baby bird

Found a down nest in the pasture this morning with 3 baby birds. 2 were dead and this little one was laying on the ground with a bloody leg and his mouth opening wide at me. One of the dead ones was completely covered with ants already so I have no idea how long they had been there. I scooped this guy up and brought him inside figuring he wouldn't make it but he's been eating and pooping and so far seems to be ok and it's been almost 4 hours. I'm hoping the injury is just limited to his leg and is minor. I've emailed the wildlife rescue contact I got from this forum last year but haven't heard back yet. Any idea what he is or how old? His eyes do open when he's awake, but not completely. I've moved him into a big bowl lined with napkins for easy cleaning out for now and he's eating like a champ.
Sorry the pictures not very good. Taken inside with a flash on macro setting as I didn't really want to take him back out into the sun.

Do you have a local warden from Fish and Game you can contact? If not, I'd contact my local vet for help. It's a 24 hour a day job just feeding this little bird. I do hope it will survive. Sorry, I don't know the species.

I've put out several contacts and then unfortunately, my cell phone died. completely dead. sigh. Hoping one of them emails me back. My vet is looking around too and I've given them my office number. The information I've found says they don't eat overnight, just sun break to dusk. It still seems to be doing OK and I'm going to have to go get a new phone this afternoon and hope someone gets back with me. If anyone has any experience to offer or knows of anyone in my area (Upstate, SC), please contact me directly dvldgs @ pacbell . net
thanks,
Kristen

Best of lucks Kristen. I wished I knew.

Kristen, Here are 2 links

http://aviary.owls.com/baby_bird.html



http://www.wild-bird-watching.com/Baby_Birds.html

Devildogs, you have dmail.

Thanks Kim. I had contacted jygaskin (rehabber) about this thread too.

That big bill, I'm going to make a guess at Brown-headed Cowbird.

Resin

Pelletory, thanks for the links. I've looked at a ton today and following instructions from some of them. The rehab lady is out of town for the weekend and my vet didn't have any advice. They gave me another person to try but she hasn't called me back yet (got my cell working).
baby is still alive and still eating and pooping. Leg stopped bleeding and he's moving it some, but not like the other one so I don't think it's broken at least and hopefully will heal.
Resin, I've just recently taken pictures of those birds to get them id'd believe it or not. I just noticed them this summer and thought they were stunning looking. Sorry to see they aren't very nice but I definitely have them right here so it's very possible.

Resin, I thought the same thing when I saw the little bird but hated to speculate...since I am not very experienced in baby birds...well, other than ducks ;o)

Kristen,
Bless your heart for caring for the little one...I pray all will be ok for it :)

quick update - my equine vet found me a rehab person to talk to. She's full so can't take him but gave me some tips and told me to keep doing what I'm doing for now. At least I have someone a phone call away. She also warned me he may not make it thru the night or at all since I have no idea how long he went without food before I found him. I didn't think about that. I was only thinking about possible internal injuries.

Thanks Susan...keep the prayers coming for this guy :-)

You are doing perfect! it looks like it might be a grackle baby. If so it will develop into a lovly sleek grey bird with a comical personality. The easisest thing to feed it is high grade dry dog food, soaked in water. (I like beneful healthy radience, but others work just as well.) As he ages he'll like bits of berries or bannannas too. Just pop some in his mouth whenever he hollers. At least every half hour, morning to night. I have a basket with a long strap on it that I haul baby birds with me all summer. The grackle will not have to make a transition from dog food to more natural food. As he learns to fly, take him outside and keep some favorite food handy. He;ll come to you to snacks. It won't take long to find his own food and you're off the hook. But never be surprised when a bird lands on your head the rest of the summer! He will be glossy black by fall.

So far this summer I have raised 16 baby birds, not counting the ducks and goose that made their way here. One is even a nice large crow. Now that's a treasure!

Good luck and feel free to contact if you have any questions. Enjoy him and good luck!

Thanks for the encouragement jlygaskin! Let me just say I think I'm shocked that he's still alive this morning. I peeked in and he was laying there and figured he was dead and moved the rag I had bunched up around him and his little head popped up. :-)
I have a hunter pace that I'm volunteering at tomorrow for our pony club. Trying to figure out something to take him in with me that he'll be safe and secure and easy to carry around.
I'll get a picture of him today when it gets light out along with his injury. I'm hoping it's not something that's going to have any long term effects. My husband seems to think he won't be able to perch since it seems to be down by the 3rd toe (sorry, no clue on bird anatomy).

a bit more feathers today I think

hungry

injured leg, was kind of hard to get this shot as he wants to lay on this leg but you can see the black which is dried blood/scab and a little bit of bruising. oops, I called it 3rd toe, but I guess I meant 4th one. It's the one that goes back. he doesn't move it around as much or as well as the one on the other foot. He will kind of grab with the other foot, but not this one which I noticed yesterday when I first had him in a pot base with some grass. Leg doesn't look broken to me tho so hopefully it's just sore and will heal. I tucked the rags around him so he didn't flop around so much and hopefully give it more of a chance to heal. figured he's used to being in a nest crammed in with siblings too without much room to move so this may feel a bit more secure for him.

aww good luck mom....

Great job! He does look a little more fuzzy today...

You've done a lot more than most people would and whatever happens, you'll know you did your best.

I'm happy to hear that this little baby is working so hard to live. You should be proud of yourself and I'll continue to hope all will go well. Baby is adorable!

Aww he is so sweet. Great job DD!

Bless your heart DD...you're doing a wonderful job :D

sad news. The little guy died about 4:30 this afternoon. Thanks everyone for the support and best wishes. I'm glad I tried.

Oh I'm so sorry DD!

You tried and that is all you can do. Thanks so much for your efforts!

I am so sorry. You did such a wonderful job!

Oh My...yes, you did your best..so sad. Thanks for sharing him with all of us :D

my dh doesn't understand. He's pretty upset. "but you fed him all day long! how can he just die?" The wildlife lady told me last night that it can depend on how long they've been without nourishment before I found him. they can thrive for a while and then just die. I was pretty amazed that he was still alive this morning. I just didn't expect him to die between a 10 min check tho. That was a bit shocking. I had him next to me pretty much all day until I turned the a/c on late this morning then he went back on the kitchen counter with the heating pad under him and all 3 of us (myself, my dd and dh) took turns checking on him. Just glad I found him and not my dd. Kind of funny (weird funny, not haha funny) that it's my dh upset and not my dd.
Thanks again everyone. It was an experience, that's for sure. Whole new respect for momma birds.

I'm so sorry DD. Such sad news. Yes, the birds' in the wild are awesome. Thank you for sharing the little one with the rest of us.

Oh that is sad...but you did try and did your very best.

No one can say you didn't give it your all.

Hack

Thank you for sharing your sad news with us. I'm so very sorry this happened. You and your family did everything possible.

Unfortunately all baby birds can "just die." I have had baby ducks cheep, eat, swim, etc and suddenly die. No one knows what they went through prior to my care...same with your birdy. May have been internal injuries, dehydration and/or starvation or was just not healthy in the beginning...but once they reach the point of no return there is very little that can be done. I applaud your effort!

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate everyone's kind words. I wish it had had a happier ending. I do feel I tried my best but would have much rather had the rehab person to hand him over to who really knew what they were doing. I know there is no way I could have just left him on the ground in the pasture like I found him and kind of glad that if he was going to die, it was after two days of caring for him and not much longer. I know I'll question everything I did for a while but I'm almost positive I did everything the same. I keep analyzing the last feeding just trying to think if there was anything different. I don't think so. I did notice that his poo was getting waterier and waterier as the day went on so I'm thinking there was something not right internally.
I did find out that a friend of mine has done this a lot so if this happens again, I'm heading straight to her house, dropping off bird and not looking back! She told me today that she rescued a baby hummingbird and was able to get another momma hummer to foster it :-)

DD, I understand your feeling. Share it with your Dd, for she's saddened as well. It's sad when we gave it our best and the outcome just isn't what we expected. I too applaud your effort.

You tried soo hard, my heart is with you =}