Baby Blue Jay Questions?

Hello -

Recently we found a baby blue jay in my father's shed. It had been there at least one day, because when he opened the shed the next morning, it was sitting in the middle of the floor. We took the bird out in the woods near our house and left it there within sight of the house to see if the parents would come back for it. When they didn't after quite awhile, and it started storming, we took the bird in.

It's been a couple days now, and I've been searching the internet for advice on taking care of the bird. Before everyone starts telling me to turn it loose, I must point out a few facts. First of all, the bird is incapable of sustained flight - it's too young, so just letting it go is not an option. Also, there are no animal rescues in our area beyond the county humane societies, and they won't take birds, so that's out. In addition to this, the DNR in my state have quit releasing licenses to take care of wild animals, so I can't obtain one and I can't give it to someone who has one, because the DNR also isn't issuing renewals. Lastly, the bird was obviously very young because it has warmed up to the family immensly, showing no signs of fear or intent to leave. Our family is very skilled in raising wild animals, including racoons, squirrels, and other birds, but this is our first blue jay.

Where I need help is mainly how to spot the bird's various stages of development. Currently, the bird can fly about three-five feet, and can hop around and perch. It can also sleep on a perch in addition to in a "nest" of rags. The bird eats about every 1-2 hours and is a very healthy eater (we're feeding it the most widely recommended diet of soaked high-protein dry dog food, boiled egg yolk, baby food (fruit mix and cereal), and either canned chicken or tuna mixed with warmed tap water and bird vitamins from our pet store - soon we will add poultry mash as well). We feed it through a large eye dropper, of which it eats about seven-nine full loads of eye dropper mash. It appears to be getting healthier and stronger on this diet, as it has increased in activity and a want to attempt flight and playing more and more often.

At what point is it safe for the bird to start taking in dry food, like unmashed chicken and tuna? We've tried a more thick mash served with a pair of blunt plastic tweezers, but it doesn't seem too interested in that yet. At what point are nuts, such as beech nuts and acors, and bird seed, such as millet or sunflower seeds, okay?

Also, when we first got it, we sprayed it with a bug killer made for birds such as parakeets, cockatiels, and parrots, with no ill effects, but how do we know for sure that it's safe to let him in other parts of the house without fear of lice and mites? We also have two dogs and a parakeet that we don't want getting the bugs, and we can't bring him into a room big enough to fly around in (living room) until we are sure of the bugs being gone. We've already done the test of leaving a piece of white paper underneath the bird while he sleeps, and there were no bugs on it the day after we found him or yesterday, but we would prefer a more conclusive test if there is one. We wan't this bird to be able to fly and exercise more as it gets bigger.

Thank you for your time and patience. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.