Raising a blue jay

kcult

kcult

Wish you were closer
Charter Member
Supporting Member
Multi-Factor Enabled
Joined
Dec 17, 2016
Messages
20,190
Location
ChesCo SC
Rating - 100%
54   0   0
This fella fell out the nest yesterday. It's not from a tree I cut down in my other thread. I reckon he farted around and just fell out. Regardless, I'm trying to keep him above ground and out of a cat's stomach. It's doing well.

Instead of naming him Birdie Sanders, after that socialist prick, I've decided to name him Crow Biden. No, he's not a crow, nor a 2020 presidential candidate, but this guy has touched me like no other bird.

20200514_192055.jpg
 
Mike V said:
Had something similar last year. People at Birds Unlimited gave me guidance. Put him back in the nest. He'll do fine. Mother abandoning if touched is an old wives tale.
Click to expand...

My wife asked about putting it back. I challenged her to find the nest.

I'll give you a hint. It's somewhere in here...

20200515_193659.jpg
 
I bet ma be throwin a fit around the nest area about daylight if you take the lil feller out there and get him to cheepin a little. Also for them to imprint on you if you can't find the nest I am pretty sure you have to chew up worms and spit them into his mouth.
 
A lot of times baby birds are kicked out of the nest by the mother. There is something wrong with them and the mother knows they won’t make it.

We tried to raise a few babies we found growing up and it never worked out. You might get lucky but don’t be surprised if it dies for no apparent reason.
 
Chdamn said:
A lot of times baby birds are kicked out of the nest by the mother. There is something wrong with them and the mother knows they won’t make it.

We tried to raise a few babies we found growing up and it never worked out. You might get lucky but don’t be surprised if it dies for no apparent reason.
Click to expand...
You didn’t lick their butts to make them poop
 
Mike V said:
Mother abandoning if touched is an old wives tale.
Click to expand...

Yep, I think we've all heard this one, but had a professor tell me there is a grain of truth to the tale. While birds have no sense of smell and won't be bothered by a human handling their baby, many types of snakes, rodents, and other varmints actively follow human scents knowing food will be in their wake.
 
premise said:
Fun fact - if you need to simulate a momma pet licking its baby's butthole, you can simply massage the area with an olive oil covered finger. Gloves optional (and pricey as of late).
Click to expand...
I read that as stimulate. I was like, that’s a weird threesome, but ok
 
Chdamn said:
A lot of times baby birds are kicked out of the nest by the mother. There is something wrong with them and the mother knows they won’t make it.

We tried to raise a few babies we found growing up and it never worked out. You might get lucky but don’t be surprised if it dies for no apparent reason.
Click to expand...

I've already assumed it's doomed. Low expectations is what I do best.
 
premise said:
Fun fact - if you need to simulate a momma pet licking its baby's butthole, you can simply massage the area with an olive oil covered finger. Gloves optional (and pricey as of late).
Click to expand...

When we were raising a deer, we used a wet wipe on its heiney while it drank from a bottle.

No wiping action, but this guy...

109193.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Dude...

Blue Jays are arseholes...

It's cool what your trying to do.

Jays are notorious for running off a newly nested mother of other species, kicking out those eggs and laying their own.

Leaving the og momma to raise their bastard children as their own.

Some momma species realized that baby wasn't hers and went full "This is Sparta" on it.
 
kcult said:
When we were raising a deer, we used a wet wipe on its heiney while it drank from a bottle.

No wiping action, but this guy...

View attachment 213671
Click to expand...

You got a soft spot for the animals, huh? Me too. I've even played doctor for snakes and toads.
 
Trevillian said:
Dude...

Blue Jays are arseholes...

It's cool what your trying to do.

Jays are notorious for running off a newly nested mother of other species, kicking out those eggs and laying their own.

Leaving the og momma to raise their bastard children as their own.

Some momma species realized that baby wasn't hers and went full "This is Sparta" on it.
Click to expand...

Interesting.

My wife said there were three Jays raising hell around the trees that day.

Should I squash it so it don't grow up to be a cunt?
 
Trevillian said:
Dude...

Blue Jays are arseholes...

It's cool what your trying to do.

Jays are notorious for running off a newly nested mother of other species, kicking out those eggs and laying their own.

Leaving the og momma to raise their bastard children as their own.

Some momma species realized that baby wasn't hers and went full "This is Sparta" on it.
Click to expand...


That's cowbirds. Jays will run a bird off a nest and use it as its own, but they don't practice brood parasitism.
 
premise said:
You got a soft spot for the animals, huh? Me too. I've even played doctor for snakes and toads.
Click to expand...

I don't particularly care, one way or the other, but if this type of situation presents itself, I want to give them a fighting chance at life.

Life is short enough, already.
 
kcult said:
Interesting.

My wife said there were three Jays raising hell around the trees that day.

Should I squash it so it don't grow up to be a cunt?
Click to expand...


Bruh.... Babies be babies. They deserve love and care always. But. They all grow up to be cunts.

Just saying this one was born into it unfortunately lol
 
kcult said:
Interesting.

My wife said there were three Jays raising hell around the trees that day.

Should I squash it so it don't grow up to be a cunt?
Click to expand...

Jaybirds probably save more birds than they hurt; if you keep feeders, they are the hawk first alert program.
 
Had a sparrow nest in our rose magnolia tree by our driveway this year.

It had three eggs of which two hatched.

IMG_20200503_191508_1.jpg

About a week ago we were outside working on the chicken coop when my 7 year old told me the baby birds fell from the nest.

I managed to out both back in the nest, twice. One stayed in the tree on a branch by the nest the second time. The other would NOT stay in the nest and kept dropping/gliding to the ground. Mom was screeching at us from the top of the tree the whole time.

After a bit of thought and research I put the second baby under the tree and wished him the best. Next morning both babies and the mom were gone. I walked around the property a bit that morning looking at poison ivy I needed to continue spraying and what do I find? Mom, dad, and both babies.

IMG_20200506_081826.jpg

Managed to snap a pic of one of them before he flew off again (sorta flew, he hadn't quite mastered it.)

I hope you're able to raise it.

In other bird news....

We hatched our first chick in an incubator this week. This little Silkie started hatching Tuesday evening and got a bit stuck. By Wednesday we had to help it out of the shell. It was a bit harrowing as you can do more harm than good if you're not careful but all went well and we have our first Silkie chick...

Wednesday night
IMG_20200513_205342.jpg

Today.

IMG_20200514_212920.jpg

She has truly imprinted on my wife and wants to be held. Pisses her off to go back in the brooder.
 
premise said:
You didn't have the photo before. He's cute. You end up turning him loose?
Click to expand...

We kept him for a month. He even slept in our bed. We dropped him off at a friend's that ran a wildlife management property, while we went on vacation. We knew we couldn't keep him in this neighborhood, so we asked him if he would keep him. He said yes.

After a few months, he escaped his pen, but the wife saw him while she was hunting. She climbed down from her stand and called to him. He came up, she petted him, and he walked away.

Unfortunately, he was hit by a car a couple months later and died in their driveway.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom