Baby Hawk

[Genny]

I wasn't sure where to really post this, but I thought 'General' might be ok;)
Here is what happened--my mom's friend called her last Wednesday (about 6 days ago now) and told her that there was a baby bird out in her back yard and it had been there and had not left for 3 days. We've raised a lot of baby animals that have been wild so I guess that's why she called my mom. My mom went to check it out and it was a baby hawk. It was so thirsty that its tongue was stuck to the upper part of its mouth. She gave it a little drip of water off of her hand and brought it home. The mother was nowhere in sight and from what her friend said it had been there for days. So she was afraid it would die if she just left it.
We've had him now for 6 days and we're calling him Hector until we can figure out what to do. We've been feeding him this baby bird feed stuff....you mix it up with warm water. It is what we fed our tiels and conure when they were babies. He has been eating on his own--we feed him ofcourse with a little dropper but he is always ready to eat. We feed him 6 times a day right now.
I don't know if his wing is broken or what. I don't know why he was all alone--I wonder if his mother was killed--or what?
We also give him mashed up catfood. I read online that was good for them. He likes it.
My mom has called a WildLife place in B'ham a couple of hours from us. But we got no answer. I'm sure she'll call them back later. He is very sweet and not afraid at all. He lets us hold him. At night he sleeps in Ivory's old cage. (Ivory is our cockatoo) We put some hay in it for him and he'll snuggle up so tight that you can't tell where his head starts :)
Is there anything else we should be doing right now? Has anyone ever found a hawk/raised one? Anyone that's had any experience with one we'd love to hear about it.
Thanks!
Genny

[Twisterdog]

I would imagine the diet of a baby hawk is almost exclusively meat. I would be cautious about feeding him the baby bird formula for tiels and conures, as they are not carnivores, like hawks. I'd stick with cat food and soaked dry dog food, until you can get him to a rehabber.

[Laura's Babies]

Awww! This is SO sweet! Call a vet or something and find out what to feed it.. Remember, this is PT and we LOVE pictures.... so how about some pictures of Hector? LOVE his name!

[Catherinedana]

PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT FEED HIM BABY BIRD FORMULA!!! That is for seed eaters exclusively and you can do great damage to him and he will not develop properly.

I have worked at a wild bird rehab for almost 15 years and speak from experience, so I'm not talking out of turn when I say this.

1. It is illegal to keep him unless you have a falconers license and the longer you have him, the more trouble you could get into regarding fines. YOU MUST GET HIM TO A WILDLIFE REHAB CENTER!!

2. He must eat meat exclusively or he will not develop properly. He must be handled properly so that he will not become acclimated to humans and thus unreleasable. That sometimes means euthanasia if there is nowhere for him to go.

If you want advice and perhaps some long-distance assistance, call the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary here in Florida 727-391-6211. They may be able to help you find a wildlife rehab center in your area as well.

Wishing you and the baby the best. . .
Cathy

[BitsyNaceyDog]

Aww! Yes, we need pictures!

Like Twisterdog, I'd stick with either soaked dog or cat food. I've raised several birds on that. Some birds do well on the bird formula, some don't.

I know you called a Wildlife rescue, but what about the Audubon Society (http://www.audubon.org/)? That would likely be the best place for a bird of prey to go.

[kokopup]

I would just go ahead and take it to the Oak Mt Wildlife Rescue. I know there is someone there to receive the hawk. They have a lot of experience with birds. The reason they are not answering is because they are probably busy caring for animals that have been brought in. I took them a baby turkey myself.

[Genny]

Hey everyone!

Laura'sBabies and Kblaix, We made some pics so I'll send them as soon as I can ;)

Catherinedane, my mom has been on the phone all day about Hector. She called 'Noccalula Falls' that's a place like 20 minutes from us and they have a lion and a couple other wild animals--like deer and stuff--I haven't been there in a while so I'm not sure what all they have now. The lady in charge of the animals said she would love to take the baby hawk there but they don't have a license to own one.

We thought about the B'ham Zoo, but I told my mom I think that the Oak Mountain Rescue seems like the best place. So we are going to try calling them back again.

Oh, and since the baby bird formula is bad then what kind of 'meat' should I be feeding him?? raw????? cooked????? and like what kind of meat??? PLEASE let me know because we will have to feed him until we get him to a place that can care for him. The reason we didn't feed him meat is because I read online where if you feed them that they can't digest it properly....so..???

Thanks so much everyone!:)

[Alysser]

Having been an avid bird watcher for 6 years or so now, I know quite a bit about the habits of wild hawks and I hope I can help you a bit. First of all, do you know what kind of hawk it is? I know it will be rather hard for you to be sure as it's a baby and it probably just has down as of now but that would help a bit. Ospreys and Eagles eat a variety of meat including squrriels, woodchucks, smaller birds, and fish. Which of course, I realize you probably don't have access to that type of meat lol. Other hawks generally eat the same thing. Parents feed their babies chewed-up meat. The chew it themselves before they feed it to their babies and feed it straight their mouths. Of course, I don't reccomend this method either because human saliva is posionus to birds(I believe) and that's just really, really gross. :o I don't really know if beef or chicken would be okay, I'm sure it would, but if you try it make sure you grind it up very well first in some sort of way.

Sorry if I'm not really a help, I try but I've never taken on the task of feeding a wild hawk baby or anything. This is just stuff I know off the top of my head.

[Alysser]

I found some links that may be helpful to you:

http://www.la-spca.org/education/others/wild_birds.htm#Raptor_

http://www.vinsweb.org/raptor-center/baby-birds.html

[Genny]

Hi Alysser,

Thanks a lot for your help. Would I need to cook it if I gave it any kind of meat? I know they don't eat 'cooked' meat in the wild but I've never had a hawk so I'm not quite sure :confused:
As far as the kind it is-I have no clue at all! I have looked at tons of web~sites about all kinds of hawks and looked over lots of pictures but I'm still not sure what kind he is. He kinda favors a Red-Tailed Hawk--but that's just what he looks like to me; I really have no idea what kind he is.
Thank-you for the links...I haven't looked at them yet but I'm fixing to. :)

[Alysser]

It's kind of hard to tell at the hatchling stage, unless he's a fledgling you probably won't find out till then. You can probably tell it he is a hawk, falcon, eagle, etc by the shape of his beak though. As far as cooking the meat, I don't suggest you take to my advice 100% because I am no expert on this type of thing, but if I were in your postion I would not cook the meat. They are fed raw for in the wild, and he has probably already been fed by his parents..so cooked meat may create problems for him in the future. If there's any hope of him going back in the wild he will have to know what raw meat tastes like.

Some pics of red-tailed hawk babies-
http://www.kgw.com/lifestyle/stories/L_IMAGE.112e2923733.93.88.fa.d0.2adfbeb0.jpg

[Genny]

Thanks for the pic, they are cute :love:
Hector looks a lot like them in color, but he looks a little older than them to me. Hector's face has a LOT of brownish feathers--he still has some baby fluffy hairs, but only on the back of his head and under his stomach a little. My mom is going to call the place in B'ham again tomorrow. I hope they answer. The woman she talked to at 'Noccalula Falls' today said that the WildLife place in B'ham should be able to come and get him and she also said sometimes they release them back into the wild in the same place they were found (but she said that's not definite that they'll do that, she had just heard they do sometimes) so anyway that would be cool if they did.

Well I'm gonna go...it's about time to feed him...now I'm not sure what to feed him though....I guess we'll go with the mashed up, soft catfood tonight.

[Catherinedana]

Hi Genny,

Raw chopped meat is a good start, but he needs other things in order for his bones, eyes and feathers to develop properly. Mice (cut up, bones and all), chicken (raw and chopped up, baby chicks chopped up bones and all even better) and, depending on what kind of bird he is, even raw fish (osprey and eagles eat lots of fish). The best bet would be to get him to the rehab center - they will have what he needs. And like I said previously, with all the handling and attention he is getting, he may become too tame.

Also, at some point, he will become dangerous, if only for the fact that his talons (claws) can pierce your skin very easily. At the Sanctuary where I volunteer, hawks are handled with strong leather gloves. I have been grabbed by hawks and it's not a pleasant experience!!

The rehab will be able to tell you what kind of hawk he is. If you have a pic, I might be able to as well.

Keep us posted. . .but try to get him to the rehab as soon as possible.

Cathy

[Genny]

Hi Cathy,

I just got home from work and my mom isn't here right now, but when she comes home I'll ask about if she talked to anyone today and let you know. I would send pics but we dn't have a scanner anymore (our old one is in storage:p) so I can't......:rolleyes:

[Genny]

HEY! Just wanted to let you all know that my mom called the B'ham Zoo today because we couldn't get anyone at the Oak Mountain Wildlife Rescue to answer. The lady at the zoo asked a ot of questions about him and said she would try to get in touch w/ the Oak Mountain place. About 20 min. later the Oak Mountain Rescue called and wanted to know where we were and everyhting. My mother gave them directions and they said they'd be here in about 30 minutes.
We said our good-byes to Hector which was hard (my mom cried :love::() but we are both glad he will be cared for. He will be at the Oak Mountain Wildlife Rescue. The guy that came and got him said that he will carry him to his house tonight and drive Hector there in the morning. He said he also wanted to go to my mom's friend's house and look around in the trees to see if any other babies might be there hurt or something. He said the baby bird formula we were feeding him wasn't what he needed but that it was better than nothing. He was very nice. He said that they would give us a call and let us know how he is doing and that they will bring him back where we found him to release him when he gets ready. He said that they would call and let us know so we could be there to watch.
I am just so glad that Hector is going to be ok :) I will miss him; he is so precious but I'm happy for him.
The man also had 3 baby kittens w/ him and they were only 3 wks. old. He's bottle feeding them because they don't have a mom--when they're ld enough he is going to call us and we are going to get one. They were cute :love:

Well I just wanted to tell you about Hector and let you know everything is ok. I know ya'll are probably wondering about him.
Thanks to you all for your help. ;)
Genny

[momcat]

Hi Genny,
Hector sure is one lucky little bird receiving such love, care, and concern from you and your Mom! Because of you, he's where he needs to be so he'll grow up to be free as he is meant to be.

Bless you and your Mom for caring enough to help!

[Catherinedana]

Genny,

Thanks for persisting and giving Hector the best care possible until he could go to the wildlife rehab. So many people would not have gotten involved. . . let us know when Hector is released. Maybe you could take pictures of the event and share the joy with us all!!!

Cathy