Page 718 - Hand rearing birds second

720 Hand-Rearing Birds

Much of the care described here for towhees can be extended to the rest of their family (New
World sparrows and juncos), which are generally much easier to rehabilitate. Anyone who can
successfully raise and release towhees back to the wild is likely to have little difficulty raising
sparrows and juncos.

Criteria for Intervention

As ground birds, towhees are easy prey for outdoor cats; fledglings without fully‐developed flight capa-
bility are particularly vulnerable. Over the past 3 years, nearly two‐thirds of all towhees admitted to
our rehabilitation center were preyed upon by a cat. Towhees comprise nearly 25% of our cat attack
patients. Among towhees, kidnapping is the second most common cause of admission to our facility.
Although injured and predator‐caught birds should be admitted to a rehabilitation facility, we
have successfully reduced kidnappings by educating finders. Most finders are well‐intentioned,
but ill‐informed regarding normal fledgling behavior, being unaware that most wild bird species
spend at least a week on the ground with limited flight capability while the parents continue to
feed and care for them. In questionable cases that lack a known predator interaction, noticeable
weakness, or injury, we ask callers to send a photograph of the bird. If it appears to be a healthy
fledgling, our phone personnel explain the fledging process and ask the finder to monitor the situ-
ation and confirm that a parent is caring for the fledgling. This request is typically well‐received,
and through such efforts we have prevented hundreds of healthy birds from entering our center.
If there is any evidence of predation, we ask the finder to bring the bird in for examination, but
inform him/her that if we find no evidence of injury or illness, they will need to reunite the
fledgling with its parents. It cannot be overstated that young birds are better off with their parents;
no matter how thoughtful, captive care is a poor substitute. See Chapter 1 for more information
about determining whether a chick requires rescue.

Record Keeping

Small, colorful plastic leg bands can be used to identify individual birds (e.g. Red Bird Products).
Identification is important for monitoring injury progress, tracking weight gain, administering
treatments, and determining eating patterns.

Initial Care and Stabilization

As with any chick entering care, warming chicks to normal body temperature followed by fluid
therapy to ensure the GI tract is functioning is necessary before offering chicks food. See Chapter 1
for more information on stabilization of new birds.

Common Medical Problems and Solutions

Caught by Cat
For predator‐caught birds, see Chapters 1 and 48 for protocols including treatments for immediate
injuries and related complications. An oxygen concentrator and oxygen chamber have been very