expert advice needed please

[Hbt]

Hi everyone,
I've joined this forum in the hope of finding some experts who can advise me on an unusual situation I am in. Let me explain!
I'm a British expat living in rural Ghana and 6 days ago I found a chick on the ground, presumably having fallen prematurely from its nest. I believe it is a bronze winged mannikin finch. It looked doomed so I took it in and have been feeding it termites every 1.5 hours during the day.It has responded very well, it seems and has now become very attached, as I have for it.
Today it started grooming a lot and flying a bit from my hand to my shoulder. I don't know how old it is but it looks like perhaps it is gearing up to fledge.... so although I would welcome anything tips about how to care for it, I am specifically wanting to know whether I should be releasing it into the wild again, or whether, due to it being with me now, it won't be able to successfully go back to the wild.
I want to do what is best for the finch and would be very grateful for anyone here who could help me.
Attached is a photo - (I think I have attached the photo!) it has feathers all across its top - wings, chest but when it grooms, the underside of the wings and some of its body is still bald. but over the last few days its feathers have come along way, as has its curiosity to flit around and speak to me.

Thanks in advance,

Hannah

[Sheather]

If termites are working then continue to offer them but these birds are normally vegetarian (I cannot identify species, but it is a member of the genus Lonchura [the munias[ for sure). Begin offering soaked millet seeds if you can find them, and green grass seeds still on the stalk. If you intend to release it, it must know how to find wild food.

[Fraza]

I don’t think it would know how to survive in the wild as it wasn’t even fledged it wouldn’t have had the chance to learn off the parents how to find the food/water

[Sheather]

I do not know what life is like in Ghana or if there are any supplies sold for pet birds like cages etc but a hand-fed finch will make a nice pet if you can accommodate it. Without other birds to learn from, you may find yours is too tame to release.

[Babs _Owner]

Hbt

He/she is too young to be out of the nest. Nest keeps the crop warm.

When he/she fledges, put it in an outdoor cage in the middle of your yard so it can observe other birds in the wild and learn in safety while you still feed him inside the cage 3 times a day (offer water all day long). Create a whistle that will become your birds way to find you when you call it

After 2-3 weeks when you notice it getting anxious to get out of the cage, open it up the following morning.

It will naturally fly out, but will need you another 2-3 weeks to feed it when it doesnt find food in the wild 2 times a day. Use your "whistle" to call him/her back for feedings. Leave a water bowl out at all times.

After that, they normally just disappear into the wild and will bring a mate back next spring on the property to raise its kids.

Good luck!

[wildbird]

I had two English Sparrows which I raised from babies on my screen porch and later released them. I left the screen door open enough for them to come in and their cage with food and water in it on the porch. A few days later they both returned and went back in their cage and stayed there. One of them was not in good shape and I thought she might not make it. She was very thirsty. They seemed happy to be home, so I decided to keep them. They did not join with a flock of wild Sparrows as I thought they would. They were quite tame and seemed to enjoy their life as pet birds.

[Hbt]

Thanks so much for your reply. It is really nice and helpful to get some support. An issue since I posted the first post is that its eyes were glued stuck two days ago. I took the risk of making a 6 hour car journey to the vet in the capitol city (because I couldn't leave the bird at home if I couldn't feed it for that time). The vet knew nothing about birds but he gave me a (human) antiobiotic cream which has helped. However, I have noticed a rattling sound when it breathes, especially after it has eaten. Could this be the sign of air sac mites? If so, I know there is a treatment for that but I have 2 questions:
1. does it need the treatment for it to survive?
2. how can I work out the dosage amount so I can tell the vet *obviously if it was a qualified vet or if I was in England I wouldn't be instructing the vet! but in this situation, I would rather know the answer to see if I could get the treatment and be sure not to overdose the bird.

I am able (although have not yet got) to buy a cage and also bird seed for small birds. This means I will do as been suggested with regards to moving the bird outside during the day. It is active and where as before would sleep the whole time before and after meals and even during meals sometimes, it is more awake and more keen to see what is going on, so I'm guessing this would be a sign of 'fledging age'?

One more thing.... I am scheduled to go away for a weekend for a wedding on October 5th. If I could get someone else to feed it, do you think it would still need to be hand fed by then, or would it be a case of someone leaving seeds in its cage (and cleaning it out/refilling the water etc)?


Oh and finally. ..... if I were to keep it (I will aim to release it but if not, I will keep it) does it need a friend? I wouldn't mind having it as a pet but I return to England every few months for a few weeks (to visit my dog I rescued here 4 years ago!) I am therefore wondering about whether I can fly it back with me.


So many questions but I am extremely grateful for your comments which are helpful beyond belief. I put the same post, with the same picture on a Facebook group and was told I should have left the bird where it was because it was fledged and the parents would have been nearby. Given it only had feathers on its wings and nowhere else, and seeing the difference a week has made, I still don't think that is true but never the less, wasn't helpful anyway!

THANK YOU!

[wildbird]

No, the sound is not from air sac mites. It is likely to be related to what caused the eyes to be glued shut. How are the eyes now? Never treat for something unless you are sure of what you are treating for. All drugs have unwanted harmful side effects.

[Fraza]

Keep doing what ur doing I think ur doing a great job and u had no other option but the cream so hopefully it won’t happen again

[lovezebs]

Hbt

Hi Hanna,

Air sac mites, would cause a clicking popping sound, almost crackling.
Rattling might mean something else, like possibly an upper respiratory problem, or perhaps he has aspirated a bit of food.

It is however almost impossible to try and figure out what might be wrong with him over the internet. It's too bad that you don't have a Vet with some bird knowledge.

Treatment for air sac mites by the way, is called SCATT, and can be ordered on line, but there again without knowing what the problem is you don't know what to treat for.

[Sheather]

You would not be able to regularly travel internationally with a wild caught bird from Ghana I am afraid. I am sure England has biosecurity laws preventing that.

[Hbt]

Now: today it has turned down hill because it is not able to adequately feed. It had been eating about 4 termites (flying termites and just the squishy bit) every 1.5 hours - so about 25-30 per day.
But today this is what is happening:

here is whats happening: it chirps its hunger call, opens its mouth, so far successfully getting one per feeding session in instead 3 or 4 (squishy part of) flying termite in (this is what its been eating and it normally had about 25-30 a day).... but then it shuts its mouth or doesnt open it wide enough, seemingly wanting to eat it but not being able. on some attempts I get it in but then it sort of pushes it out as though it is unable to swallow it. it carries on the hunger call, opening its mouth again but not keeping it open, and then giving up, goes to sleep. its been sleeping the whole day so far (only one hour behind UK) which it had stopped doing about 4 days ago.



I have posted this here incase anyone else recognizes these symptoms. even just for peace of mind but especially if there is a certain antibiotic I could try and get hold of asap.


thank for any comments,
Hannah