I could not take him to work, and thanks to Denise at Classic Pets in Warren, the wee little guy is still hanging in there. She is very experienced, caring for dozens of birds, and raising babies. But, she had never been in possession of baby bird no more than 24 hours old. His eyes hadn't opened when I found him. You can see now, that they are opening.
Like with me, Denise noted that he was extremely active first thing in the morning, demanding food, with neck stretched and beak opened. But, after that feeding, he needs coaxing again. She explained that food does not go directly to a birds stomach, but in a place called the "crop". It is stored there then slowly emptied into the stomach. She watches for it to fill, saying he takes two full syringes, then she waits for it to empty before feeding him again. She also said temperature has everything to do with how fast the crop empties. The higher the temp, the faster it empties. He's being kept at around 85F.
Denise says she'll try to send me pictures and provided I don't hear from her otherwise, our little guy is still progressing. Only God knows if there was damage done in that fall. If not, he should be fully feathered in a week, and take flight in another 17 days! If he makes it that far, I'll tell you how he will be integrated back into the wild.
His leg looks a little awkward in the picture, but I can assure you it is in normal shape. He kicks those legs and flaps his wings. She said he is picking his head up more.
Sparrow Post 1
Sparrow Post 2
