What are the conditions for the fidyah in Hajj, and is it sufficient if it is left for the birds?

Question:
May Allah reward you with good. What are the conditions for the fidyah in Hajj? And is it sufficient if it is left for the birds?

Answer:
The conditions for the fidyah in Hajj are like the conditions for the udhiyah: it must be free from defects, and it must be of the acceptable age. For sheep, this is a jadh' (a sheep that has completed six months), or a thani (a sheep that has completed one year) for other types of sheep. For goats, it is one that has completed one year; for cows, two years; and for camels, five years. These are the acceptable ages. It must be free from illness, free from lameness, free from blindness in one eye, and it must have good meat, not be emaciated, and not be a lean animal that does not fatten. It must be free from these defects. May Allah reward you with good. As for slaughtering it and leaving it for the birds, that is not permissible.
Rather, he slaughters it for the needy and leaves it for them, or distributes it among them, and this is better. He also eats from it; it is a recommended practice (sunnah) to eat from it, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: "So eat from it." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also ate from the sacrificial animals he offered during the Farewell Pilgrimage. Eating from it is a recommended practice (sunnah). Distributing it among the poor and needy is also required, or leaving it for them so they can take it and share it among themselves. As for wasting it and leaving it so that no benefit is derived from it, that is not permissible. Yes.