Please help (1 Viewer)

Today my grandmother brought me a bird - it's Eurasian magpie. It common in my country and it's not illegal to have them as pets, because they are not endangered. I was angry with my grandmother because she took the bird out of the wild and brought it home and I felt sad about that. She said she saw some school kid hold it and the bird appeared unable to fly and she only wanted to help and asked the school kid to give it to her.
When I closely studied the bird, it appears to me that it is not fully feathered ... yet. It has most of its feathers, but it doesn't have the long tail that magpies have. Some feathers around the neck are missing too So it's kinda teenage Eurasian magpie, I guess. 8-P

I really want to help it return well and healthy to the wild, but I never have taken care of a bird, so I really need your help with piece of advice. I would give it to some institutions where they take care of animals, but in my country they are not functioning properly and to give an animal there is just pure cruelty. There they don't take care of animals, all they care is government's money.

I read some sources about the food and understood that it has to be high-protein, some crabs added and I can feed it with cat's or dog's food, some water added and some worm, but I am concerned about the Calcium such birds need - what should I add to the food so the bird can have its required daily dose of Calcium? How often should I feed it?

How often should I give it water?

Are there any other special needs? For example does it need additional warmth or it will be okay because it has most of its feathers?

How long do you think it will take for its tail to grow? Will the bird be able to fly giving the circumstances it is apart from its parents .... and I'm kinda not the dude that could teach anyone to fly. Will it be able to socialize with other magpies out it the wild when I let it go? Will it be able to find food on its own?

I really like the bird and I want the best for it and that means that if it can live in the wild, I'll let it go, but if you think it can't make it, I am thinking of keeping it. The only thing I can't do is just to leave the helpless bird out there knowing there is no one to help it. :-C

Sorry for my bad English and thanks in advance for your answers.

thundergoddess said:

Today my grandmother brought me a bird - it's Eurasian magpie. It common in my country and it's not illegal to have them as pets, because they are not endangered. [...]

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Welcome at birdforum, thundergoddess.

1. If something in your country is common it doesn´t mean it is allowed by EU - law which your country is part of.
2. Your country signed the Council Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds where magpies are regulated in annex B.
This annex mentions the bird species which are regulated by hunting law. Means hunters can kill them during hunting season, but it does not mean people can take birds out of the nest and keep them as pets because it´s common.

Don´t be afraid you must not start flying, it´s in the birds genes.
And I doubt you´re able to return it in the wild successfully after the bird grew up in your care and is shaped to the close contact to you and other people.

Have a nice day and good luck.

Stonechat1

You can give egg shells for her/him for in order to obtain calcium. I have read somewhere that they give egg shells for chicken too.
Magpies eat almost everything. Minced meat or fish would be good too.

Magpies are really smart bird but You need to be careful so that the bird do not become too confident about people.

stonechat1 said:

Welcome at birdforum, thundergoddess.


This annex mentions the bird species which are regulated by hunting law. Means hunters can kill them during hunting season, but it does not mean people can take birds out of the nest and keep them as pets because it´s common.

Have a nice day and good luck.

Stonechat1

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Nobody took the bird from the nest. Probably it has fallen off. As far as I know they are very curious birds and that can get them into trouble. The nests of magpies are commonly very high and are situated in very thin branches of the tree - so even if you find the nest you can't return the bird there. The bird has been found in school yard where kids are not so nice and I really don't think it would end up well for the bird if it was tossed around like some kind of toy and amusement for the kids. And the probability of that happening was very high, especially considering the fact that they have been already spotted it and played with it.
And I didn't mean that in my country there are a lot of people who have magpies as pets, I meant that magpies are common spices, they are not endangered.


Thank you all for your answers, so far the bird is fine, but the sad thing is that stonechat1 is right about returning it to the wild - it would be insane. I am amazed by the bird's adaptivity - I really tried to stay away, not to touch it, just to feed it and to give it water and despite that fact it shows great affection towards me. I really wanted for the bird to be happy out there in the wild and to fly free. :-C But if I return it to the wild probably the other magpies will peck it. People are great danger too.