Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!decwrl!ucbvax!pasteur!ames!umd5!mimsy!aplcen!jhunix!ins_avrd From: ins_avrd@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Victoria Rosly D'ull) Newsgroups: rec.birds Subject: orphan birdling Keywords: help? Message-ID: <6591@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU> Date: 25 Jun 88 00:29:46 GMT Reply-To: ins_avrd@jhunix.UUCP (Vicka d'Ull) Distribution: na Organization: Johns Hopkins Univ. Computing Ctr. Lines: 30 I've recently become the foster parent of a baby bluejay. He's been in my care for almost 48 full hours now and still seems pretty chipper, but I have absolutely NO experience with fledgling birds and could use some advice.... I don't think he's very young -- he has all his wingfeathers in blue, but the rest is still grey down. He can hop about or perch on a finger, and flaps his wings enthusiastically if I move him through the air. What sort of encouragement does he need to really learn to fly? I've been keeping him in the warmest room in the house -- about 105 degrees F (we've been having a bit of a heatwave). Is this too hot? Too cold? He's been eating tiny pieces of steak and bread soaked in soymilk, along with water from a syringe. The best method I've found for feeding him is to hold him near my face and make cheeping noises, at which he cheeps back and opens his mouth, and I toss the food right in. Any tips on how much he should get and how often, and on what bluejays normally eat? The last question is most important -- how can I prepare this young thing for a return to the Great Outdoors? We have a lot of cats in our area and I don't want him to find out about predators the hard way. I live (and the bird was found) in downtown Baltimore -- would a more rural setting be better for him? Anxiously and gratefully awaiting any reply -- --Vicka ins_avrd@jhunix.BITNET