baby starling (1 Viewer)

hi,

I found a baby starling 4 days ago (20 june 2008).
I was wondering how old it is. I guess about +-15 days. But I want to be sure.

He probably fell out of his nest. He was attacked by magpies so i rescued him/her.
he's active,lively , and he looks around a lot, wich is a good sign.

But he's still hopping around and jumping instead of flying. Is there anything I can do to make him fly?

He's eating this: http://www.dc-pets.nl/?p=productsMore&iProduct=264
(I don't know what it's called but it's similar to those balls you hang up during the winter).

Is this good or should I buy living mealworms?
he's also eating bread mixed with water.

he's eating of a plate at the moment, is this enough of should I hand feed him?

Is there anyting else that baby starlings need?

a photo of the starling on the day I found him (20 june):
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q284/camillex/IMG_7306Small.jpg
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q284/camillex/IMG_7312Small.jpg

I really want to know how old he is.

thanks!

That bird is a fledgling, just left the nest naturally. It hadn't fallen from the nest. I'm afraid that you have separated it from its parents - all you needed to do was move it in to cover and its parents would have returned. It is too young to fly properly (the wings are still short and growing), although it may also be injured. He looks about 25 days old. See how long the wing tips are on this older juvenile compared with your bird http://www.flickr.com/photos/andygaffey/509186642/in/set-72157600856390234/

But that's all done now, let's deal with the present. I'm perplexed that he's eating by himself already - he looks too young in the photos. Is he eating lots or a tiny bit? If a tiny bit, hand feed him too. You will have to force feed at first.

Yes, mealworms would be useful, but also any live food, such as earthworms or grubs from the garden (chop the worms into smaller pieces, about 2-3cm long). Also moist dog or cat food. Not slugs, as they coat the throat in mucous.

You need to see if he's injured. Take him somewhere secure (a closed area indoors) and hold him on your hand, and then move your hand up and down until he jumps off and tries to fly. Does he plummet straight to the ground? Or does he fly and then crash? When he flaps on your hand, see if both wings work the same. Are they held the same or is one drooping? Does ones flap and one not? If he's not injured, his flight should improve every day.

When the yellow gape on the bill disappears, and he's eating by himself, he's ready to go. Release him gradually, by letting him leave his housing when he wants, and keep leaving food out for him to return to.

yes, he ate almost imidiatly from the plate.
he also pries (or tries to pry) into a small box filled with dirt and earthworms. (but I heard earthworms aren't good for them, because they can cause infections?)

he eats quite a lot i think, he stays active so I guess he eating enough.
If I handfeed him, how often should I do that? every hour? every 2 hours?

he's not injured. He tries to fly and then crashes.
His feathers are all messy, he grooms himself but he can't get his feathers right.
( http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q284/camillex/naamloosSmall-1.jpg )
( http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q284/camillex/IMG_7392Small.jpg )

on what age are they supposed to fly properly?

Please return the bird to nature as soon as possible. Do not keep it more than a week. Try to place it near where you found it.

Agree,put him back where you found him as soon as possible.

ONLY whe he can feed himself totally (no hand feeding needed) and can fly properly.

The new photos looks worrying - he may be injured as the feathers don't lie correctly. He may have a fracture of thr carpal or furculum that would be very hard to detect, but make him unable to fly.

Give him water to bathe in, or spray him with fine water mist from a plant-sprayer, so encourage him to wash and sort his feathers out.

starling

hi there, I found a baby starling probably about a week old.. i've had him now for 2 weeks.. he is able to fly all over my yard but is not feeding himself yet.. i took him back to school where I found him.. I let him fly around where his family was. the home coming wasn't too welcoming and after an hour, i was able to get him back out of the tree and bring him home.. He loves to fly around but is not feeding himself.. He does not like being in his cage and wants out all the time.. i'm taking him to work/school with me everyday in his cage so he can be fed.. my question..... how do i get him to feed himself? I have dead insects for him which he is eating but only when i feed it to him.. Help, I don't want to own a starling forever lol

uniquiemoniquie and camillex do you have wildlife rescue centres where you live? As much as it seems like you are doing good and that you really do care, specialist help will ensure that both these birds go on to live happy lives in the wild. When it comes to possible injury it is best to get them checked out by a professional. At this time of year wildlife rescue centres see so many young birds and they know what to do.

Young animals can imprint on humans so easily and unfortunately this can have a lasting effect. Rescue centres have methods of raising them and then being able to safely release them, ensuring they can fend for themselves and not be a magnet for predators.

update on the starling

owlsgomoo said:

uniquiemoniquie and camillex do you have wildlife rescue centres where you live? As much as it seems like you are doing good and that you really do care, specialist help will ensure that both these birds go on to live happy lives in the wild. When it comes to possible injury it is best to get them checked out by a professional. At this time of year wildlife rescue centres see so many young birds and they know what to do.

Young animals can imprint on humans so easily and unfortunately this can have a lasting effect. Rescue centres have methods of raising them and then being able to safely release them, ensuring they can fend for themselves and not be a magnet for predators.

Click to expand...

I didn't see your message until today.. My computer crashed.. I had called a local wildlife but she did 't call me back. Well I released him into my yard the long weekend in May.. Wellllllllllll since then, he comes about every hour or two for feedings.. He has been flying free for weeks now.. He sleeps up in the trees and wakes me at 6am for a feeding and continues this All Day... My son has been great helping out while I work.... what do i do with this little guy now? I know I probably imprinted myself onto him.. how do I get him to go find his own food and stop landing on my door handle begging for food.. H E L P !!!!!

sparling

hi there im new here.not sure if this is the blogging area

anyways i found a sparling on he road,took it in
ive been trying to feed it ect and getting nowhere,there's nothing open at the moment as its the weekend so no where to take the little guy for help..

so maybe someone here can help..
and tips on how to get him to open his mouth so i can feed him insects ect
and anything else i need to know would be greatly appreciated
thanks alot holly..

I don't believe you are allowed to release any invasive species. So you have to either leave it completely alone, keep it for life or kill it.

A friends cat caught a young starling,managed to save it from the cat,took it in fed it meal worm,checked it over 3 days later took it to the same spot I found it,of it flu to meet the others .