Why shouldn’t I raise a baby bird on my own, even for a few days?
Even a few days (24–72 hours) of care at home can significantly reduce a wild bird’s chances of survival. Baby birds require species-specific diets, frequent feeding, proper housing, and specialized medical care. Feeding the wrong food—or even the right food incorrectly—can cause dehydration, malnutrition, aspiration, and permanent developmental problems.
Many well-meaning people try to raise baby birds themselves, believing they are helping. However, young birds are also learning critical survival skills during this time. Being handled or raised by people can lead to stress, habituation, or imprinting, making it difficult for them to recognize their own species, avoid predators, and survive in the wild.
Just as you would take a sick pet to a veterinarian, injured and orphaned wild birds should be taken to a licensed wildlife rehabilitation centre. Birds often hide signs of illness or injury, and what appears to be a healthy bird may have fractures, internal injuries, or other conditions requiring immediate treatment.
Le Nichoir’s trained wildlife rehabilitation team provides the specialized nutrition, medical care, and species-specific rehabilitation these birds need. If you find a baby bird that may need help, contact Le Nichoir as soon as possible. The sooner a bird receives professional care, the greater its chance of being successfully returned to the wild.
I raised a baby wild bird and released it. The wild bird is friendly and keeps coming back to me.
It is common for wild birds hand-raised by the public to be friendly because they have not had socialization with other wild birds. Also, people often don’t treat birds like they are wild animals and touch, speak to and socialize them. In order to survive in the wild, wildlife must be wild. We know that friendly wild birds do not survive in the wild. They struggle to find food, shelter and often approach humans when they need help. This is not normal behaviour for a wild animal.
Le Nichoir is a strong believer of “keeping the wild in wildlife”. Le Nichoir’s team takes many precautions to ensure that birds do not become friendly under our care.
It is critical that you do not attempt to raise a wild bird on your own, and that you bring it to Le Nichoir as soon as possible if it requires care. If you have raised a friendly wild bird please contact Le Nichoir. There are no guarantees that the bird will integrate with other wild birds but different methods will be used to encourage the bird to become less friendly.