American Kestral Found!

[Solstice]

Hello, this is my first time here, and I was wondering if someone might have some advice for me.

My husband found an American Kestral nest in a garage door opener which had 3 babies in it. The door was being repaired, so he took one of the babies home and is trying to tame it. Had he of left it there, it would have died because the door was being repaired. Is it illegal to keep this bird?

We've had the bird for a couple of weeks now and have been feeding him hamburger meat. He has grown a significant amount and all his feathers have become more defined. At the moment he is teaching himself how to fly.

However, the other day, I noticed that both the cat and the dog have fleas. I am convinced that it's from the new bird, but my husband says that birds do not carry fleas. I have tried looking on the internet but have found conflicting answers.

I appreciate your help.

Melissa
Ontario, Canada

[Desert Arabian]

Hello!

I am not sure about Canada, but here in the United States, it is extremely illegal to own birds of prey. Some people do own falcons for hunting, but they have a special permit which is hard to obtain. I am sure it is illegal to own them in Canada too. If you get caught (here in the US) with a bird of prey with no permit, you are in huge trouble. Fines range from $500-$50,000 depending on the bird, laws broken, etc. and you may spend any where from 2-10 years in jail.

My advice to you would be to call the DNR (Department of Natural Resources- if you have one, or any wildlife service. Tell them the situation, and they can give you some good advice, and possibly re-locate them to a more proper area.

My only concern is that since you guys have been having this bird in your care (most likely illegally), and it is getting used to humans, and isn't learning proper strategies for living on its own, this bird may never be released back to where it belongs- in the wild.

Also, if there were orginally 3 kestrels in the nest, and they were supposedly to die if left in the nest because of the door being repaired, why did your husband only take one kestrel??

[luckies4me]

Originally posted by YellowLabLover


Also, if there were orginally 3 kestrels in the nest, and they were supposedly to die if left in the nest because of the door being repaired, why did your husband only take one kestrel??

I was wondering the same thing...........

[Solstice]

The others were taken by one of his co-workers. He took the nest as well and said that he was going to raise them in his barn.

Melissa

[Desert Arabian]

Alright, that's it, I'm raging mad.........watch out......steer clear....

WHY CAN'T PEOPLE LEAVE WILD ANIMALS ALONE?

If I kept every single wild animal I have stumbled upon I would have more animals than the world's largest zoo.

This bird belongs in the wild, not it someone's home.

The birds would not have died because the door was being repaired. Doors don't keep wild baby animals safe, the parents and their instincts do. Now, when the parents come back, they won't have anything to come back to.

Did your husband even stop and think about this birds needs, not just his? What if this bird gets sick? What if his bird has some weird disease or parisites you don't know about? How do you expect to cage this bird without it going insane, since it is suposed to be WILD...and FREE?? What are you going to do with it when you can no longer provide for this bird? Don't you dare set it free, only to have it die in a day. How are you doing to get it it's proper food?

Why the heck is it being fed hamburger? Do kestrels eat cows? No, they eat mice, voles, moles, insects, and other small critters. You are throwing it off its feeding "path", and it is most likely not getting the proper nutrition it needs. {Please don't say we were feeding it hamburger because we didn't know what it eats: if that' IS the case, then why do you have this animal if you can't provide for it??}

This is why there are so many threatened, endangered, and extinct animals. It's because of humans doing stupid things such as over hunting them, trying to keep them as pets, killing off their habitat, etc.

I am so mad, I can't even breathe. I am going to do some extensive research and contact the DNR to find out if it is illegal to own a kestrel in Canada...if it is illegal I will be even more mad.


.....next time I go to the ocean, and find a beached whale, and I going to bring it home with me, and put it in my bath tub.

[Aspen and Misty]

Originally posted by YellowLabLover

.....next time I go to the ocean, and find a beached whale, and I going to bring it home with me, and put it in my bath tub. [/B]

My friend once brought home a dolphine and kept it in her pool, it's the neatest thing

Originally posted by Solstice
The others were taken by one of his co-workers. He took the nest as well and said that he was going to raise them in his barn.

Melissa

Then why didn't he take the baby you have also? This baby could also be free in the barn. Besides all that the babies in the barn will probly be to tame to make it out in the wild and they will be killed.

Ash

[Sam's My Baby]

I agree with YellowLabLover...those kind of animals are not meant to be in captivity..and you taking it in will eventually lead to its death because it is not getting the proper care.

[Twisterdog]

I agree. People taking baby animals from the wild almost always ends up in the death of the animal. Wild animals should not be pets. They should be rehabbed by a licensed and experienced rehabber and released, if at all possible.

You are in SERIOUS trouble if Canada's laws are similar to the US laws concerning birds of prey. I would advise you to take this bird to a licensed avian rehabber NOW.

And, by the way, feeding a bird of prey hamburger meat is one of the surest and quickest ways to assure it's ulitmate death. Hamburger meat is not even CLOSE to the natural diet of a bird of prey. Rehabbers chop up whole frozen rats to feed to their bird of prey. They MUST have the bones, teeth, fur, etc. for their digestive systems to function properly, not to mention the contents of the rodents' stomachs.

If you don't know what you are doing, and you obviously don't have a clue, PLEASE get this bird to a licensed avian rehabber ASAP, before you either kill it or someone turns you in ... or both.

[Crikit]

As far as I can remember it IS illegeal to keep any wild animals with out a license. That would be why it's always advised to contact your local animal services or if your in a national park the park warden if you find any abandoned or injured wild animals so that they can relocate them or get them in to the proper care facility.

I know for a fact that in Calgary that if baby animals are found abandoned the animal services either places them with the zoo's wildlife rehab center for care until they are old enough to be released or they place them in one of the other wildlife rehab centers until they can be released or if it turns out they have an injury that prevents them from ever being in the wild all the rehab places keep them in habitats that resemble their natural ones as much as possible and allow the animals to live a basiclly wild live but in the safety of the center.

In other words, you and your husband should get on the phone, phone the animals services in your area and tell them whats going on. I know you were just trying to help but removing an animal from it's habitat especially when it's still young can actually in the long run end up harming it rather then helping.

[CathyBogart]

*EXPLODES* I'm keeping my big yap shut.

[Amber]

Solstice,

you cannot keep a WILD im gonna repeat that again WILD bird INSIDE your home!!!! It's WRONGE!!