For most newborn baby birds, falling out of their mother's nest is a fatal fate. But one lucky little birdie got a second shot at life when she was discovered on the sidewalk by a veterinarian and his brother, who spotted her during a jog.
The baby bird was freshly hatched, and the vet and his brother were unable to locate her nest; when you find a baby bird this young, it is important to put them back into their mother's nest.
A common misconception is that the mother will reject her baby if she smells human on them, which is simply untrue. However, the person who shared this story stresses that you should not try hand-raising a baby bird at home yourself, and instead look for a local wildlife rehabilitation organization for help.
Over the course of 36 days, this little bird named Dumpling underwent some remarkable changes as she was nursed back to health by her new veterinarian handler and his brother!
Please SHARE this amazing story of Dumpling's journey with all of your friends and family!
Dumpling the songbird was found hungry and featherless after having fallen from her mother's nest.
Her new human friends kept her in an incubator with carefully controlled temperature and humidity, and hand fed her a smorgasbord of crickets, worms, insects, and liquid food for baby birds.
By the fourth day, Dumpling had started to develop her feathers, and was squawking to be fed every 30-45 minutes.
By the first week, Dumpling had shed her feather sheath and had a full body of feathers!
By day nine, her new friends had stopped using the incubator, as she was able to regulate her own body temperature with her brand new set of feathers.
She was moved into a conventional bird cage and given plenty of things to play with and room to explore.
By the 12th day, Dumpling was perching on her human friends' hands and eating worms every 1-2 hours.
By day 17, Dumpling had "graduated" to a bigger cage with more things to perch on.
By the 22nd day, Dumpling's cage was placed outside so that she could begin to acclimate to her natural environment, as well as other birds.
Dumpling's handlers decided that she was probably either a White Crowned Sparrow or Chipping Sparrow, and hoped to get her ready in time for her species's migration pattern.
By the 27th day, Dumpling was eating completely on her own and no longer interested in crickets, preferring seeds and worms.
By the 33rd day, Dumpling was releasable back into the wild, but her handlers waited a bit longer due to incoming storms on the horizon.
On the 36th day, Dumpling was successfully released back into the wild. Her handlers drove her to a nearby nature preserve about a mile from where they found her and released her near where there would be plenty of other birds of her kind.
Dumpling took to her new environment with ease, hopping from branch to branch with pleasure. Her handlers stress that you should not attempt to hand-raise a baby bird unless you are a trained professional.
It's amazing to see how far she came knowing where she started. Dumpling got a new chance at life thanks to some very special people!
Please SHARE Dumpling's beautiful story with everyone you know!