What happens if you touch a baby bird?

Answer 1

They will most likely quack!

Then you will most likely be pecked by the mother if she is around. But if you are alluding or referring to the old wives tale that you touch a bird, or duck in this case, that the mother will kick them out of the nest, here's your response...

Absolutely nothing! The old wives tale states that if you touch a baby bird, an egg or even a nest that the mother bird will stop feeding the chick, kick the egg out of the nest or abandon the nest. This is a myth, and is completely false.

That doesn't mean that there isn't some bird out there who's done it before, or even that a human witnessed it, but it's a safe bet that the reasons it may have been done were other factors. Most baby birds in the wild smell worse than your grubby little fingers, so don't worry about that.


I do not recommend going out and touching birds and nests or eggs for sport now since it won't affect the feeding of the chick, it is wise to let them be. Some mothers will peck at you or attack you if you get too close to their nest. So unless the baby bird is in danger or potential danger, such as falling out of a tree on the side of the road or something, leave them be! But don't ground Johnny for a week because he came home and told you (mom) that he touched a baby bird! Be happy he's curious about nature and not playing Video Games!!

Answer 2

Most likely nothing unless you continue to disturb the nest, in which case the mother may abandon it entirely. Birds have a rather poorly developed sense of smell so the idea that they can "smell" a human's touch on their eggs or young is a fallacy. Therefore, if you just touched the nest once or twice to feel the eggs or nesting materials, nothing would happen.

Answer 3

* Yes, humans commonly kill their young for touching other animals.

You're a f**king genius, has anyone ever complimented you on your extremely active moral conscience, or have you been not noticed, cause you're too busy trying to flame other people to improve your self esteem?

And just for the record, mother ducks (of all species) do on occasion kill their young, if they live in an area that has very little food. It is much more common for father ducks to do so, though, for territorial reasons. Not to mention, baby sharks eat each other while they're still in the womb. Yeah, humans are the only creatures on the planet who are monstrous. You say that men are evil because we fight wars? And maybe kill twenty men each? Fifty? Lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, they all kill more living creatures than humans do (per capita), but I don't see you hunting those ruthless killers. Animals kill other animals because they walk into their territory. It might be 5 square kilometres of territory, but they will kill the intruder, or at least try to. If someone jumped into my back garden, I wouldn't be whipping out the shotgun.

PS. I do not support the killing of endangered animals, I was only using that to get my point across.

Answer 4

See the related links for the answer.

Answer 5

no, this is a myth. but i advise u not to