Although the exact timeline and the foods you’ll offer will depend on the species of the bird, the general process of weaning is much the same no matter what type of bird you have. For example, if the bird is an insectivore that you have been feeding catfood, start offering live mealworms and crickets. 4 Answers. Does it eat fruit? Research the foods that are appropriate for the bird’s species. The following protocol is for songbirds, shorebirds and pigeons and doves. Feed wet puppy food (pate canned) and later add tiny crickets into the food. 6 answers. If you have not seen the bird for a few days, you can assume it has successfully made the transition to wild.Some birds are precocial, meaning they know how to eat on their own immediately after hatching. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.Smaller birds may only take a few weeks to wean, while it’s a longer process for larger birds.

Get a custom drawing of your pet, in wikiHow style!We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. This means you open the cage door. Wild birds do much better on their own and many times baby birds will die when caged. I have a pet baby golden finch and he just got all his feathers." In this case, the parents or wildlife rehabilitator simply needs to provide the correct food. Ducks and quail are examples of precocial birds.Not all baby birds "beg" for food. Also, no worms, as they are not good for baby birds! This may require you to collect edible wild berries, hunt wild bugs and fish in local waters.When the bird is self-feeding and no longer "begging" for food, you may perform a "soft release." At this point, the bird should be eating a diet as close as possible to what it will find to eat in the wild. You can use a syringe to slowly insert the food into the bird's mouth. A lack of begging alone does not necessarily indicate that the bird is not hungry or is eating on its own. Meal worms have a hard shell, hard on the birds digestion! HELP! For example, the diet of a baby dove will consist of a grain-based formula such as Kaytee Exact, but a baby grackle requires a mash high in protein. The exception to this would be semi-precocial species such as gulls, terns and songbirds. Make sure you are using the right food. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/3\/3b\/Wean-a-Wild-Baby-Bird-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Wean-a-Wild-Baby-Bird-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/3\/3b\/Wean-a-Wild-Baby-Bird-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/aid3064260-v4-728px-Wean-a-Wild-Baby-Bird-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"