Everybody's Journal

[Sephiroth X]

can we throw a little green day in there too?

[The Waffle King]

May 28, 2009 11:22:10 GMT -5 Sephiroth X said:

damn straight we do. each button on the register plays a different Linkin Park song too! we're wisconsin, motherfuckers!

i believe we may also be on a boat.

[remixedcat]

Fallout boy's vocals are sickening. they literally make me sick. sounds like a dog being chopped up by a chainsaw.

[ZaCloud]

Oh man... Earlier I saw something on the porch, thought it was a weird leaf or something. Couple hours later, I went out to let a cricket outside (while wearing gloves of course), and saw that the weird thing was... a baby bird. Pink, with not even down let alone feathers, its eyes still closed.

I immediately looked to see where its nest could be... The only nearest one at the edge of my porch under an overhang had no visible entry. It might be a pocket type nest with the entry in the back, or at the top far back. But either way I can't reach it without a proper ladder.

But the thing is, he couldn't have fallen from there. He was ON my porch, and the nest is a good three feet away from the edge. And he absolutely couldn't have climbed up. So either a gust of wind just happened to blow him out, or he got kicked out, or something tried to snatch him then dropped him... I have no idea.

Meanwhile, here he was, absolutely cold from being on the rain-covered concrete porch all that time. It was hard to warm him up since you guys know I fail at body-heat. It was hard to try and feed him with no medicine-dropper or tweezers or anything. I immediately caught a couple moths and managed to shove them down his throat mixed with my spit (to aid in digestion, in case his digestive tract wasn't ready for solids, such as when parents vomit the food).

I looked up tips and stuff, saw that sugar water would help as an emergency booster since it'd give him energy, keep him out of low-glucose shock and re-hydrate him. I had nothing to give it to him with, but then saw some of my lollipops had those hollow plastic sticks.

So for the first time in my life, quickly eating a lollipop was a matter of life and death.

I did my best to administer, but got some of it down his windpipe from too much coming out at once. He had a hard time breathing for quite a while. I sat there blowing into his opening/closing mouth once in a while to try and dry out his airways. He responded by trying to stick his head as far into my mouth as possible.

I tried chewing up some turkey and giving it to him, but it was difficult to get the pieces small enough to fit down his minuscule throat. This guy's tiny, two inches or so long, so even his big mouth isn't very big, and flat chunks are hard for him to swallow.

So I drove down to Mooly Mart and browsed their baby-food section, trying to be quick cuz the trip itself put him overdue for his next feeding (most baby birds need fed every half-hour). I got some apple-oatmeal, some chicken-and-vegetable puree, and some beef paste (since it had way more nutrients than the chicken, and will be less cannibalistic). All three balanced out in vitamin and nutrition content. So I'll give each of these to him in turn and see how that works out.

I don't know if he's a bug-eating or grain-eating species, and if he should get flying or ground bugs. It makes a big difference; when I was younger we tried to help some baby chimney-swifts, giving them worms, and they died within a day. We later found out they only eat flying insects. The dirt in the worms' stomachs was too much for their delicate systems.

So I figure a balance of grains, veggies, and meat will be the safest bet. I also got a medicine dropper. I never thought I'd need one, yet I so often find myself needing one. So now I have one. Everyone should get one!

Anyway... He's breathing better now that I've returned, he's pooped four times since I found him around three hours ago, and he's getting some energy and moving around and making noises. All good signs. I have him on top of my fridge in the kitchen, right under the light bulb (I guess thank goodness this time around that I didn't get an energy-saver bulb in there). This is the only way I can think of to keep him warm. That, and he's wrapped up in my old tattered fox tail (before I got the black one) to give him something soft to snuggle into and give him extra protection from drafts.

This will be a long night... If he survives it though, I'll check into attempting to return him to his nest, or see if I can get a hand from any wildlife rescues. Otherwise, supposing he keeps living, I'll have to take him with me when I go to work... but I'm getting ahead of myself. ^_^;;

Oh, and looking at one of his recent poops just now, looks like he'd recently been fed a Japanese beetle... That's a good clue for his diet. He's got a tough stomach after all since he clearly digested it fine. Well, I'll stick with the baby food for now since it's simple. If he doesn't thrive on it then I'll catch beetles and grasshoppers, things of that nature. We'll seeeee.....

His odds aren't very good as it is, but as long as he's willing to keep fighting, I'm willing to keep trying to help.

[remixedcat]

Wow thats cute. Hope the bird does ok. still up for going out tomorrow though?

[ZaCloud]

I'm not too sure, sis. I didn't sleep a wink, and will only be able to take small naps here and there between feeding this guy, so I'll be dead-tired all day.

And if I were to take him along, we'd have to have sources of heat at all times without a draft or being too dry. It's still touch-and-go with him. He has no fuzz, no fat, and almost not even any muscle to keep him protected. 90% of baby birds in his situation die. If he's to have a chance, I'll have to keep constant watch.

Unless you have ways to keep up with this, it'll have to wait until he's more stable.

[remixedcat]

I think it would be best for the bird. a life is more important. i would expect that from one of us. I feel bad for it. I feel sorry for anything small in this cruel world. so stay with the birdie. Hope he gets healthy and better. Poor bird.

[ZaCloud]

So far so good, he survived me sleeping for five hours (Well, he needed sleep too after all he'd been through).

TMI WARNING. He got some of his poop stuck on the outside though, so I had to clean him off and make sure he won't be plugged up. (It was runny from the sugar-water). The nice thing about him being pretty much transparent, is I can see which food is cycling through at which time, whether or not it's breaking down properly, and how close he is to pooping. I can also see when he's full, and can see that none of his bones are broken. END TMI

Mostly gonna be giving him the oatmeal and meat; they have more firm of textures, so won't give him as runny of poop. The chicken-veggies are too runny; the cheapos added way too much water. If they're gonna charge more for organic, they shouldn't skimp on its quality like that.

Nutrient levels on the ingredients I was keeping my eyes on:

BEEF PASTE (Gerber)
Potassium 135mg
Protein 8g (49% DV)
Iron: 6% DV
Zinc: 40% DV

OATMEAL CEREAL w/APPLES & CINNAMON (Nature's Goodness)
Fiber: 3g
Sugars: 17g
Vitamin C: 45%
Iron: 60%
Thiamine (vit B1): 140%
Riboflavin (vit B2): 140%
Niacin: 140%

CHICKEN WITH COUNTRY VEG & RICE (Gerber Organic)
Sugars: 3g
Potassium: 110mg
Vitamin A: 110%
Zinc: 8%

Did the best I could in a hurry, with trying to balance his nutrients as much as possible with three foods. Vitamin A will be important for his eyes to develop properly, among many other things, so I'll include the watery third one as a booster and rehydrator, while the first two will be his primary meals.

No sign of entry for the nearest nest... I don't understand how it works. It's like a solid ball of nesting material with no way in or out... There must be a hole somewhere, but I can't find it without disrupting it, which I of course can't do... So for now until I figure something out, I'm stuck with the little guy. Goodbye summer vacation, hello parenting (again). ^_^;;

[remixedcat]

wow. hope the little guy does great! He does need a nest.

[remixedcat]

here's my little journal snippet:

I am in closed beta testing for a game. I will try to talk about it here without breaking my stupid NDA.

I bascially have came to the conclusion that it is not worth it. It has an "MMO PO" feature and it is not all its cracked up to be. This game has alot of fail so far. (curse this damn NDA)

Anther subject.... it IS TOO HOT in this house....

another one:I am thirsty.

[ZaCloud]

Well, I got off the phone with a wildlife rehabilitator. She says it sounds like he's a baby house sparrow. (I've named him Kumo, btw, Japanese for "cloud" :3 )

She said I could rough up the nest a bit to find the entry-way, which should be on the top. I tried, but as far in as I could reach which was a good five or six inches, I still can't find an indentation! @_@ How many layers have they added to the darn thing? Blargh!

Mom said that, even though Kumo would need warmth, it'd be too hot for him in the car while working Monday, so I'll have to take him over for her to feed for the day. Then when I'm done, I'll bring him back to my place and borrow a ladder from them, so I can try getting up deeper into the nest.

I've GOT to find out if he can be returned to his parents or not. At least the lady confirmed that I'm doing everything right in taking care of him, but I know that he'd be best off with his family. I can't get him there yet, but as soon as I have the tool for it, I'll renew my effort to make that happen.

(And I'll have to be careful doing so... there is a small wasp colony right next to that nest, and they all sat and watched me the whole time, lol)

[remixedcat]

Good since you know what kinda bird it is you can more properly take care of it. Hope the little guy does pull through.

[ZaCloud]

*sigh* Little guy didn't make it...

His breathing was getting bad again; he probably had pneumonia. I just wanted to buy him enough time to get him back into his nest but it was one more day before it could have happened... I tried so hard but he's gone...

I was braced for it last night and yeah, woke up and... doesn't make it easy to accept though... RIP, Kumo-chan...

[remixedcat]

Poor thing. I'll call you

[ZaCloud]

We laid Kumo to rest near a nature trail in the peaceful forest where my sis n I have forged good memories...

Couple days later, a dog I knew and loved died (his owner can choose whether he mentions it or not...).

And now, the day after I found out, my family's dog Ebony died. We were expecting old Lucky to go first, him being so arthritic and weak and nearly blind and deaf with a plethora of health problems... But no, it was Ebony, suddenly in her sleep. Her breast tumor probably ruptured...

My younger brother and his friend buried her while me n Mom were visiting Dad in the hospital, where he keeps relapsing with his swelling problem, probably due to the medicine they keep giving him in the first place...

Life, seriously, lay off. Just for a little while. Give me a little time to breathe before something else goes wrong.