I Have a Young/Pre-Fledgling Sparrow...Help!

Soldato
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First off, if you don't have anything helpful to say, well, don't say anything!

My wonderful cat was caught towering over a fledgling/young sparrow this morning. I managed to catch the little blighter, and apart from a little blood on its beak area, it seems ok. Wings are fine, legs are fine also. No apparent puncture wounds, and no blood anywhere else.

It is almost fully feathered apart from under the wings and on its belly. It seems fairly spritely, and has squarked at me and legged it across my office (which I take to be a good sign).

I have lots of cockroaches that I feed my tarantulas with, so can offer it those, but is there anything else I should consider feeding it (no, I'm not going to put it in with a spider :p)? I'm about to pop out and do a spot of shopping, so I'll probably go and get some mealworms or something and some seed.

Putting it back is not an option to me because either:

a. The cat will find it and pwn it
b. The parent birds may reject it due to the smell of cat/human

It's currently in a shoe box with a load of toilet paper. I'll grab it a box and a few twigs to perch on a bit later.

So, really what I'm asking is:

- Do I have the right idea regarding food for the bird?
- How often should I feed it?
- Is there anything else I need to know?

I'll keep my eye on it for a few hours, and take it as a good sign if it survives that long (i.e. not died of internal injuries/shock). Usually I just bat the bird on the head and flush it away, but this one's not obviously badly damaged, so I want to try to help!

Oh, and I've named it Donk.
 
The bird's either going to be dead or it'll be your new pet. Don't see much chance of it surviving on it's own if you released t anywhere and the RSPB ect won't be interested in a Sparrow...whether they're in decline or not.

I'd probably just kill it, although there's probably no harm in seeing if you could tame the thing if you've got the patience. Pet Sparrow could be kind of cool.
 
Just looked, they recommend contacting your local vet or ring the RSPCA advice line.
 
Find your nearest wildlife rescue centre - if you tell us your location it shouldn't take long to find one local to you.

Bob it down there and they will feed it exactly the right food and rehabilitate it for release into the wild.

I can speak from experience with a wood pigeon, dove, blue **** and a starling.

It's a wild bird, it won't make a good pet (besides the fact it's illegal) and it's now under considerable stress so best to leave it to the professionals if possible.
 
I've had a better idea. Managed to collar both my cats, so will put the bird back outside in a little while on a highish branch, and keep the cats indoors for a while to give it half a chance at least.

I don't want a pet sparrow, don't want to kill it, and would rather it be back near it's parent birds. From what I've rread, it should be flying in a couple of days anyway.

Cheers. :)
 
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If it can't fly it will die.
Doesn't matter if you leave it outside or in a box.
Tarantula is looking hungry.....
 
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