I Found a Baby Cardinal; Advice?

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He jumped down to see if I had any goodies to feed her. I think it's a her, but not sure yet.

I would do what Spouken said and feed the baby either dry dog or cat food soaked in water to soften it or some canned soft cat or dog food.

I can't believe the vet told you to feed it milk because I know with parrots and pet birds they can have milk or dairy products...so I wouldn't feed the baby any milk.

I hope the little guy makes it. Good luck.

Wow, Spouken4, thanks for all the advice! I deeply appreciate it.
I have been feeding her every 30-60 minutes, depending on how vocal she is. She's been getting some small pieces of grapes and peaches, hard boiled egg yolk, and thin rice baby cereal (the latter 2 on the advice of the vet's assistant). I have been giving her small drops of water--guess I should stop that, huh? I have shredded moist cat food that I've given her, as well.
Would earthworms be better than mealworms? She has been getting mealworms for the last few days---cut up and dipped in water---yum.
I can definitely give her the dry cat food soaked in water, seeing as I'm feeding 5 house-kitties, I have lots of dry food.

I left her container outside for a while yesterday evening (I have a clear storage container that I made a top for out of small mesh fencing; I twist-tie the top on so she can't get out and nothing can get in) and went I went to check on her there was a male cardinal sitting by it looking at her.

I do appreciate your offer to come get her, but I can't ask you to do that! It's so much dedicated time taking care of one, how on earth could you handle 2 babies? The little one is really stretching her wings now, and actually managed to 'lift off' in her container last night! And I know I'm getting too attached to her; I'm trying really hard not to give her a name, and I hate thinking of letting her go in a few weeks, but I know it has to be.
My DH has been on vacation this week, and has been amazingly understanding about her feeding schedule. He knows we can't really go anywhere because I have to be home to feed her so often. What a guy!

Thanks again for the advice. The pic you posted looks a lot like my little one--some red on wing feathers and that little 'mohawk' on her head. Good luck with your baby, too.

You are most welcome.

Be careful when you put the baby outside that it does not manage to SNEAK OFF the little nest you made for it. Once they get out, they will wander off and could be easy pray. If you ever need my help, please contact me as I am a stay at home person and one more little bird should be no problem as I also have a baby Robin that I am feeding that should be soon on his own. I guess the 4th of JUly was too much for most little birds in my area. The meal worms are OK, and even CRICKETSA too, but the DOG/CAT food should be enough. The grapes are OK too, but you should be feeding the baby some native wild berries that grow in your area since that is what they eat. If he is old enought, you can go to a local stora (WALMART) and buy some SUET, hang it from where he can reach it. this way the baby will have something to do and learn to feed himself at the same time. Cardinals will eat the small black sunflower seeds, they love anything that is easy to open such as millet and saw flower seeds, but that will come much later. I place romaine lettuce and red apple slices in his enclosure to let him pick and play all at the same time to help him also learn to feed himself.

Sounds like you are doing a GREAT job with your baby.
I will post more pictures of my little birds later on for all to enjoy.
Oh, I almost forgot, I cruch up sunflower seeds nad mix in in withthe PURINA PUPPY CHOW food I feed my little guy so he gets more of what he eats in the wild.

Here are photo's ot the Robin I am raising and the Cardinal.

If you change your mind and want me to care for it, it would be great so that my little guy will have someone JUST like him and they can build a bond so when released together they will have each other and a better chance at survival. Who knows, they can even be a mated pair since they are from 2 different families. I read that Cardinals connot be release until they have they're adult RED colored feathing (if males) or ash if females.

Here is also a link that plays a Cardinal's song so your little bird can learn it's song and not feel lonely.. I let it play continuosly every day for my little feathered friend.


http://www.learnbirdsongs.com/birdsong.php?id=3

Here are the links to my pictures.


Outside baby Robin photos
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Following me around for food.


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Common and feed me!

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Waiting for me on a rock for more food.

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Back in the nest.


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Gaping for food.


Cardinal photos.
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Alert for food.


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playing with paper while food is getting ready.

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WHO ME?

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FEED ME!

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Yummy..

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MORE!!


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Fed and happily resting.

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Ready for a nap with a full belly.

I want to clarify something about baby birds I posted so everyone doesn't think I am "mean and hateful" Lol.
I advocate the elimination of both english sparrows and starlings from the US. it will never happen, of course, but both of these birds do more than merely take over niches formerly occupied by American songbirds-they search out and destroy eggs and nestlings of some of this country's most beloved songbirds, such as bluebirds. they will also brutally KILL mommy or daddy bluebirds who stay at their nestsite to defend it.
can I casually turn my back on a cheeping starling nestling? Not really...but it gets easier every time I find a native nest with eggs smashed and native nestlings torn to ribbons-I won't even begin on the way they peck apart the skulls of heroic bluebird parents who refuse to abandon their children. Please everyone who advocates assisting these two species do some googling. You'll be astounded at the vicious way these birds actually murder perceived rivals-and that includes not just bluebirds but cardinals, wrens, titmice, chickadees, etc.
I'm not making it up-call your states fish and game office.

http://www.wikihow.com/Care-for-an-I...hat-Cannot-Fly
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Cardinal
There's two very useful sites for you! Good luck!

these birds actually murder perceived rivals

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Absolutely true. One summer those stinking grackles killed every sparrow they could get their beaks on, and only ate the heads. Sparrows don't bother me, but I could live without starlings and grackles.

buy some SUET, hang it from where he can reach it. this way the baby will have something to do and learn to feed himself at the same time

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Once again, Spouken4, thanks for the tips. I have feeders up all year long for all sorts of birds, so getting my hands on suet is as easy as going to my backyard. I could use a food mill to make some safflower and sunflower kernels palatable for the little one, too. Am going grocery shopping this evening, and will make a point of getting some blueberries for her. I was telling my DH just a couple of hours ago that I needed to find a way to put food in her enclosure so she could begin to learn to feed herself. I think I've figured out how to do it without having her knock it over when she's flapping (which she does frequently).

She spends time outside whenever I'm home (which I usually am, as I work from home) so she can hear not only the other cardinals that feed here, but all the other birds as well. It breaks my heart sometimes listening to her call to them. I just hope that when she's ready to leave she'll find a friendly bird or two to 'hang with.'

And StacyD1987, thanks for the links; I'll definitely check them out.

I just wanted to pass along my best wishes for this little cardinal. keep up the great work with taking care of him/her.

An update on the baby: he's (yes, I'm sure now it's a male) been here for 10 days now, and I've learned a new respect for mother birds! That boy can eat!
His left leg is still kind of wonky, for lack of a better term. At about half of his feedings, I pick him up and try to gently massage that leg. He lets me do it, altho the older he gets the less he likes being picked up. He flaps around his enclosure like crazy, and manages to lift off sometimes.
Now I'm wondering how long before I should let him go? He's still being hand fed, altho he will peck at what I'm offering sometimes.
I received so many suggestions about feeding him cat food. He absolutely refused to eat 3 different kinds of dry food; I can fool him sometimes into thinking shredded moist food is actually a worm.
All in all, he's really doing well--except for that leg.

We had a baby Blue Jay simular to this story. One thing we found that worked great, although sad, is scrambled eggs. The baby ate that right up! Worms also work but eggs are so much easier to come by.