Any tips on hacking blackbirds back into the wild? (1 Viewer)

[Merle]

Okay, down to 1. (The loneliest number...)

VERY strange thing happened with the 2 remaining hens. All of a sudden they went downhill, didn't beg much and got thin. Perhaps I should have fed them more often but they didn't seem hungry. They weren't as developed as the cock, didn't jump around or fly as much as him. One kept trying to fly but then falling. Then it started to have seizures...

I found it dead this morning in a position suggestive of seizure. The other two were quite perky and I thought perhaps they'll survive, so I fed them both the same amount until they were full. Took them to work, just checked them and the one with the bad leg was very weak and dying. I gave her an injection of calcium boroglutonate, as there wasn't any glucose to hand but that tends to give things a boost. Then a few minutes later in a warm, dark environment she was dead. The cock was bouncing around chirruping like he didn't really care...

Anyway, on the bright side, the remaining blackbird is doing very well. He flew onto a sheer wall and gripped the side, flapping his wings; he picks up mealworms and eats them with a little encouragement (he only just started doing that today, so I need to start feeding him natural food or he's just gonna think he can eat mealworms for the rest of his life...). I'm going to give him less vitamin supplement and no quail (I gave them some quail the other day, and my boss says falcons have been known to catch adenovirus from it. She thinks it might be that.) so perhaps he might have a chance. It'll be a lot easier with just him to look after...

If he does fledge that's still a 25% success rate. That's quite a lot higher than in the wild. If he doesn't...well, he had a better chance than before, not that it matters. If he doesn't fledge I suppose that was a waste of time, but for some reason it seems like it would have been wrong to not try and fledge them. Perhaps interfering with nature is a human instinct that is totally illogical but impossible to fight, and this is the reason why we're such a destructive species.

 

[chick118]

Merle, I quite agree, trying to prove superior bird knowledge by constantly quoting the law and ruining somebody's lovely memories is rather tedious - the law quotes certainly didn't help me learn anything about feeding my abandoned baby blackbird! But there is some really useful advice on this thread and my little baby bird is thriving, plumping up and with the exception of his tail, otherwise fully feathered.

I never touch him or spend time with him and after some hand feeding to mouth, he is now feeding himself from a saucer. He is happily in a large floor standing cage, hopping around from perch to perch with my 2 budgies and gala - I think the community helped perk him up quite quickly from the state he was in when I first found him. His tail feathers aren't quite there yet but starting to form and I think he will be ready for a trial freedom fly by next weekend.

It a redeeming feature of humans that we want to help the other creatures around us. I strongly believe that rules are there for a reason - to be used be common sense and a pinch of salt. An abandoned animal which is clearly going to die anyway - why would you not help in a responsible and learned way. I don't see animal rescue centres just letting creatures die if they can help them.

There are clearly a LOT of success stories out there, so take the best of the positive advice and treat those who wish to scare monger also with a pinch of salt. It sounds like you are doing a fabulous job - if just one of those little birdies who would otherwise have died, lives to build his own nest one day, then you have done an amazing thing.

Best wishes.

 

[SeanJarman]

This thread has been an interesting read.

About 10 days ago, I got up to find something pink and half-eaten that the cat had left on the back step. That evening, in comes the cat carrying something pink - but this time still alive and unchewed.....

Eyes still closed, "pin" feathers appearing but otherwise naked, we put this little unidntifyable thing into a small fishtank with an inch of straw and were amazed to find it alive and begging for food in the morning. On a diet of mashed catfood, initially fed with a syringe and latterly with the back of a teaspoon it is thriving and now almost fully feathered, only lacking a tail.

Identification has been a challenge but we are now pretty sure that it is a female blackbird.

The next stage in our "plan" is to move it into a rabbit-run (we keep a few hens but fear they might peck it if it gets put in with them) and try and get some live mealworms / maggots for it to forage for in the grass. It flapped its wings for the first time today too.

I'm confident that we have done OK as it has survived this far, hopefully not too badly imprinted, but does anyone have any suggestions to simplify the release process, or should we just stick with what we are doing and get there gradually?

If there are any good guides on identifying fledgelings the links would be appreciated too.

Thanks in advance

Sean

 

[KnockerNorton]

post a pic of it in the identification thread, or PM it to me.

If your cat starts bringing in chicks, it's found a nest. Keep it in, if you can, so it doesn't go back and kill the lot.

Re release, see my post (3rd from top).

 

[SeanJarman]

Here goes with a pic, this is 7 days after being brought in.

Tha cat had one chick for breakfast, then brought this one home alive, it hasnt had any more since. We did call a local rescue center who were uninterested, so we did what we could. This is when the chick just became a little mobile and moved about while chirping for food, once fed though it "dug in" again and lay silently for another hour. This behaviour has just started to change today, a bit of flapping and an interest in what is outside as soon as the tank is uncovered (we keep it hidden under a towel so it cannot watch us)

I think it is almost ready to move to an outside (cat-proof) run to start learning to forage for itself.

I thought it may be a thrush but although mottled, it looks darker than most of the pictures we have found, the beak and "cheeks?" are much much paler than the bright red that (I'm told) identifies a starling, it is orange-yellow in the mouth.

About an hour ago I lifted all the slabs in the garden and found 4 worms, it has scoffed one already and will be given the rest for its final feed, seems to like them

 

[KnockerNorton]

Here goes with a pic, this is 7 days after being brought in.

Tha cat had one chick for breakfast, then brought this one home alive, it hasnt had any more since. We did call a local rescue center who were uninterested, so we did what we could. This is when the chick just became a little mobile and moved about while chirping for food, once fed though it "dug in" again and lay silently for another hour. This behaviour has just started to change today, a bit of flapping and an interest in what is outside as soon as the tank is uncovered (we keep it hidden under a towel so it cannot watch us)

I think it is almost ready to move to an outside (cat-proof) run to start learning to forage for itself.

I thought it may be a thrush but although mottled, it looks darker than most of the pictures we have found, the beak and "cheeks?" are much much paler than the bright red that (I'm told) identifies a starling, it is orange-yellow in the mouth.

About an hour ago I lifted all the slabs in the garden and found 4 worms, it has scoffed one already and will be given the rest for its final feed, seems to like them

See my post in the other thread. Defo get it some mealworms and waxmoths. You kill them by cutting off/crushing the heads, then to feed pop them in with tweezers or head first down the hatch, or on the end of a blunt little nail. Don't feed them live and wriggling just yet, or they can nip. It will be about a week before it shows any interest in pecking at moving prey, but this will slowly increase. Give it chopped worms as and when you have them too, and make sure it has access to water. Don't feed dried mealworms, by the way, as these have no water content and it will dehydrate and die.

Feed 4-5 big mealworms or a big worm every 1-2 hrs, over 12 hrs a day.

 

[SeanJarman]

Well we could not find any mealworms or waxworms(?) locally available so settled for a small portion of maggots from the local fishing shop and WOW !! are they popular.

Feeding time is now a furious race to get them picked up with tweezers fast enough to not fall behind !

Considering a meal until now has been 1-2 grams of wet cat food or a simillar weight of fresh worm, the maggots are going down in lots of 15 or more and the level of enthusiasm displayed is most encouraging.

We are trying to vary feeding between catfood and the live wrigglies but it is clear which are preferred already !!

 

[KnockerNorton]

I'd caution against maggots, as they can be fatal if they're not very 'clean' (e.g. fed on something that isn't full of salmonella etc). They could give it an infection that will kill it. They are also often dyed (you didn't get pink or bronze ones did you?!), which will get into the growing feathers and may also be toxic at high doses. You'll also need to kill them, or they could injure the bird's throat (they have sharp mouthparts). Just gently crush them so they don't squish, or freeze and defrost them (don't feed while they're still cold - allow them to warm up). I'd go for worms rather than maggots though, to be on the safe side.

You can buy mealworms/waxworms mail order online - they arrive next day and you get a few hundred mealworms plus postage for about 6 quid. It's well worth it.