I have a funny wren story.

I have a little stained glass holder with a nest in it at my back door. This is inside a screened porch (an old porch).
Well on Xmas eve my husband returned from a business trip.
He came in that back way, and noticed movement as he opened the door. Turns out two wrens were roosting in that spot (probably out of the cold wind and some warmth from the house). He called me out, and upset them, and as I opened the door, they flew into the HOUSE...This was unsettling to say the least. We didn't know what to do. It was dark out.
So we opened the back door wide, and sort of waved our arms to scoot them in that direction and they flew back out finally after about 15 minutes of hysteria! Then we found out how they got in... there was a little rip in one screen near the top.
Clever little devils... they must do this alot. Hang with humans. That is why they are called house wrens.

And boy do they have big chirps for such a little bird.
Our cat caught a newly fledged one once and brought in and I rescued it...
what a racket! And the FEET... she glommed onto my hand with IRON CLAWS.... GAD... I have total respect for these little guys!

Chirp chirp!

Maxie is doing just fine! It seems she is getting more demanding by the minute!

I left her with a "bird-sitter" while I went and did my errands today. Well, she left our feathered friend all alone, and when she returned her weiner dog had eaten the can of dog food! Just glad he didn't eat little Maxie!
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I did stop and get an eye-dropper for water. But not so sure I want to mix the gruel recommended by this website on how to care for baby birds:

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"SWIFT, SWALLOW, VIREO, WARBLER, KINGLET, GNATCATCHER, WREN--(normal diet insects of flying type). Feed straight P/D dog food mixed with hardboiled egg yolk, dried flies, crushed adult mealworms and pupae (remove heads). Thin to feedable consistency. Supplement with fresh flies, spiders. (Oh my!!!)
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Let's just see who can catch me removing pupae heads for this little birdie! I don't think so!!!

Now I'm confused (okay, I live in the State of Confusion). But it says that meat-eaters need grain mixed in with their meat. Huh?
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"COMPLETE DIETS
The majority of birds can be classified in two groups: meat eaters and seed eaters. Basic diets for these are listed below with suggestions for special foods for different species of birds. The sooner you identify the bird, the sooner you can provide the best diet. The basic foods mentioned in these diets can be classified into two groups:

MEAT:
* P/D dogfood (canned and available from most veterinarians),
* dry puppy kibbles (have to be soaked in water),
* boiled chicken, strained beef baby food,
* hard boiled chicken egg yolk,
* live insects such as flies and mealworms.

GRAIN:
* high protein dry baby cereal ,
* wheat germ,
* corn or oat meal that has been powdered down in a blender.

MEAT and GRAIN proportions are generally:

INSECT EATER BIRDS -- 1 part MEAT to 2 parts GRAIN

SEED EATER BIRDS -- 1 part MEAT to 4 parts GRAIN

When MEAT is asked for in the diet, you can pick any MEAT from the MEAT group. You can then add in, the right proportions , any GRAIN from the GRAIN group. For example, a seed-eater diet could be 1 part P/D dogfood and 5 parts wheat germ. It is suggested that you can vary this diet as much as possible as long as you stay within the proper framework. For example the next time you mix up a batch of formula for your seed eater bird, you might use 1 part boiled chicken and 5 parts high protein baby cereal. Variety is the spice of life, and also keeps young birds healthy."

dinner Ready Yet ????

Yeah, about every 5 minutes! Tweeeeeet!

So wren, did you want some dried flies, fried spiders or squirmy wormies?

Our special tonight is canned dog food.
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I looked up the ingredients to P/D dog food...
This is made by Science Diet

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and

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It already has quite a bit of corn in it....corn is the first
ingredient...which means it is highest concentration!

Most canned dog foods have grains in them already.
So I am confused.

Are you going to get a cage now?

I bet the little guy was near death when you found him/her.
Now she/he is perking up and getting more normal.

I used toilet paper ripped into squares as a lining in the nest
for my sparrows. You just remove one layer as it becomes soiled. But soon you will need a cage.(I had the whole nest because it was rescued during a building being demolished. The workers handed the nest to me since I was just standing there watching. The sparrows were just hatched and had no feathers even!)
Also I used to give my birdies a bath in the sink. They loved that! shallow water, and a bit of splashing, and washing of the feet etc. Once Maxie wants to perch, a cage will be much better than a box. I had a parakeet as a kid, so I figured these birds would like a bath too, and they did!

You know what, Twink. I just remembered after reading your bird "menu." My mom mixed the baby cereal with water to a thinner consistency and then fed the birds the watered down baby cereal with the dropper. These little birds that we always found and brought home (LOL as if my Mom with 10 kids needed more to do) and they ate/drank everything from that dropper.

See if that helps the little guy.

Also, I think it is so awesome of all of you who have taken in these little birds. You all have given them a chance at life and that is extremely admirable.
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Oh: P/D = Prescription Diet dog food!

So, I'm going to go buy a big ole bag of that stuff for $30 and feed a quarter's worth to Maxie? I don't think so!


Okay, this just in: I called my neighbor who breeds dogs, and he gave me some Puppy Science Diet dry food.

Just so you know, I will go to great lengths to ensure Maxie has a balanced diet.

Not only am I willing to go door-to-door, cottage cheese container in hand, begging for dog food, BUT I also went nightcrawler hunting tonight!

(Skip the following paragraph if you get easily queasy!)

I found a nice l-o-n-g juicy one and had to arm wrestle it to get it to let go of it's hole.
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I brought it into the cutting board and with surgical precision, snipped off a wriggling end piece for Maxie. Had to stab it with a little screwdriver to finally deliver it to the little wahhh-wahhh "Mommy, I'm starving!" birdie mouth!
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I think I've created a monster!!!
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you gots to chew them worms better, sorry had to make yall go ewwww

Twink, I think you're doing a wonderful thing! That little bird would surely have died had you not rescued it.

In our fast-paced, "no time for anything but me" world I'm sure there were very few people who would have taken the time to care for him/her. Thanks for being that little birds hero!
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I've enjoyed reading this thread and seeing how little Maxie (or Max....how do you tell which???
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) is responding. You'll have to get one of those large tall bird cages on a stand.....look on Craigslist - they have some good deals. Or...maybe a local pet store would donate one to you if you told them your story! It would make a great local newspaper article and be some great advertising for the store!

Rochelle....the bird rescuer!
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