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Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,658
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

Heartbreaking thing that Happened to my today

[ Edited ]

I can't stop crying.  I went out on my deck this morning and on the extremely hot deck was a new born bird.  It must have just come out of its shell.  It had its little beak open for food and I was devastated.  We have a next in our awning above our table so I tried to get it back but it was wedged in so tight so I left it right near the nest on top of the awning to keep it near the nest and also in the shade hoping the mom would see her baby.  I did not want to leave it on the hot deck s it is 90 degrees here.  I went back out a little while later and sure enough it was on the deck again, dead.  I was so heartbroken to see this tiny little newborn like this.  I love animals of all kinds and that is where my passion is.  So I took it inside and wrapped it in some soft tissue, put it in a very small locknlock container and burried it next to some flowers in my yard.  I put a garden stake in front of it so I will always know where I placed it.  This really affected me and my DH but at least I did not just throw her away.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,391
Registered: ‎01-09-2016

Re: Heartbreaking thing that Happened to my today

Your name certainly reflects your caring heart.

 

Nature is astounding in its beauty and devastating in its cruelty.

 

Thank you for giving this tiny bird a dignified burial. 

 

You were kinder and more tender to this little baby than many people are to each other.

 

May you be blessed for your act of kindness. It's uplifting to know there are many, many good people in this world.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 9,745
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Heartbreaking thing that Happened to my today

[ Edited ]

@lovesallanimals wrote:

I can't stop crying.  I went out on my deck this morning and on the extremely hot deck was a new born bird.  It must have just come out of its shell.  It had its little beak open for food and I was devastated.  We have a next in our awning above our table so I tried to get it back but it was wedged in so tight so I left it right near the nest on top of the awning to keep it near the nest and also in the shade hoping the mom would see her baby.  I did not want to leave it on the hot deck s it is 90 degrees here.  I went back out a little while later and sure enough it was on the deck again, dead.  I was so heartbroken to see this tiny little newborn like this.  I love animals of all kinds and that is where my passion is.  So I took it inside and wrapped it in some soft tissue, put it in a very small locknlock container and burried it next to some flowers in my yard.  I put a garden stake in front of it so I will always know where I placed it.  This really affected me and my DH but at least I did not just throw her away.


@lovesallanimals 

Some birds will desert their offspring if  you touch them. I learned that as a child when I picked up some baby birds to put them back in the nest.  My grandmother told me the mother would desert them and move the others to another location.  She did.  She told me if I ever had to pick up a bird again, to bring it home with me and try to get it to live and then turn it loose.  I don't know how she knew that but we rescued some from a rattlesnake once.  My granddaddy shot the rattlesnake and got the babies out of its gullet while they were still alive.  We took them home but they died.  Another time, we got some that were a little older and fed them worms from our fishbait bed and all but one lived.  We sometimes had as many as 30 cats (on the farm) and fed them from our restaurant from which we brought scraps home.  We fed the cats and then the leftovers went to the hogs, which thankfully, will eat snakes without any side effects.  O'possums and hogs can be bitten by coral, rattlesnakes and moccasins without any ill effects and eat them.  God gave us some big old critters to help rid us of the evil ones.  Don't let the government destroy our "survival-of-the-fittest" with government-engineered meat.  God gave us all this for a reason.

Regular Contributor
Posts: 209
Registered: ‎05-18-2010

Re: Heartbreaking thing that Happened to my today

So sorry that that happened. I'm a fellow soft hearted type & I'm always terribly upset when animals are suffering.Sometimes nature seems so cruel. Hugs!

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,891
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Heartbreaking thing that Happened to my today

Aww, bless your heart for being so compassionate.  I feel your pain.  

 

Every spring/summer, the birds build a nest in my bedroom window awning.  There always seems to be at least one little baby that ends up on my hot patio.  My dog is usually the first to notice.  He's curious but has never done more than take a sniff or two.  

 

On two occasions I picked the birds up (with gloves on) and placed them in a container of some sort with soft tissue.  We have a wildlife rescue about 40 minutes away who will take these babies.  They survived the ride, but I don't know if they continued to thrive.

 

A few times the birds were already dead on my patio, and one time the little bird died on the way to the rescue place.  

 

It was kind of you to bury that little sweetie.

 

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 16,075
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Heartbreaking thing that Happened to my today

You have a kind heart.Heart

When you lose some one you L~O~V~E, that Memory of them, becomes a TREASURE.
Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,059
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

Re: Heartbreaking thing that Happened to my today

@Nonametoday @lovesallanimals 

 

Yes, sometimes a mother bird will desert offspring for many reasons. A lot of times they sense  the egg/bird is not viable, so they abandon it. My daughter had a birds nest in her wreath on her door. She saw the eggs n watched the mother come and go, sitting on them. Before long, one started to hatch and she rolled it out of the nest. Then she abandoned the nest and the other eggs. Just nature's way of knowing they won't make it. 

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Re: Heartbreaking thing that Happened to my today

[ Edited ]

@bmorechick wrote:

@Nonametoday @lovesallanimals 

 

Yes, sometimes a mother bird will desert offspring for many reasons. A lot of times they sense  the egg/bird is not viable, so they abandon it. My daughter had a birds nest in her wreath on her door. She saw the eggs n watched the mother come and go, sitting on them. Before long, one started to hatch and she rolled it out of the nest. Then she abandoned the nest and the other eggs. Just nature's way of knowing they won't make it. 


@bmorechick  Probably like a woman opting to have an abortion when she finds, in-utero, her baby is not viable.  We had a Shetland Sheepdog that delivered 12 puppies.  Three were very deformed.  After she gave birth, she wanted to go outside with her puppies.  We would not allow it but our oldest son insist we let her go out because sheep dogs love snow (it was snowing in February) . She found an area of ice and placed the 3 deformed puppies the ice and brought the rest back.  The 3 deformed puppies were dead by the time we got to them (from freezing cold and likely their inability to survive the cold).  She was doing what needed to be done.  They would never have been able to nurse as they had only flippers on the front.

 

Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that there are things worse than death.

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Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,059
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

Re: Heartbreaking thing that Happened to my today

[ Edited ]

@Nonametoday 

Well I don't want to turn this into a political issue (the a word) which I can see it becoming one quickly, but I'm just saying that animals have powerful instincts. If an animal in the wild gives birth to a deformed offspring, she at times will eat it. It's called survival. 

And to the OP I probably would have done the same thing. 

Respected Contributor
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Registered: ‎11-08-2020

Re: Heartbreaking thing that Happened to my today

@lovesallanimals , I am so sorry you had to go through this.  At times, nature can be harsh.  You did your best.  Perhaps plant a perennial in that spot as a resting place for the bird.  I hope you feel better soon.  LM