My kids just came in with a humming bird that they caught...

[Ghost in the Machine]

they want to know if they can keep it. I don't know anything about birds, or if they are even allowed to keep a humming bird.

Any thoughts or ideas?

I'm inclined to turn it loose myself, but then again, it *would* be a neat pet for them.

[Kali]

1. let it go - they have very high energy requirements

they could be kept in an aviary setting but no way in a cage - how the heck did they catch it? It may be ill or something if it was slow enough to be picked up???

[Ghost in the Machine]

3. I let it go...

they caught it (they said) because it's bill was stuck in a window screen. They just slipped a bread bag up over it. The bird was never touched by human hands.

I let it go and it took off straight for one of my peach trees.

[Gormy Cuss]

4. Good move.

Kali's right. No way that would work as a caged bird. Those little guys cover quite a range every day.
Perhaps you could set up a feeder and the kids could see 'their' hummer outside. They WILL hang out all season if there's enough enticement.

[Kali]

5. in a screen? wow!

I don't think touching it would have hurt anything (scientists band them for study) but good for everybody that you let it go. Put up a feeder to watch them up close - they get used to people very fast and will nag you to fill it when it is empty - the best way to have hummingbird "pets" so they can get insects and other nutrients from flowers that they need to survive.

[stuntcat]

2. what if it has babies somewhere???

or a little bitty birdy family to keep! ;(

[skygazer]

6. Kids don't need wild creatures as "neat pets"

That's not fair at all to the creature in question. I would praise the kids for rescuing it but caution them against trying to catch any animal that wasn't in trouble, explaining that wild animals need to be free in order to be happy.

Then I'd read them the story of the Nightingale.

[sarge43]

7. Let it go.

Unless you cage it which would be extremely cruel, it'll be crashing into every window in your house.
Unlike parrots hummers aren't social birds (they get together just long enough to make more hummers) nor are they the sharpest knives in the drawer.

If you would like your kids to have a bird as a pet, a hand raised parakeet or cockatiel is the best choice.

And technically it's illegal to keep native birds as pets.