My Bluebirds
Here is the story of the baby bluebirds we hand raised after they were abandoned by mom....dad fed for a few days, but 5 hungary mouths were too much for one bird to feed.
Hubby and I called our local birder who informed us on what to do....the babies lived in a small nest sized bowl lined with toilet tissue(for easy cleaning) we kept this in the gas grill so predators couldn't get to them for a few days..they quickly outgrew this abode and moved to a small cage a friend loaned us. They were fed every few hours through the day on a diet of meal worms and dry cat food that was softened. We had to teach them to bathe and to condition their feathers for inclement weather...this was discovered after the first rain they encountered and were pitifully soaked and coulld not fly....they would come when called and we would put them back in their cage at night. Through the day they were free to do whatever birds do !
After they were flying really well, we quit caging them at night but they would still come in for food.... ....expecting company one day ,and wanting them to experience the birds coming in for food...we waited...one of the males saw me through the sliding door and tried to fly to me....glass doors and birds don't mix....still haven't forgave hubby for that !! No more waiting to feed them. They also flew on a neighbor lady walking that had blonde hair !! She was quite shocked to have a bluebird land on her.
The other 4 grew to maturity and stayed around till the daddy bird ran them off when the next brood fledged...I often wish we had put bands on them and wonder if they are the ones we see and have nest year after year...it was a great experience !
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