Diet for Baby Birds

Not all baby birds thrive on same diet. Baby songbirds eat mostly insects, which the parents bring to the nest. Pigeons and doves eat regurgitated grains and seeds mixed with "crop milk," a substance produced within the parents' bodies. Baby raptors eat meat brought to them by their parents. When wildlife rehabilitators or zookeepers need to hand-feed a baby bird, they first determine what and how the baby bird eats in the wild.

Songbirds

According to the NWRA (National Wildlife Rehabilitator's Association), baby songbirds must be fed every 15 minutes to half an hour from morning until night. Songbirds need a diet rich in protein. A mixture of dry dog or cat food soaked in water in the refrigerator makes the base of the baby songbird diet, mixed with crickets and mealworms. Scrambled egg, berries, grapes and seeds complete the diet. The texture of the mash depends on the age of the babies. Hatchlings (fuzzy babies with eyes closed) need food of a more liquid texture, while fledglings (feathered birds moving around on their own) eat hearty bites.

Pigeons and Doves

Pigeons and doves thrive on a grain-based baby bird diet, such as those designed for hand-raising baby parrots, which simply require adding hot water (between 95 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit). Adding more water makes the consistency of the food thinner for hatchlings and small nestlings, and less water makes it thicker for older nestlings and fledglings. Pigeons and doves have a "crop," a pouch beneath the neck in which they store food. Wildlife rehabilitators tube the food directly into the crop two to three times daily, allowing the crop to empty fully before refeeding.

Raptors

Raptor rehabilitators Jim Parks and Julie Collier feed baby hawks, falcons and eagles minced mice warmed in the microwave. Other possible foods include chicks and rats. Raptors need to eat bones and fur as well as meat to keep their digestive systems working properly. Rehabilitators feed the birds using a sock puppet so the birds do not imprint upon humans.

Seabirds

Seabirds eat fish, crustaceans and other marine life. The Key West Wildlife Center feeds its baby terns moist, thinly cut strips of fish every half hour from morning until night. When the babies are older, they eat small minnows.

Fowl

Chickens, ducks, quails and other "fowl" are precocial, meaning they eat on their own, so their human caregivers simply provide the correct food. Commercial feed exists for most of these birds in the form of a "scratch," pellet or kibble.