How to Raise a Baby House Sparrow

Co-authored by Pippa Elliott, MRCVS

Last Updated: June 14, 2024 Fact Checked

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If you've found a baby House Sparrow, you can learn how to care for it. However, before intervening, watch the area to make absolutely sure that the bird is an orphan. The mortality rates among hand-reared birds are high, so its best chance of survival is back in the nest under its parents' care.^{[1]
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Research source
Practical Wildlife Care. Lee Stocker. Publisher: Blackwell Science}

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Avoiding Common Mistakes

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Make sure the bird is truly an orphan. If it has feathers, it is a fledgling and could be learning to fly. Therefore, it should remain on the ground - only remove it if it is in danger from a predator, or the parents do not return within one hour. If the bird has no feathers, it is a nestling, so look around to see if you can spot the nest. Gently pick him up and place him back in the nest.
- House Sparrows were originally recorded in Eurasia, North Africa, and the Middle East but now live all around the world. Because there are so many sparrows globally, they are not a protected species.^{[2]
  X
  Research source} This means there are no laws prohibiting them being kept as pets.
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Protect your health when dealing with wildlife. It is not advisable for pregnant people or people with compromised immune systems to handle baby birds. They may carry diseases, such as salmonella, which can infect humans.
- Always observe strict hygiene when handling the bird. Thoroughly wash your hands before and after care. Dispose of waste in a sealed bag.
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3
Avoid imprinting on the bird. If the bird has too much human contact, it may start to think you are its parent and will lose its fear of you. This makes it difficult to release the bird back into the wild. If your intention is to rear the bird to a stage when it is strong enough to be released, then avoid picking the bird up and handling it, especially during feeding. You want to retain the bird's natural fear of humans.
- Try to avoid the baby bird becoming imprinted on you. This means the bird assumes he is human rather than a bird and can lead to difficulties when releasing him back into the wild.^{[3]
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- Do your best to avoid speaking to the bird. The goal should be to feed and care for the bird as if you are an "invisible force."
Nestlings and fledglings are fed on an all insect diet by their parents, and do not drink water. If you try to drip feed the bird water, you stand a good chance of it inhaling water and drowning.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Keeping a Baby House Sparrow Healthy

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1
Warm the bird. Put a heating pad set on low in a tissue box, and place some tissues in top of it. An alternative is to use a small bowl lined with paper towels. You can stand the bowl on a hot water bottle, or use an overhead heat lamp to keep the bird warm. Whichever you use, gently place the baby bird in it.
- The ideal temperature is 85- 90 F.
- Do not use terry clothes to line the nest as the claws and beak may become tangled to it.
- Put the nest in a dark, quiet place where it won't be disturbed by children or pets.
After feeding, wipe the bird's beak and face clean with a disposable wet wipe or cotton wool soaked in water. A soiled beak area can lead to bacterial infections.^{[4]
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Research source
Practical Wildlife Care. Lee Stocker. Publisher: Blackwell Science}
3
Measure the bird's progress. A Gram Scale may be used to measure the overall progress of your bird. Every day before you feed your bird, weigh it. A healthy baby bird should gain weight everyday.
- If your aim is to release the bird back into the wild, then consider not weighing the bird as the more contact you have, the more likely he is to imprint on you. If your intention is to raise the bird as a pet, then go ahead and weigh regularly to check progress.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Feeding a Baby House Sparrow

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1
Begin by feeding the baby bird puppy or cat food soaked in water. Add a baby bird formula or Pronutro to the water before mixing it into the food. Canned puppy or cat food has a higher protein content and are closer to the natural diet than adult dog food. Mash the food into a shallow bowl.
- If the bird is not old enough to feed itself, break off small pieces, about half the size of your little fingernail, and tweezer feed it by hand.
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Add as many bugs as possible to the puppy or cat food. Sparrow natural diet includes dry foods such as buds and seeds, and live food such as spiders, snails, aphids, caterpillars, and other small invertebrates. Young birds tend to take live food better than dry food.
- Please note, do not give earthworms to captive baby sparrows. There is something toxic about earthworms that makes captive birds die.^{[5]
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  Research source
  Practical Wildlife Care. Lee Stocker. Publisher: Blackwell Science} Instead, try offering the smallest-sized crickets (available from reptile supply shops).
- Another option is to offer clean white maggots, as sold by angling shops. Again, the maggot should only be fed when its gut is empty. The black line in a maggot his food in his gut, so wait until this black line disappears before feeding to the baby bird.
- You could also consider feeding dried insects, as sold for reptiles such as bearded dragons. Check your local pet store for supplies.
- If the sparrow is a nestling and not a fledgling, refrain from feeding it any insects and stick to the cat food diet. Insects such as flies can lead to fatal constipation in a young nestling.
You can use supplements such as Nutrobal (sold for reptiles) or Cricket Diet Calcium Paste (IZUG), which are sold at pet stores. This helps ensure balanced nutrition if the live food is deficient.
4
Feed the bird often. Depending on the sparrow's age, either offer the food on tweezers directly into the gaping beak or if the bird is old enough to feed himself, put the feed in a shallow container. Be aware it takes around 2 weeks for a baby bird to develop enough to feed itself.^{[6]
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Research source
Practical Wildlife Care. Lee Stocker. Publisher: Blackwell Science}
- If the bird is very young and does not have many feathers, feed it every half hour. If older feed every hour or two. The bird will start chirping and gaping when hungry and will stop eating when full.
Young birds are not great at drinking from a shallow containers. This is liable to cause accidental drowning.^{[7]
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Research source
Practical Wildlife Care. Lee Stocker. Publisher: Blackwell Science}
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Change the food you feed the bird as it gets bigger. As the baby grows older, continue to feed the soaked dog or cat food but add a variety of different foods for the bird to choose from as well. A good quality wild bird seed is ideal as the bird matures enough to take grain of its own accord. Place the seed in a shallow bowl to allow the bird to start feeding when they are able.
- Keep the food clean of fecal soil, so clean the bowl at least once a day.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Preparing a Baby House Sparrow for Release

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Put the baby bird in a cage when it begins hopping. Begin leaving the cage outside during the day so other sparrows can visit. If you are avoiding close interaction with the bird and it is interacting with wild sparrows, then its chances of re-acclimating to the wild are much better.
- If the baby bird is not interacting with wild birds then it needs to learn the songs of its species another way. This will allow it to communicate with other birds when it is released. There are audio files available online that you can play for the bird.^{[8]
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  Trustworthy Source
  
  PubMed Central
  Journal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of Health
  
  Go to source}
2
Give the bird more and more time outdoors. Let it hop around on the grass after about 7-10 days old. If releasing the bird is your ultimate goal, try putting it in open space areas so they can learn to fly. Instinct will teach the bird to fly and discover what its wings are for.
- Wait until it has wing feathers, then if it doesn't seem to know what to do then its probably isn't ready. To test out whether he's ready, take him outside and place him on the ground in an area that's safe from predators.
- Leave the bird to its own devices for 20 minutes, if nothing happens bring it back indoors and try again another day.
3
Make sure the bird is ready for release. If you're going to release it, make sure the baby can eat on its own. You also need to be sure that it is not imprinted on you.
- If the bird is imprinted on you, then it cannot be released into the wild. It needs to continue as a pet.^{[9]
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  Research source}

Expert Q&A

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Question

When will the baby get its feathers?

Pippa Elliott, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and companion animal practice. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 with a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery. She has worked at the same animal clinic in her hometown for over 20 years.

Pippa Elliott, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Expert Answer

The baby bird starts to grow quills from around day 7. These grow through fairly rapidly so that by day 11 - 14 the bird has fluffy feathers and starts to look like a sparrow.

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I found a baby bird that can't fly. I can't keep it. What should I do?

Pippa Elliott, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and companion animal practice. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 with a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery. She has worked at the same animal clinic in her hometown for over 20 years.

Pippa Elliott, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Expert Answer

Follow the steps in this guide as 'first aid' to keep the fledgling alive. Phone a Wildlife Rehabilitator who should be able to take over the birds care. If you aren't sure how to contact the WR Officer, then your local vet clinic should have their number.

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Tips

When hand feeding the baby bird, try to get food in the back of the mouth to avoid respiratory issues.

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Be sure to feed the sparrow on a regular basis.

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Always handle it with gloves on, and wash your hands after feeding it and touching it. They contain a lot of bird mites that can cause harm to humans. If you do not know what a bird mite is, handle the bird first without gloves and you will most likely see little dots running around your hands. Wash your hands afterward.

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Warnings

Baby birds have a very small chance of survival. If your baby bird dies, it is not because you didn't try hard enough, it is simply because baby birds are supposed to be raised by their mom.

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Don't feed the bird earthworms, they carry diseases.

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Don't feed the bird upright water, as it can drown easily.

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Do not feed the bird milk at all. It will die of sour-crop!

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