on this thread we're more interested in what we had or lilke for breakfast rather than her trolling. http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=47935 Btw, I haven't checked out the poultry forum to see if Smith has deleted all her posts about castrating geese. Save your advise and time for someone that truely needs and wants it. Fla Gal
I agree with you Kirk. How someone could say a snake doesn't have the right to eat is beyond me. One of the most fascinating things I ever saw was a black snake digging in the dirt with it's nose and finding a toad and how the snake's jaws dislocated to swallow the toad. I was amazed how dogs froth at the mouth when they pick up a toad in their mouth but the black snake took it in stride with no side effects. That was but one wonder of nature and one occurance in the grand scheme of things. Fla Gal
Smith, You need to get better at your lies and trolling if you want to able to dupe someone and get a real good trolling thread going again. Fla Gal By the way Smith, you may delete all your messages on this thread but I will quote every one of your messages in a reply to the board so they will all be saved. You can't delete my messages that include your posts as a quote. :haha: :haha: :haha: Edited to add: Smith, You bonehead, if you can't feed the cardinal the food it requires find a bird rescue so they can take proper care of it. For your reference and convenience I'll give the information I gave you on the "Unwanted Horse" thread. I'm sure your local Animal Control can give you information on whom to contact to give the bird to a shelter that will give the bird proper food and care. City of Williston Animal Control 520 SE4th St Williston, FL 32696-30058 352-529-0019
This is the message posted by Smith asking advice from the forum members. It's the first message in this thread. When Smith has deleted this message you'll be able to refer to this reply by me to note what she posted. Fla Gal
Gee now THERES a surprise. When someone is on to you, all of a sudden the problem is gone, just like Spencers problems were instantly gone.
