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baby magpie HELP (1 Viewer)

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juvimagpie

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Yesterday i came across 2 baby magpie under a walnut tree. It was still inside it's nest which is partially ruined. I waited over 2 hours for the mother to return, but she never did. So I i took the baby magpie home and did a lil research and found out they are cousins of the crows. I tried to look up information on how to feed it, but i couldnt find anything. Itz eyes are still close and im afraid to injure it in anyway. I was wondering if anyone have any expert advise for me on feeding and caring for them til im able to locate someone that will take the birds in. 1 more thing does anyone know how old it is and how long does it take til their feathers begin to develope? Any comments on this thread is greatly appreciated.
 
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You need to find a wildlife rehabilitator in your area. A bird this young is difficult to raise if you do not know what you are doing so this would be best for you and the bird. Newly hatched nestlings need to be fed every 15-30 minutes! If you are in the US you can contact the Fish and Wildlife Service and they will get you in touch with the nearest rehabilitator.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.
 
There are some laws that apply to birds.

Not a good idea to do research after you bring it home.

Abandoned birds are all over the place. There is some way to raise birds, but you need practice. It is easiest to start with pet birds that are grown.

You might have some luck with birds that have learned to fly a bit. They might be brought to a surviving stage with a few days care. But still, sparrows and starlings won't get you into legal trouble.
 
Thanks for the replay. I have been trying to call my local wildlife center but the phone is always busy. I ended up going to the local petshop and bought a can of Kaytee Exact and have been feeding it since. From 6 am to 12 pm, I feed it every hour. I read online that hand feeding formula doesnt have all the vital protiens, vitamin, etc. but I havent had any problems. The eyes open after 5 days of feeding,then I cut it back to every 4 hours of feeding. Now it can stand on its feet and hop around a lil. I want to know how to introduce food such as crickets, earthworms, apples, grapes, bananas, etc. so it can eat on its own. Im planning on building a large bird cage out of 2x4 and chicken wires and leave the cage outside in the backyard. Almost everyday after it learn how to walk on its feet, I've been taking the birds outside while still in its cage it would make its usual sounds, and there would be a few adult magpies swooping and perching on the fence making its own sound after the juvi. It looked like it wanted to come closer to the cage and investigate but it always back off and fly away. Do you think if after i build that large bird cage I can leave the cage open and the other adult magpie would socialize with it and slowly it would be introduce back to the wild?
 
Hi there juvimagpie and welcome to Bird Forum from all the moderators and Admin. Staff
I hope you sort out your Magpie problem, but I think you're going to be stuck with it for the foreseeable future. Birds raised from such a young age tend to inprint on their human benefactors.
 
Hey, juviemagpie! Welcome to BirdForum and give my regards to my hometown.

I'll bet what you've found is a yellow-billed magpie, since that's the magpie sp that occurs in the central valley and the central California coast. (Black-billed is usually only east of the Sierra Nevada and farther north.) If it survives to adulthood, I understand they make good pets, are very smart and are good mimics. The yellow-billed is also a gorgeous bird in adult plumage. I've only seen one once, on an I-5 fence, and it was stunning in the sun.

Re: outside cage. You don't want to leave a cage door open because that will allow predators to get in that could injure or kill your bird. Good luck with it, and please let us know how you're doing.

Edit: I hit "send" too soon. Here's some info on what YBMA eats, if that is what yours turns out to be. However, I would urge you to keep trying to get in touch with a local rehabilitator.

Mostly:
· Insects
· Carrion

Lesser Quantities of:
· Seeds
· Fruit
· Nuts

Major food items (by season): In general, mostly ground-dwelling invertebrates but also grain, acorns, carrion, and small mammals (references in Reynolds 1995). Breeding season: feeds wide variety of insects to nestlings (62 different families) with consistent use of certain orders (Lepidoptera, Orthoptera) and fluctuating use of others. As soil dries and summer progresses, eats many grasshoppers among other invertebrates. In fall, eats acorns, coffeeberry fruits and poison oak fruits. Also small amounts of domestic crops (e.g. wheat, oats). Carrion eaten largely in winter and spring. May depredate bird nests.
 
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Congratulations on successfully raising the young magpie. You did a wonderful job, raising babies is tough! Definitely put it in a cage outside as soon as possible to minimise human contact and so that it can get used to the outdoors. Make sure it is out of reach of predators and that there is someplace the bird can hide/shelter in case of bad weather or if a raccoon climbs on the cage.

You can get the bird to start eating on its own by gradually feeding it less often and providing it with a dish of food. Make sure you add some live insects to the dish to get its attention. When you feed it, feed it from the food dish so that it recognises the dish as the source of food. You can pick up bugs and berries and stuff with a hemostat or tweezers and gently place the food in the bird's mouth. The pieces should not be too big and never hand-feed live insects. Also give a shallow water dish. It may be a good idea to supplement the food and water- magpies have a protein rich diet, and the kaytee formula doesnt have enough protein, it is meant for parrots. Maybe sprinkle some protein powder onto the food dish, or mix some in with the water.

Keep up the good work! But don't adopt every baby you find, every kind of bird requires different care, and some are more difficult to raise than others. It is best to leave it to the experts. But if you find that you enjoy working with wildlife, you might want to volunteer at your local wildlife center, they always need the help, especially during baby season!
 
hey juvimagpie,

I raised one as a kid. Give um some raw meat, ground beef, insects, worms, canned dog food, dry dog food with milk added to mush it up and give the water with eye dropper occasionally. Remember thay are scavengers and will eat almost anything. Feed them during daylight hours, adults sleep, so why not you. They do imprint, but you can let them fly around the neighborhood and they'll get wilder as they get older. Good luck if you have to raise them. Van
 
Hi juvimagpie,
Im in Australia, and in my school 2 kids found a magpie baby and I took it home. If its help u I feed it with nuts, like penut and almond, but first I pulp it so its looks like flour, than I mix it with water and egg or raw meat. U have to squas it. And u can put in worms, I use the little white one - u can buy it in fishing shops. But I dont know how old is your bird, mine has feathers but not too much.
(Sorry if u dont udersteand my writing, but Im 12 years old and I came to Australia from Hungary and I just learn the english)
Bye, Keira
 
Hi!
I need some help! My maggie always want to stand on something high, and because she cant fly, she is just jumping. Do I need somthing to buy for her, like a bigger peace of stick or um... some cat has something like a playing house, its soft and sometimes balls or toy mice hanging down from it. So do I need something like that?

Bye Keira
 
Hi,
I have three baby blackbill magpies nesting on our property in Alaska. They have been a thrill to watch and are fully feathered now and leaving the nest for close branches. My children have enjoyed them and they seem quite comfortable around us. They are better than a rooster for waking up in the early morning!! I hope they all come back and nest here next season.

alaskabird
 
I have adopted a baby Magpie

Hi all Thanks for the great infomation on magpies.. its been really helpful over the past two months.... we have adopted a baby Magpie.. it has come on great over the past couple of months, thanks to all the useful info.

he is great fun but very naughty, he flies around the garden throughout the day then comes in to roost in the evening, however we have a large family of magpies that keep attacking him we have to leave some one sitting him or leave the dog out to protect him!

"i know it sound mad but he gets on really well with our dog!!"

my concern is the group are trying kill him! and i don't want to have to keep him in a cage... does any one have any suggestions on what we can do!

since these attacks have started his white feathers have gone grayish and he dosnt stand as proud as he used to! is this because of worry or should we do something with his diet....

Keith
 
Keira said:
Hi!
I need some help! My maggie always want to stand on something high, and because she cant fly, she is just jumping. Do I need somthing to buy for her, like a bigger peace of stick or um... some cat has something like a playing house, its soft and sometimes balls or toy mice hanging down from it. So do I need something like that?

Bye Keira
Click to expand...
does your magpie have its full wings and tail feathers, if so you need to teach it to fly we reared a baby maggie from birth as it fell out of an obandond nest we taught him to fly by putting something soft to land on and lengthened it over a week or two you need to hold him/her by the body with wings in normal tucked in side of its body try not to let claws grab you and just a little toss towards the beanbag etc it will soon start to use its wings as it is natural for them ours now flies all over the house and manouvres like a F16 fighter jet now
hope this helps

regards
matt
 
In the United States it is pretty much illegal to keep any wild birds other than House Sparrows, Starlings, and Rock Pigeons. I'd get it to a licensed facility if I were you.

Magpies don't make good pets anyhow. They're noisy, and the fact that they're expert mimics can sometimes drive people nuts. If anyone swears in your house by accident, even as little as once, you'll have yourself a swearing magpie!
 
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Magpies in Australia live for up to 25-30 years if they're lucky, this is normally in captivity.
I have owned a baby magpie once, these birds are very smart and playful, they can learn to talk and mimic many sounds, Maggie - was my first baby magpie, she loved to fly, and she would mimic many sounds like the dog that barks up the road and a tractor, she would also sing gorgeous magpie songs in the morning, she would come for walks and would be very playful.
However, Maggie did not survive that long, as sometimes she was chased by other magpies in that area, they would chase her away and occasionally attack her.
This was a problem, she was being chased at 2years of age, she was looking over her wing to see if they were still following, and she ran into a water tank...this tragically killed her...thankfully it was very quick tho.
We now have a new magpie which is much smaller than what Maggie was when we found her. This one has been called 'Tiff' /or/ 'Tiffy', and 'Squishy' as a nickname, although I don't call her Squishy that often or she will come to Squishy.
It takes about 2years to only just get their black feathers.

Magpies are pretty hardy birds, they should be fine, they wouldn't need a wildlife carer but if you don't want to keep them then a wildlife carer would be a good option.
:t:
 
Keira said:
Hi juvimagpie,
Im in Australia, and in my school 2 kids found a magpie baby and I took it home. If its help u I feed it with nuts, like penut and almond, but first I pulp it so its looks like flour, than I mix it with water and egg or raw meat. U have to squas it. And u can put in worms, I use the little white one - u can buy it in fishing shops. But I dont know how old is your bird, mine has feathers but not too much.
(Sorry if u dont udersteand my writing, but Im 12 years old and I came to Australia from Hungary and I just learn the english)
Bye, Keira
Click to expand...

Hello, Keira...I'm around your age (10, 11, 12).
I've been learning about Magpies for 3-4 years, I've never heard of them eating nuts...do they like them????
 
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