Yesterday I found a baby bird in our yard, I read that if they can't stand properly on your finger like perching they weren't ready to leave the nest. I also have a dog who was carrying a baby bird in his mouth the other day so I couldn't leave him. I had been feeding him good quality soaked dog food ( I read he could eat that for his age & type). But during the night he has died, I had made him a cosy bed in a bucket with tissue & clean dry grass & put a towel 3/4 over the top to keep the warmth in & then rapped a blanket half around the outside, I'm living in tasmania which is pretty cold during the night. I want to know what I had done wrong? It seems like he died from the cold :( we had raised a baby bird before but that was a different breed.

Hello xx

It is always said to hear when defenceless animals/birds die, but that is nature

If you managed to rescue a baby bird before hand then you were very lucky it did survive

Most chicks of any breed who leave the nest too early are in shock which they rarely recover from

Baby birds are more fragile than they look. They need to be fed almost constantly. This is where you failed apparently. The other bird you successfully raised must have been a bit older.

Thank you phlanx, I just feel awful knowing it may have been my fault.. but I'm glad he seems to be at peace.
twinkiedooter - maybe that was what happened I'm not sure, I was feeding him around every half an hour a few pieces? I didn't want to overfeed him either. Thanks

I don't think it was your fault, this is purely down to nature and the way birds act

I live in the countryside and we are forever finding you birds shaking near a tree, and over the years we have tried all sorts to rescue them, with only a few every surviving

The main thing is, you tried and that is all we can ever do :)

One thing that can easily kill a bird is stress. A fall from the nest or being chased by another animal would do it.
It was not your fault at all, don't feel bad, baby birds are very hard to raise and the fatality rate is high unless you are an experienced carer.

Oh and hello from a fellow Tasmanian :)

I have rescued many wild baby birds in my life. None of them have survived.

There were 4 swallows, a woodpecker (he was almost fully grown, had all his feathers but the tree that the nest was in was hit by lightening and fell, when it did this bird must have gotten struck somehow as the bottom part of his beak was cracked in half all the way to the hilt), a robin, a few unknown breeds because they were too young.

My Aunt and Uncle however have raised many wild baby birds and never lost a single one.

Baby birds are a lot of work. What you have to remember is that most birds that apparently fall out of the nest before they're ready, are actually kicked out of the nest by mom because there is something wrong with them. Momma birds have that natural instinct, they just know if one of their young is ill and won't survive. So, instead of wasting time feeding this baby, she kicks it out of the nest where it will either fend for itself, die of hunger or get eaten by a predator.

I know, not very nice, but that's the way it is.

It's not your fault.

If you ever find another baby bird the best thing to do is call the animal sanctuary. I don't know if you have one in Tasmania, but I'm sure you have something similar. They usually take wild animals into their care and either release them or keep them if they cannot be released. That's where most birds in our zoos come from, at least where I live. :)

Don't feel bad. Okay? :)

Thank you all heaps :) makes me feel a lot better. I'm glad I tried though.. take care