Last Updated on October 24, 2021 by Guillermina
Baby hummingbirds are so tiny and fragile. If you’ve ever found a baby hummer in need of rescue and you’re wondering how to feed a baby hummingbird, then this is it.
Baby hummers are so delicate that they may fall prey to various dangers such as harsh weather conditions, predators, and so on.
Even though the mother hummingbirds never abandon their broods while they are still young and growing, you may actually find a baby hummer that needs help. You may find a baby hummer that has probably been thrown off her mother’s nest by wind or other factors and need assistance.
So, you may begin to wonder how do you feed a baby hummingbird and take care of one? Well, that’s what we will be discussing in this post. So, let’s begin.
Why You May Find A Lost Baby Hummingbird
The mother hummingbirds never abandon their offspring. But circumstances may arise that cause baby hummers to be all alone.
The mother hummers may have probably been preyed upon by predators thereby predisposing her offspring to be all by themselves. Baby hummers may also have been yanked off their mother’s nest by strong winds, unable to fly, and so on.
Therefore, if you find a baby hummingbird in need of help, let’s look at ways on how to feed and take care of one until you get professional help.
What Do You Feed A Baby Hummingbird?
You may find a baby hummer and wonder how to feed a baby hummingbird. Well, there’s only little you can do. The ideal thing is when you find a baby hummingbird that looks lost and all alone, it’s important you help them immediately by calling professional help.
These hummingbirds’ offspring are very tiny making them prone to all kinds of harsh conditions. If you find one of them, you only have a short window of time to get the right care the baby hummer requires. This is why you need to act very fast to ensure this little bird’s survival when you find one.
When it comes to knowing how to feed a baby hummingbird, it can be pretty dicey. This is because of their minute and fragile size and this can make anyone cause more harm than good particularly if you don’t have a professional idea of what you’re doing.
Hence, the most appropriate thing when you find and helpless baby hummingbird is to seek professional help such as an experienced and licensed wildlife veterinarian or rehabilitator.
The time frame you have to rescue any helpless baby hummers you find is about 4 to 24 hours. You have less than 4 hours to first initiate assistance. Then you have 24 hours to seek professional help before it’s too late for the little hummingbird. Therefore, act fast!
How To Feed A Baby Hummingbird
Baby hummingbird needs to be fed every 20 minutes. If you find an orphaned baby hummer, you can feed it by doing this before professional help gets your way.
If the chicks have their mouth already opened, carefully drop 3 to 4 drops of sugar water in their mouth using a dropper.
How To Identify Baby Hummingbird
So, how do you know you’ve found a baby hummingbird and not an adult hummingbird? It’s simple! Generally, hummingbird offspring are typically small. They are roughly one inch long.
They aren’t decorated with shimmering colors as their parent or adult hummers. Their appearance is black with no feather when they are in their very young stage. However, this will eventually change as they tend to grow fast. They will grow or develop a fuzz downing before their feathers start to grow.
Hummingbird’s Mother Responsibility
Mother hummingbird tends to spend 3 to 4 weeks during the nesting cycle, incubating her eggs, and brooding her tiny featherless hummers. Once, the mother hummingbird has hatched her eggs, she spends most of her time on the nest.
The hummingbird chicks require all the help from their mother at their early featherless stage to always keep them warm. When the hummingbird chick begins to grow feathers, their mother spends less time with them. This is usually after 10 to 12 days of hatching.
How To Know If Baby Hummingbird Requires Assistance
Hummingbird mothers will spend most of their time sitting on their nests and providing warmth and shelter to their chicks. But there are times when the mother hummingbird stays away from her nest even for a long time.
When her offspring have grown some feathers and they can keep themselves warm, she often stays away from her nest for a long time. But she comes back only for a few seconds to feed her chicks. The mother does this to keep her offspring safe from predators that can locate them.
Therefore, deciphering if a nest with hummingbirds’ chicks has been abandoned may be pretty tricky. You find or observe that a nest with hummingbird chicks has been deserted for a long time, and wonder if the chicks have been abandoned by their mother.
In most cases, the nest may not be abandoned and it’s just that you simply missed the mother hummingbird making a quick visit to feed her chicks.
However, if you have been diligently watching the nest for an hour or two without any activities from the mother, then help may be needed. The baby hummers need to be fed regularly. If not they may starve to death.
However, if you find a baby hummingbird on the ground, it’s mostly a sign they need help. First, try to locate its nest and gently put it back there. There is a possibility the chick might have fallen, or the nest got damaged or got broken. Then keep a close watch to see if the mother will come to feed her chick. If she doesn’t, you can call for professional help.
Conclusion
When it comes to how to feed a baby hummingbird, it can be pretty dicey. This is because saving a helpless baby hummingbird is usually difficult. Even professional hummingbird rehabilitators will concur that hummingbirds are one of the most complicated birds to save when in crisis.
The best thing is to let the mother handle the circumstances. However, when you can’t find the mother, the best thing to do is to call a professional help such as wildlife rehabilitators or veterinarians.
Calling for professional help should be done fast because the surviving chance of a helpless baby hummer is only a few hours.
Read more about How Many Times Does A Hummingbird Flap Its Wings Per Second?
Eunice is a passionate lover of hummingbirds and all things nature. She loves to observe and study the tiny birds, learning about their unique behaviors and unique features. She has written a number of articles about hummingbirds and their habitats, which have been featured in a variety of publications. In her spare time, she enjoys visiting hummingbird sanctuaries and going on bird–watching trips in her local area. She also volunteers with local wildlife rescue organizations, helping to rehabilitate injured birds. When she’s not outdoors, Eunice can be found writing articles, creating bird–inspired art, and playing the flute.