Emergency Prep · Wildlife
The Starving Nestling
Emergency 24-Hour Triage for Naked Chicks
It's Saturday night, the rehabber is closed, and the naked chick in your hand has about three hours. 10 modules on the weekend bridge: heat before food, the no-water rule, the puppy-kibble-and-egg-yolk slurry, toothpick feeding, crop checks, fecal sacs, aspiration — and the Monday-morning hand-off.
About this course
A naked songbird nestling burns through its reserves in two to three hours. If the nest is gone and the rehabber's voicemail says "Monday," you are the bridge — and this course is the bridge done right. Heat before food, always. No water from a dropper, ever. The puppy-kibble-and-egg-yolk slurry, rolled into pea-sized balls on a toothpick. The crop check that tells you it's swallowing. The fecal sac you have to stimulate. What aspiration looks like and what to do in the first ten seconds. Then the only correct ending: the Monday-morning hand-off.
What you'll learn
- The three-hour starvation clock and why "wait until Monday" is a death sentence
- Building a 92–95°F incubator from a shoebox and a heating pad on low — and warming the chick before any food
- Why a drop of water drowns a nestling, and how moisture comes through food instead
- The emergency slurry: soaked puppy kibble and hard-boiled egg yolk, nothing else
- Toothpick and paintbrush feeding, every 20–30 minutes, only when the crop is empty
- Fecal sacs, aspiration first aid, histoplasmosis hygiene, and the legal transfer
Who this is for
Anyone holding a naked baby bird on a weekend with no rehabber answering; people who will intervene no matter what and want to do it safely; and anyone who wants to understand why heat, not food, is the first move.
Course outline (10 modules)
Quiz & Certificate
Knowledge quiz
After completing all lessons, take a short quiz to test your understanding.
Go to quiz →Completion certificate
Pass the quiz and earn a shareable certificate of completion.
View certificate →Frequently asked questions
Ready to get started?
$9.99 · Lifetime access · 10 lessons