Feed a Baby Hummingbird - Determine the age of the baby hummingbird. It's important to estimate the age of the bird, since this will help you decide how much food to give it. Newborn hummingbirds (one to nine days) are hairless and have black skin. Nestling hummingbirds (10 to 15 days) have "pin" feathers that resemble a porcupine's quills. Prefledging hummingbirds (16 to 21 days) have full feathers, short tail feathers and a beak less than a half-inch long.
Create a sugar water mixture. In a small bowl, mix a teaspoon of sugar and four teaspoons of water with a spoon. Then fill an eyedropper with the mixture.
Feed a Baby Hummingbird
Feed the hummingbird. For a nestling hummingbird, carefully place three drops of the sugar water into its mouth. If the bird's beak is shut, gently guide the beak into the tip of the eyedropper. Give a prefledging hummingbird five drops of the mixture. Again, you can guide its beak into the dropper itself if the beak is closed. If you have a newborn hummingbird, do not attempt to feed it and seek professional help immediately.
Give the hummingbird more food every 30 minutes. It may take some time before you are able to reach the rehabilitation center. Try to feed the baby bird every half-hour until you can get it professional care.
From time to time, a baby hummingbird may become abandoned by its mother and will require human intervention to survive. When this occurs, you may need to feed the bird before you take it to a wildlife rehabilitator, especially if the rehabilitation center is located more than an hour from your home. A mixture of sugar and water can keep the baby hydrated until you reach the rehabilitator. With gentle care and handling, you can keep a baby hummingbird alive before it receives professional help. - by eHow
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