What to feed little chicks. Sparrow chick - what to feed and how to care for. Examples of mixtures for artificial feeding of weaver finches chicks

Quite often, in late spring and early summer, people resting in the forest stumble upon a nestling of a bird of prey sitting on a branch or on the ground, and even more often an owlet. Sometimes this “living toy” found is carried home. After playing with it for a day or two, they start calling zoos, nurseries and other organizations to give it away. Some want to get more money for it. It also happens that the “rescued” chick has been so tortured and fed with something that it is no longer possible to help him.

What to do if you find a chick of a bird of prey?

If you find a bird of prey chick, take a closer look at where it is. Usually chicks birds of prey and owls leave their nests, not yet able to fly, and disperse along the branches or on the ground near the nest. Parents fly up to each separately, as a rule, first to the most noisy, i.e. the hungriest, and feed him.

Hawk cubs and buzzards leave their nests with half-grown tails. The owls are still down jackets. The nests of harriers (except marsh) and marsh owls are located on the ground. Their chicks also scatter.

If a chick of a bird of prey sits on a branch or stump, then this is normal and should not be touched.
- If a predatory chick sits on the ground in weeds or thickets of nettles, in a field in the grass, inside a bush, this is also normal.

The chick of a bird of prey nesting in a tree falls to the ground very rarely. This happens most often when the chick is already half-fledged and begins to jump over the branches near the nest and fly up. But such a chick will already be able to climb onto an inclined bough or stump, where its parents will feed it. Owlets that have fallen to the ground climb a tree with their beak and claws, clinging to the bumps in the bark, like parrots. Adult owls are usually nearby and attack a person, intimidating him with a click of his beak. Birds of prey in the open fly restlessly with a cry, and in the forest their alarm cry is often just heard.

When can you save a bird of prey chick?

The reason for taking and actually saving a chick of a bird of prey is gray crows. When you see that they curl with heart-rending cries and attack someone, come and have a look. If the object of their attacks is a chick of a bird of prey, an owlet or some other bird, then, of course, it is better to take it away. Otherwise, he is still not a tenant, the crows will hammer him. Morality and law diverge here. Legally, you are a poacher, but morally, you are a savior. The choice is yours.

The chick thus came to you. You do not trust any rehabilitation centers and falconers, you decided to grow it yourself and return it to nature. What to do?

Feeding, maintenance and treatment of a bird of prey chick

Inspection of a chick of a bird of prey

First of all, inspect the chick. You can carry it home either in a bag or in a plastic bag, making something like a nest out of branches or grass there. The bag or package must be opened to maintain air ventilation. If in the spring on a cool day the chick is wet, carry it in your bosom and warm it. You need to carry it carefully so as not to hit anything and not to crush. Be sure to carefully inspect the chick. You can understand that he is exhausted by the keel strongly protruding on his chest and general lethargy. Wounds, fractures, dislocations are usually clearly visible. Opening the beak, see if there is a white coating inside. Feel your belly. It is possible to determine whether the chick of a bird of prey was fed by its parents by probing its goiter, and the owlet's stomach.

How to water a chick of a bird of prey

After carefully examining the chick of a bird of prey, first water it. This can be done by inserting a rubber or soft plastic tube neatly, deeper into the beak, and then pouring water into it by mouth, little by little. You need to pour in very carefully, making sure that the water passes into the goiter (birds of prey) or into the stomach (owls) and the chick does not choke. It is better to drink by force together. One holds, the other pours. How much to pour? Do not overdo it. Depending on the size of the bird, it is better to do it a little in two or three doses.

Prepare a place for temporary keeping of the chick. Well suited for this ordinary spacious cardboard box, the bottom of which is lined with pieces of torn paper or newspaper. This is done so that these pieces are mixed with litter and the chick does not get dirty. Yes, and he will sit in such a box both dry and soft. This bedding is changed regularly. Cut holes in the box with a knife for ventilation.

What to feed a chick of a bird of prey

Feed. What and how to feed? The most frequently asked question. Of course, it is not necessary to give either sausages, or bacon, or bread, which is often done. Birds of prey and owls eat fresh meat. Usually the food supply is kept frozen. But you can’t give ice cream cold meat. The meat needs to be thawed and warmed up, and fed a little warmed up, at least until room temperature. Before feeding in the summer, in very hot weather, water must be added to the feed. The simplest and most affordable food is veal. 1/10 of a veal or beef liver is added to it. This needs to be cut into pieces depending on the size of the bird so that it is easy for her to swallow. Also add 1/10 - 1/16 of undevit powder crushed into dust (per kilogram of weight) and ¼ of glycerophosphate or calcium gluconate. Mix everything with the addition of a raw egg (weight is gained faster) and a piece of cotton wool the size of a finger knuckle. It is good to add a pinch of grated carrots. I worked out this composition for a very long time, and the chicks grew well on it. Meat base, i.e. veal, for various reasons, can be replaced with veal heart, chicken heads, day old chickens, pigeons, crows, in extreme cases, chicken legs.

At the first feeding, give an exhausted chick a little meat, with water, finely chopped, and watch how the food is digested. The goiter should disappear, and the chick should begin to perform its natural needs, shooting back with droppings. If the goiter does not disappear, i.e. does not become smaller, you need to pour sweetened tea with lemon juice using a syringe with a tube. From this, food is better absorbed and the intestines work.

If the chick does not begin to eat on its own before dusk, you need to force-feed very carefully.

Worms in a chick of a bird of prey

Deworm. In chicks, the presence of worms can be determined by bloating and general exhaustion, but more often this is not noticeable. It is dangerous to give an anthelmintic immediately to a severely malnourished chick. You need to pre-fat, with a week. Usually I gave panakur, calculating it by weight, and no side effects were found from its use. A good drug, but currently Panakur is in veterinary pharmacies practically not for sale. In addition to panakur, he used albendazole. I have been giving Vermizola-10 for the last two years. The drug, calculated by weight, I give with food and repeat in two weeks. If you cannot find these drugs, consult a veterinary clinic or pharmacy. They will advise you how to proceed.

Lice on a chick of a bird of prey

Prevention of diseases in chicks of birds of prey

Treat a bird of prey chick for prevention. The simplest, proven over the years and quite effective method is the following. Four days in a row, per kilogram of bird weight, ¼ ampicillin tablet, ¼ Trichopolum tablet and 1/16 undevit are given with food. After 10-14 days, the course is repeated. Already after the first course of such treatment, the condition of a lethargic chick of a bird of prey improves, it becomes greedier.

Diseases of birds of prey

What diseases are most common in chicks of birds of prey and can you identify and cure them yourself? Forcibly open the beak and see if there is a white coating inside. If so, is it or aspergillosis or trichomoniasis. Trichomoniasis (trichomoniasis) is easily treated with Trichopolum. Approximately ¼ tablet is given for four days per kilogram of bird weight and repeated after 10-14 days. Aspergillosis is practically incurable. A bird with aspergillosis is usually doomed. If a white plaque in the throat after the first course of treatment with Trichopolum began to disappear and the bird began to eat with appetite, you are lucky, you will live. It was not aspergillosis, but trichomoniasis, and you cured it.

Wounds on birds of prey usually heal well. Sprinkle with streptocide and hold it alone.

At tarsus fracture, if it is not possible to take to a veterinarian, you can try to put a splint yourself. With a hip fracture, this is much more difficult to do. Broken-winged bird of prey practically doomed. Only highly qualified doctors in specialized veterinary clinics can help in this case. Therefore, try to deliver a chick with a broken wing to such a hospital as soon as possible. Sick chicks during any treatment are best kept in a box and less disturbed.

How to teach a bird of prey chick to catch prey

Teach a grown bird of prey chick to catch prey. You need to learn to grab something moving. It's not hard. For this, the chick must be healthy and strong. Healthy birds of prey have a good appetite and are greedy. From the moment when the feathers on the tail grow in half, you need to start giving the hawk the carcasses of pigeons, rooks, and crows cut in half into feathers. If not, buy at least quails, grown chickens or rats. Ten is enough on average. First, the hawk will learn to pluck and tear "prey". Having got used to doing this, and not waiting for you to put a piece in his open beak, he will gradually begin to grab this chopped carcass when it is dragged past him by the cord. Graduality is important here.

Where to release a bird of prey chick

Before releasing, make sure that the chick you have reared can fly well and knows to grab a moving one, i.e. grabs the carcass when you drag it. If the hawk does not yet know how to fly or flies badly, it should not be released, but planted in some hawk nest with chicks. In extreme cases, you can plant it in the nest of a buzzard or kite. Both of these birds feed adopted children well.

You need to release where there is a lot of food and hawks nest. Otherwise, the chick will be doomed to starvation. Large landfills are best suited for this. Knowing how to fly well, your fosterling will easily hide in the nearest forest from the crows chasing him. And the crows, accustomed to constantly seeing hawks flying along the edges of the forest adjacent to the dump, do not really react to them. You will need to spend a day walking around the landfill. The loud cries of the young, if the hawks were nesting near the landfill, you will hear from afar. They usually call at the nest. You need to go to these screams and remember the place where you shouted. It is better to release a pet in the evening, fed to satiety, in the place that you remember where the brood screamed. In the morning, a hawk, hungry, will easily find a nesting pair by the cries of the young and join it.

Very often, children bring chicks from the street, allegedly fallen out of the nest, and with tears begin to take care of them. They arrange a nest in a box, lay it on cotton wool or rags and ask adults about what to feed the chicks that have fallen out of the nest?

Not every parent is able to force the baby to take the chick to where he brought it from, although he understands that he will have to take care of the foundling.

Chick Mode

Chicks need food often, once every 15-20 minutes. It will be possible to interrupt only for a night's sleep and resume feeding should be no later than the sun rises.

What to feed the chicks depends on the type of birds to which they belong. It is possible to feed a songbird, a sparrow, a swift, a crow or a dove at home. Almost all chicks can be returned to where they were found, and their parents will certainly take care of them.

They do not return to their place only the little chick that has fallen out of the nest cannot be helped, they do not know how to take off from the ground. You can distinguish a swift from a swallow by its paws - in swifts, all fingers look forward.

Menu for chicks

Despite the fact that adult birds peck grains with pleasure, chicks are fed with protein food. Live bloodworms are also suitable for food, which can be purchased at pet stores, earthworms - you can dig them up yourself, flies - also caught with your own hands.

Ideally, feeding is carried out once every 20 minutes - if not, at least once an hour. A piece of food must be pushed into the chick's beak, opening it by force. If you cannot get live food, then you need to mix pieces of egg yolk, cottage cheese and minced meat and make tiny balls. The chick itself does not know how to peck, but by 3-4 feeding it understands that it is required to open the "mouth".

What to feed His diet is no different from that of a sparrow. The only thing is that the tit chick may need mineral supplements and vitamins, which will have to be introduced along with the food. Chicks of tits are found less often; these birds hide their nests from people. It often happens that parents, frightened by people, lose a chick, and when the children find it, it is quite weakened.

Swallows are not returned to the wild

Often, children bring little swallows home. These birds nest on the last floors of human dwellings and under balconies. What to feed the chicks of these birds? Swallows always feed on protein food, and therefore feeding swallows is no different from nursing. But you need to remember: if birds of other species during maturation are gradually transferred to grain feed and can leave their hospitable hosts, a swallow fed in captivity does not return to freedom. True, live food can be replaced with a surrogate as the bird grows older - transfer it to minced meat. It is enough to feed the swallow chick once an hour.

When it is clear what to feed the chicks, it is required to clarify what to feed them and how? And most importantly, is it necessary? You can drip a couple of drops of water, introducing it further into the beak, from a pipette, but the birds in wild nature they do not water their chicks - they have enough moisture from living food.

In order for children not to bring small birds home, parents should explain to the child that fledglings - most often children bring chicks that themselves flew out of the nest, not yet fully fledged - flew out of the nest and waited for their mother, who would feed him and take care. And you don’t need to bring such chicks home, it’s better to return them to the same place so that their parents can find them. At home, feeding a chick is quite difficult.

Sparrow chicks are often picked out of ignorance of the behavior of fledglings, due to the desire that most people have to help this "poor child". Behavioral features of fledglings are characterized by following their parents and begging for food in a pose typical for a fledgling — crouching on their paws, rapidly flapping their wings and screaming loudly. Although such fledglings fly very well, they may not be afraid of people, which misleads a person. If you see such a yellowmouth, do not worry, and do not pay attention to him, as a rule, the parents of the chick are nearby and he does not need help, he did not fall out of the nest, but flew out of it safely.

When to save a fledgling or sparrow chick?

• If you have taken a chick from a cat or dog, then such a chick must be treated. After cat bites, even if the bird flies, very serious problems develop in birds, because bacteria (pasteurella) can normally live on the teeth of cats and dogs, which are pathogenic for birds, causing a particularly dangerous infectious disease in birds, pasteurellosis.
• If you find sparrow chicks of any age covered with ticks, then such a chick in nature will not survive. Therefore, you will most likely be able to help him if you contact a bird doctor and take responsibility and care for the chick.
• If the nest was destroyed during the construction or renovation of the building, then most likely you will be able to save his life by taking him on your own, creating all the conditions that this bird needs.

Photo: Look, this is not a fully feathered sparrow chick; such a chick is outside the nest. If you found such a sparrow, then this means: either the chick was thrown out of the nest, or fell out, or he himself had to leave the nest (this happens when all the older brothers have already fully fledged and left the nest, after which the parent birds cease to participate in life " younger" chick). Photo by:

• If you find a chick lying on asphalt, concrete, and this chick cannot stand up on its own, then such a chick may have leg fractures and / or internal bleeding. Such chicks should be immediately delivered to the veterinarian, or at least call the bird doctor in order to receive the first instructions on what to do with the chick.

How to help the chicks if the nest is destroyed?

Unfeathered (“naked”) and blind chicks of sparrows are often thrown out of the nest by other birds, and therefore it is useless to return the chicks thrown out by other birds to the nest. This event is usually accompanied by bird fights at the nest, sparrow nests can be occupied by swifts or starlings.

If the chick accidentally fell out (this happens when the grown chicks actively beg for food from their parents), and you see a nest (sparrows fly in there and you can hear the chicks squeaking) - try to return the chick inside the nest. Often this saves the lives of birds.

If you witnessed how a hurricane or a thunderstorm turned over a birdhouse or a titmouse in which sparrows or other birds nested, and the chicks fell out of such a nest, then you can really save the chicks, even if the trouble happened at night, and you only found the chicks in the grass in the morning. Return the birdhouse to its original position. If the nest inside the birdhouse is completely destroyed, then simply pour sawdust on the bottom of this birdhouse, or put dry moss (no need to put wet moss) and return the fallen chicks, having previously given them water to drink.

Sparrows, starlings, flycatchers, tits - they do not smell, and from the fact that you took chicks in your hands - they will not leave their brood.

After that, observe how the parent birds behave:

• • If adult sparrows are not interested in the nest box, and do not even fly up to it, wait three hours and take the chicks for feeding.
  • If sparrows fly up to the nest, respond to the call of the chicks, but do not fly inside - most likely you are scaring the birds. In this case, leave them alone, stay out of sight for a few hours, and they are very likely to return to feeding chicks.

Is it possible to feed very small chicks?

If you find a tiny unfeathered chick, and you don’t see the nest from which it fell out, then such a chick has only one option to survive - if it is provided with competent and timely assistance. It is not difficult to feed a sparrow chick, it can be done even by feeding it only with a boiled egg and minced meat. However, such a chick will not be healthy, it will grow up sick and rickety.

If you live in the countryside and have the time and opportunity to catch insects, everything is much better. The best option is to feed the sparrow with insects: grasshoppers, crickets, spiders, butterflies, caterpillars (caterpillars must be naked; do not give “hairy” caterpillars to sparrow chicks). The main thing is not to forget to water the chick every time after feeding and immediately remove the litter from the nest (it is easy to make a nest in their box lined with clean napkins).

If you are a city dweller or you do not have the opportunity to spend time in the field, catching grasshoppers and butterflies, then this article on feeding chicks of field and house sparrows will be a useful guide for you.

If you are the owner of a rehabilitation center, or a volunteer at a wild bird rescue center, or you are simply enthusiastic about collecting dozens of sparrow chicks at home, then the feeding method described in this article will not work for you, since a large number of chicks require a completely different professional approach than to the preparation of diets for chicks, and to the feeding process.

What should be done immediately after picking up the chick?

First of all, having picked up a sparrow chick of any age, you need to water it. If the chick does not open its beak and practically does not show signs of life - moisten a brush, cotton swab or your finger with water, and place the drop hanging from the finger / cotton swab in the corner of the closed beak - the drop will be absorbed by itself and the chick will swallow in a few seconds, give about 10 drops of water and call the bird doctor.

How to feed the chick in the first hours of the house?

If the chick actively asks for food: it opens its beak when a person approaches and squeaks loudly or not loudly, and you don’t have food insects at home, then the most versatile option that you can feed almost any chick without harm is not fatty raw, fresh meat. You can use minced meat, or scrape a piece of meat from a frozen piece of meat with a knife, put it in a shallow saucer and add warm water so that the mass melts quickly. In the same way, you can use frozen fish or minced fish. You can not use lard, and do not use dumpling filling (real case from practice).

The second universal food that you can feed the chick in the first hours after you brought it home is boiled egg. Hard boil an egg, finely chop the yolk and protein, add a little water, mash, roll a ball the size of 2/3 of the chick's head and put it in its beak. On such an “urgent” diet, a chick can live for a day without harm to itself, but if you continue to feed it only with an egg or only meat, the chick will get sick very quickly.

And now in detail about what needs to be purchased for the full feeding of a sparrow chick:

Special lighting for chicks

In the list of necessary things for feeding chicks, a lamp for birds is indicated. The lamp is necessary because at home the chicks are deprived of sunlight, and without ultraviolet light, the normal development of the chick is impossible, since vitamin D is produced in the skin of birds only in the presence of ultraviolet light, in addition. IMPORTANT! DO NOT USE HARD UV MEDICAL LAMPS. Partially replace the sunlight will help a special lamp for birds. Now the best option is the Arcadia birds lamp. Install it in the room where the chick is kept, at a distance of up to 1 meter from the chick. The lamp must be on during all daylight hours. The duration of daylight hours should be at least 10 hours (preferably 12-14). Before turning off the light, the chick must be fed.

Where to keep the chick? Cage, box, nest, basket?

The best option for keeping chicks is a temperature and humidity controlled brooder. Sparrow chicks in a brooder should be kept in makeshift nest. If there is no brooder, then a “nest is made” and temperature control is carried out either with lamps (the incandescent lamp should not shine directly on the chick) or with water heaters. The nest can be a comfortable bowl lined with paper napkins, or a rope nest for canaries (available at pet stores). It is better to cover small chicks after feeding with another napkin. In this way, heat is retained, a feeding reflex is developed in the chick, and psychological comfort is created for the bird, because sparrows nest in closed spaces.

Do not use hay, straw, pressed sawdust and cat litter as bedding. . Chicks can swallow pellets and this can lead to trouble.

It is impossible to use containers without lining as a nest (even if it is cardboard or wood) - for the reason that without lining, the chick's paws will slide, and the moving of the paws will lead to injury to the joints.

The temperature must be maintained within 32-35 C, humidity 40-45%.

Carefully remove litter from the nest as soon as it appears! The nurse should have a pedantic skill - cleanliness in the nest, the best prevention of chick diseases.

When the chick becomes a fledgling, it gets out of the nest. You can keep such a fledgling either in a large cage, or in an aviary, or simply in a large basket covered with a panel with a mosquito net on top. You can not keep the fledglings in a closed basket or box (light is very important for normal development and molting).

Sparrow chicks grow in closed nests, but they do not grow in the dark. In natural closed nests, chicks receive a lot of scattered ultraviolet radiation, which they are deprived of at home. A photo .

If you keep the chick in a basket, then you need to install perches from branches with bark in it. The perches are placed close to the floor. Feed is placed at the bottom of the cage. Also, a broom made of thin branches with foliage is installed in a basket or in an aviary. Hiding in the branches of bushes and trees is the normal behavior of a fledgling sparrow, so the chicks will hide behind a twig broom.

Hygiene for chicks

When rearing chicks, it is important to keep the nest (box) clean and remove the chick's droppings immediately. Normally, the chick defecates immediately after feeding.

When feeding liquid, smearing food, one should try to prevent food from getting on the feather and in the eyes of the chick. Contamination of the feather with food leads to a violation of the development of the feather (the feather does not open normally or the feather follicle may be damaged). In addition, contamination of the feather with feed creates favorable conditions for the development of secondary bacterial and fungal infections, so feed that has fallen on the feather should be immediately removed with a damp cotton swab or wet wipe. If the feed mixture gets into the eyes, it is necessary to rinse the eyes of the chick with sterile saline.

Calcium for sparrow chicks

Sparrows can get calcium from insects, plant foods, kitten food, egg shells, and mineral supplements.

In order to prevent the development of rickets, chicks need to be fed with a diet containing calcium and phosphorus in a ratio of 2: 1, so you can not feed sparrows for a long time only raw meat or only boiled eggs.

The most accessible source of calcium is chalk (calcium carbonate), food clay, boiled egg shells (eggs must be well boiled so as not to infect the chick with pathogens of infectious diseases of chickens). Chalk, clay or shells are ground in a coffee grinder into dust, and such a powder is used to add to the liquid mixture, and for deboning insects, when feeding grown fledglings. I will call this powder conditionally “calcium”.

How to calculate the calcium requirement of a chick?

The literature provides evidence that pure calcium should be 2% of the weight of the daily diet. But for single-fed chicks, it is impossible to adhere to the rule “it is impossible to overdose calcium carbonate” - it is possible, because its excess is excreted from the intestines. Therefore, if you take as a guide the dosage of calcium powder in half a teaspoon per day, then you definitely will not lose.

Can I use parrot formula for sparrow chicks?

Some bird owners use mixtures for feeding parrot chicks to feed chicks of passerines. This is an incorrect methodology, since the nutritional requirements and development of parrot chicks are very different from the rate of development of passerine chicks, and their basic nutritional requirements are very different. Passerine chicks reared on parrot food gain normal muscle mass, but plumage and bone tissue develop abnormally. The literature mentions that only Kaytee Exact Hand Feeding Formula is suitable for feeding small sparrow chicks. I did not use this mixture, although it is available on the CIS market, but unsuccessfully fed sparrows and other passerine birds with mixtures for parrots from different manufacturers - I meet very often in my practice.

Feeding fledglings from day one

From the first day, a liquid feed mixture is used to feed the non-feathered blind chicks of sparrows.

The composition of the feed mixture for feeding: fodder insects, cottage cheese, pieces of fruit, available berries, dry hamarus or daphnia, children's linex (1 sachet), soaked kitten food, natural yogurt, calcium. Everything is put together in a blender and ground to a liquid state. The mixture is given from a syringe in small portions. Never fill the goiter more than 2/3 of its volume to prevent overdistension of the goiter. For very small chicks, the mixture can be given either with a brush or a pipette - it is important to prevent contamination of the skin and feather of the chick with food.

This mixture does not store well. It spoils quickly because it contains many nutrients, bacterial cultures (yogurt and linex). Therefore, it is important not to make a large volume of the mixture for storage, use the finished feed within 2 hours.

Chick feeding process

What to feed the chick: syringe, brushes?

When the chick is very small and blind, it is best to use an insulin syringe with a removable needle for feeding. For convenience, a clipped IV catheter can be put on, but the older the chick gets, the more it grabs the tip of the syringe and may swallow the catheter. Be careful not to use the catheter for grown feathered chicks and fledglings. Before feeding the chick, remove all drops of feed mixture from the tip of the syringe so as not to accidentally stain the plumage.

It is more convenient for some to use brushes for feeding very small chicks, if you have the skill and you do not stain the bird's feather, then you can use this technique.

If there are a lot of chicks, then feed everyone in a circle. No need to "feed" the chick immediately and completely: they gave a portion of food and move on to the next chick. Do not forget to check if the youngest chicks have eaten, as the older ones can “trample” the babies in the nest.

How often should chicks be fed?

Feeding is carried out every 20-30 minutes for 14 hours a day. Before a new feeding, make sure that the crop is empty. If the goiter slowly empties or swells -. It is important not to overfeed the chicks, as the sparrow continues to ask for food even when the crop is already full; do not give the mixture more than 2/3 of the volume of the head, it is better to feed in small portions, but more often.

How to hold a chick while feeding?

When feeding, the chicks shake their heads, sway in different directions - for your convenience, you can gently hold the chick's head with the fingers of your free hand. Immediately remove leftover food from the head or body of the chick. If the chick does not poop immediately after feeding, feel the stomach, it should not be swollen or hard. Lack of litter may be due to too dry feed mixture. Dilute the mixture and/or give the chick extra water. If the chick still does not poop, give him water until the litter appears, without giving a new portion of food.

Feeding chicks and fledglings

As soon as the stumps of the first feathers appear on the chick, gradually begin to introduce food insects. It is necessary to introduce insects by replacing individual feedings with a nestling mixture for insects, removing hard parts from a flour worm, crickets, and locusts. Alternate between feeding liquid formula, insects, berries and small pieces fruits.

Fledglings need to be fed every 45 minutes - 12-14 hours a day. The older the chick gets, the more insects we give. When the chick can already stand on its own paws, there is no longer any need for a liquid mixture, but provided that you have enough fodder insects, berries and fruits. Fruit is sprinkled with calcium, insects collapse in it. Necessarily! after each feeding, you need to give the bird water to drink: give 2-3 drops in the beak, or more if the chick asks for more.

Properly reared chicks of house sparrows are completely feathered by the time they reach the normal mass of adult birds, without stubby tails, bald spots on the head and white spots on the primary flight feathers. The mass of an adult house sparrow is 28 grams.

Chick training: target and clicker

If you are not going to release the chick back into nature, then it is important to use a clicker during feeding from the first days, developing a click reflex. This will help you in the future, when the chick begins to fly, train the chick, increasing its physical endurance. This is an important stage in the life of a chick and it is important not to miss this time.

Teaching a chick to self-feeding

As soon as the sparrow begins to leave his box on his own: firstly, it's time to start accustoming him to self-feeding; secondly, you need to eliminate all the cracks under the furniture, between the furniture and the walls (sparrows are very fond of hiding in such cracks and may not give a voice at all; it is extremely difficult to find a hidden chick).

Teaching a chick to "adult" food begins with the acquaintance of the chick with food. To do this, a grain mixture for canaries, or a mixture of seeds of meadow and forest grasses, is poured onto the bottom of the cage, or aviary. Pieces of vegetables, fruits, berries, greens are also placed here, fodder insects, a chopped boiled chicken egg, crumbs from dry food for kittens are thrown. No "forbidden" vegetables or fruits that are dangerous for sparrows grow in Eurasia. Since there will still be questions, I’ll clarify: the sparrow chick can be given: dill, parsley, cilantro, coriander, cabbage, apples, cherries, cherries, pears, bananas, potatoes, grapes and other vegetables and fruits, bunches of wild herbs and weeds. At first, the chick will effortlessly taste everything, over time he will learn to gnaw the seeds on his own. It is not necessary and should not be specially taught to eat on its own.

To make it easier for you to clean the cage and change food, it is best to use shallow trays. It is also most convenient to give water in shallow, wide containers. The older the sparrow becomes, the more foragers, hoarders and other methods of enriching the diet and habitat must be used.

Cessation of feeding and transfer of the chick to self-feeding

It is very important not to transfer the chick to self-feeding ahead of time. The fact that the chick began to peel the grain on its own and become interested in other foods is not a reason to reduce the frequency of feeding; in nature, parents feed the fledglings for a long time after the chicks have already begun to eat themselves. Surely you have seen a string of loudly screaming sparrows flying after their parents and begging for food. This is a very important period in the life of a fledgling. At this time, the parental birds teach the chicks: what to eat, how to eat, how to avoid dangers, and most importantly, following the parents allows the chicks to gain the necessary physical endurance. Therefore, now you also need to not only put food in the chick's beak, but make it fly around the apartment after you. This is where the training skills that you mastered earlier become relevant. Now you need to fix them - this will help you solve many problems with the behavior of the bird in the future. Too early transfer to self-feeding is fraught with malnutrition and the development of diseases in the chick.

Photo: Chicks in the nest. These fledglings are already ready to fly out of the nest, but for a few more weeks they will pester their parents, demanding additional feeding. A photo .

House sparrow chicks are ready to be transferred to self-feeding when they reach a weight of 20-27 grams, are fully feathered, the tail is 2-3 cm long, the beak becomes gray-beige and hard, the bites become painful, the yellow border at the corners of the beak turns pale and becomes small. noticeable. Now your chick is not a yellowmouth.

Start reducing your feeding frequency. Some chicks can adjust to self-feeding very quickly, literally a day after reducing the frequency of feeding. Other chicks at this age refuse to eat (do not want to eat) and such fledglings do not need to be force-fed. Watch the sparrow's body weight: if the bird does not lose weight below 21 grams and is active, then everything is in order. If you plan to release the bird in the future, then you can already take it out to the outdoor aviary.

Photo: This is how a healthy sparrow fledgling looks like, which can already feed on its own. Pay attention to the condition of the plumage and the corners of the beak. A photo: .

What can not be given to chicks?

In no case should poisoned flies, cockroaches, crickets be given to chicks. If you find a lethargic or dead fly or a cockroach, you cannot feed the chicks with them, as the chick will also be poisoned and die.

Do not give insects caught in a sticky tape trap.

You can not give minced meat from dumplings, whites, pasties, pies, sausages, sausages, cutlets, etc.

Do not give milk, bread soaked in milk, pizza cheese, milk powder and baby milk porridge.

You can not give sour, sour, rotten mixture for feeding.

You should not offer earthworms to the chick. Earthworms are intermediate hosts for worms, in particular singamus, which lead to singhamosis.

Should I give my chick vitamins?

All vitamins are given only as prescribed by the veterinarian in charge of the development of the chick. Remember, vitamins are not just cool balls or syrup, they are chemical compounds that have their own indications and contraindications for taking. It is especially important to know this if you decide to give fat-soluble ADE vitamins to the chick yourself - an overdose of these drugs is deadly for any bird!

Signs of disease in chicks

Slowing the rate of development of the chick and the rate of weight gain are important signs of disease. Also, it is important to pay attention to the condition of the litter. Normally, the litter should be formed, odorless, not liquid, without bubbles. The goiter should be emptied very quickly, the swelling of the goiter and its overflow should not be allowed.

If during feeding you got into the trachea and the chick coughed, began to sneeze - contact your bird doctor IMMEDIATELY!

Paws should not move apart. Fingers should be straight.

Photo: This non-feathered sparrow chick has the so-called “twine” - the paws move apart due to damage to the tendons. If treatment is not started in time, the chick will either die at a very early age or become disabled for life. If you see that the chick's feathers are parting, then immediately contact a veterinarian specializing in the treatment of birds. A photo:

Photo: This house sparrow chick fell into the hands of a person at a very early age, with paws already moving apart. Pay attention to the setting of the paws: the paws are "spread out" to the sides.These are signs of rickets, treatment of chicks with such paws should begin as soon as possible after you notice the first signs of the disease. Despite the fact that dFor this chick, a correct “nest” was made, in which the paws did not move apart even more, the bird remained disabled.

Photo: The same chick as in the photo above, but already grown up. The paws are turned out to the sides. Feathers do not open properly. Look at the feathers of the wings and tail: there should not be such “needles”.

Photo: There should be no bald patches on the head and neck of the chick. Poor condition of the plumage, multiple stress lines on the feather, uneven opening of the feathers on the tail, lag in the development of feathers on the head, paw turned to the side - all these are signs of disease in the sparrow chick. The photo is the same chick as above.

Photo: The feather should not have stress lines (transverse grooves), areas with no secondary grooves (not a full feather). Plumage color should be light brown without white spots. The same chick, but already a fledgling.

Eyes should be clean, clear. Eyelids should not be red.

If you notice signs of illness in the chick, contact your veterinarian immediately. It is better to once again ask the doctor if everything is in order than to miss the critical time to start treating the bird.

Is it possible to release a human-fed chick into the wild?

A single-grown sparrow chick is very strongly attached to the person who brought it up, it is possible to adapt such a chick for release if you take care of "running wild" in advance. To do this, you do not need to lisp with the chick, fed and forgotten. During feeding it is necessary to wear bright clothes or clothes with color spots, so that the chick does not concentrate on the face of the feeder and his voice, but is distracted by bright clothes. When reaching the age of self-feeding - do not show too much interest in the bird, such a fledgling will quickly begin to run wild and be afraid of a person. Of course, for release into nature, it is better to raise at least two chicks at once, so that in the future there will be no problems with socialization, but a single-fed sparrow can also be successfully released - subject to its special training. Without adaptation, socialization and training, it is impossible to release a well-fed chick into nature.

Preparation for release into the wild

To prepare for release into the wild, an aviary is required at least 1.2 x 2.4 x 2.4, but the larger, the better. The walls of the aviary are made of a soldered “fur farm” mesh with a mesh of 1 x 1 or 1 x 1.5 cm. It is best to attach the aviary with one or two walls to existing buildings, so that the birds have a corner protected from the wind on both sides.

In the aviary, it is necessary to create a central area free from perches and shelters where birds can fly. Feeding birds in such an aviary is carried out with the maximum possible amount of wild herbs and plants growing in your area. In such an enclosure, a flock of sparrows is kept for 1-2 weeks. Before release, all birds must be in good physical condition, fully feathered, and the feather must be waterproof, like those of wild sparrows.

Release into nature

prepared birds should be released in the morning, in good weather. It is desirable that the weather forecast for the next few days after the release is also good. It is best to release where flocks of young sparrows already live.

I draw your attention to the fact that release into nature should be supervised by specialists and it is necessary to prepare for it in advance, since there are a large number of important details that are beyond the scope of this article.

A useful video about feeding sparrow chicks on Pernatik's life channel:

Kozlitin V.E.

References:
1. Hand-rearing birds / Laurie J. Gage, Rebecca Duerr. ©2007 Blackwell Publishing
2. Avian medicine: principles and applications. Ritchie, Harrison and Harrison. © 1994. Wingers Publishing, Inc., Lake Worth, Florida

The title photo shows a healthy, unfeathered house sparrow chick.

Noticing that the sparrow chick has fallen out of the nest, do not rush to drag it home. Assess the situation. A newborn will have to be monitored a lot: if there is no time, do not take on overwork. It should be fed often, and, most importantly, correctly. There is no possibility - give up the idea. Intervention would be a disservice if the bird accidentally fell from a tree while following its parents. See if they're looking for a baby. If you decide to help the baby, read how to do it right.

Sometimes the chicks fall out of the nests. To understand how to save a sparrow baby, you need to determine the cause. If you find a baby on the ground, look around.

The sparrows themselves will not throw the chick out of the nest. But other birds, swifts, starlings, can win back their homes, getting rid of the "enemy" offspring. In this case, try to drive away the fighters and help the baby.

If the sparrow chick fell out of the nest by accident, return it back. Sometimes babies instinctively reach for their parents, falling from trees. If everything is in order with the "bird house", the parents are in place, then the tragedy will not happen.

Don't worry about whether or not to pick up the baby and carry it to the nest. Sparrows do not smell, so they will not abandon the brood due to human interference.

Natural disasters can also destroy the nest: a hurricane, a thunderstorm. In this case, you can help the birds by restoring the home. Bring the little ones back to the renovated home and watch them. If the parents respond to the call of the cubs, the rescue mission is over. If this does not happen, you will have to feed the young.

Sparrow chicks grow up to an independent age of 2-3 weeks. That's how long it takes for the cubs to come out.

Sparrow classification

Newborn sparrow chicks are newly hatched, not covered with feathers, very small birds. It is hardly possible to provide them with food, since they will have to be fed often: once every 2-3 hours. The best solution is to find an abandoned nest.

Yellowmouths are juvenile chicks that have acquired feathers. Despite the fact that sparrows look mature, they are not capable of self-feeding. At this age, babies often fall out due to negligence. It is possible to leave the bird, but you will have to feed it regularly, and this is the time.

Fledglings are called already quite matured, capable of self-feeding birds. Having found such a bird, do not touch it: let it learn to fly and get food. The only possible help in this situation is to plant them on a hill (to protect them from land-based predators).

This is important: water and food for the new tenant

Having picked up a sparrow, it is important to understand how to water the chick and what to feed. To give the baby a drink, it is better to use a pipette. Fill it with water and bring the tip to the beak. Do not put pressure on the "mouth", trying to open.

Newborn birds cannot drink on their own from a bowl - this must be remembered. If you put a container of water and leave, the sparrows will choke.

If you often pick up birds for treatment, then there will definitely be something in the house to feed the injured sparrow. Another thing is if the case is isolated. Before you rush to the pet store or prepare complex formulas, feed your baby something that is in the refrigerator. Suitable lean meat, minced meat, eggs (boiled), cottage cheese, fish.

First steps in nursing

What needs to be done immediately after picking up a chick is to ensure comfort. Nesting equipment is a top priority. Use a lint-free cloth, rolling it up so that it slopes.

Feeding fledglings from the first day requires a routine. It is important to observe a certain time between meals: 15-20 minutes for newborns and 2-3 hours for yellowmouths.

Below we will tell you how and what to feed a sparrow chick in order to grow it at home. Let's turn to nature. Give them:

• flour worms;
• larvae;
• small insects.

Human food will work too.

• cottage cheese;
• eggs;
• meat;
• fish.

The main thing is to feed the babies in a timely manner so that their own resources are not burned: sparrows have a fast metabolism. Read on to find out how to care for chicks and make the right diet.

Formula formula

What chicks eat with pleasure are insects. But feeding feathered birds and fledglings can be simplified by preparing a special mixture. The recipe is:

• three medium carrots and squeeze the juice;
• chop the egg (pre-cook);
• cut meat (veal / beef / chicken) and split into fibers;
• greens (lettuce / wood lice / dandelion) chop;
• add 10 g of cottage cheese (pre-squeeze);
• 2 tbsp. spoons of boiled millet (avoid salt or oil);
• a teaspoon of fish food (dry mix);
• pour calcium glycerophosphate powder (1 tablet per liter);
• put a teaspoon of crushed eggshell.

Mix the resulting feed until smooth. It shouldn't stick to your hands. Give to kids in portions, rolling up small balls, the size of a cherry stone. When we prepare the mixture for feeding the chick, we get a large supply. Food can be stored frozen.

How to feed a sparrow chick, we told. But do not forget that the birds should be watered: a few drops of water per feed ball.

Calcium: dosage calculation and sources

Calcium for sparrow chicks, as for all birds, is necessary to prevent the development of rickets. The mixture above includes the required amount of nutrients. Using it, you can not worry about the health of the kids.

Features of feeding a sparrow at home allow you to monitor the vitamins received. To calculate the need for calcium in a chick, it is enough to determine 2% of its mass. But remember that it is possible to overdo it with the additive, so it is better to play it safe and add more.

A bird can get calcium from chalk, edible clay or boiled egg shells. They are added in powder form. For a standard daily dose, take half a teaspoon - if there is no desire to make calculations.

Primary knowledge: what and how

Let's talk about how to hatch a sparrow chick, and what to use for feeding. Newborn birds are fed from a syringe with a catheter - this is more convenient.

It is forbidden to take a catheter for feeding grown sparrows, because of the danger to life: the birds can swallow the needle. The process of feeding a chick with a brush is less convenient: due to soiling of feathers. But for neat people, the technique is ideal, since a soft pile will not harm.

The sequence of feeding sparrow chicks is an important point. Don't give them all at once. Dose food for better absorption. One "dose" is 2/3 of the volume of the head. If the kids keep begging for treats, ignore it. Overfeeding is just as bad as undereating.

The importance of the intermediate stage

When caring for a sparrow, do not miss the moment of stopping feeding and transferring the chick to self-feeding. Remember that a baby's desire for independence does not indicate that it is necessary to reduce feeding.

AT natural environment parents feed the chicks even when the kids learn to fly and get food. Do not miss this crucial moment. Make the sparrow chase you to get the desired food.

You can understand that the chick is ready for independence by weight. The norm is 20-27 g. The sparrow is completely covered with feathers, the tail is long, the beak loses its yellowness. Mature birds bite painfully.

When the sparrow chick grows up, the frequency of feeding is gradually reduced. Some birds switch to self-feeding quickly, for others the process is delayed - this is not scary. If your baby refuses to eat, don't worry. This is a normal process until their weight drops below 21g.

Painless weaning

A man-fed sparrow chick can be released into nature. The main thing to consider is how to properly conduct the process. Remember: if you are not going to leave the selected bird, start preparing for the "weaning" in advance.

If you are going to release a sparrow into nature, do not treat the bird like a pet. Don't spend more time with your baby than necessary. Don't play, don't caress. When feeding, it is better to wear something bright to divert attention "from yourself" and minimize addiction.

When the chick grows up, do not play with him. Do not accustom the baby "to the hands." If you do not give the bird a lot of time, the growing sparrow will quickly learn to be frightened of a person.

It is impossible to release a sparrow without preliminary preparation. Before the bird settles in nature, it is kept in an aviary. The street corral helps to adapt. Teach your chick to "local" food.

Before releasing a sparrow to freedom, make sure that the chick is healthy. Look at the weather forecast. On the day of "absentee" there should be no rain or strong wind. It is better that in the next few days the hydrometeorological center does not report on impending bad weather.

Discuss your concerns in the comments to the article.

So, you are standing on the street, and something small, but alive, is swarming and squeaking in front of your feet. Before taking responsibility for the life of this creature, think about whether you can and whether it is worth interfering with natural selection.

The age of the chicks that you can find on the street can be divided into three groups:

1. Newborns. These are newly hatched, not yet feathered chicks. Most likely, such a chick really fell out of the nest or was blown away by the wind. In nature, he cannot survive: even if the parents continue to feed the chick, he will freeze on the very first night, even if it is hot outside, and he will not be able to show any resistance to predators, midges can tritely bite him. It is almost impossible to feed a newborn chick at home, since it needs to be constantly heated and fed every 2-3 hours. So you can say goodbye to sleep. What to do with such a chick? Either try to find the nest and return it there, or leave it to fate, as the chance of a favorable outcome is extremely small in any case. You can pick it up only if you already have experience in nursing chicks. And, yes, if successful, you will get a pet, because then in no case will the chick be released into the wild, since he will not be able to feed himself.

2. Adolescents. Yellowmouths are already feathered, but absolutely unable to feed themselves. They will sit and open their beak at any object that is in their reach. Such a chick can survive in the wild if the parents do not stop feeding it and it finds a good hiding place. Such a chick could either fall out of the nest out of curiosity, or it was forced out by its brethren, or it “tried the wing”. But he is not yet able to fly. It is much easier to keep such a chick at home than a newborn, since he no longer needs constant heating (but you should not overcool either). But you will have to feed just as often and regularly. And, yes, get used to the idea that you now have a house sparrow that won't survive in the wild.

3. Fledglings. These are chicks that are trying with might and main to fly (although it does not always work out). They themselves jump out of the nest and try to fly. As a rule, these chicks are sufficiently adapted to adult life, they know how to peck food themselves, and quickly run away from a possible enemy. Parents continue to feed them even on the ground. Between feedings, the chick sits in a secluded place. It is better to leave such a chick alone, it is almost an adult bird, its chances of survival in nature are very high. The maximum is to plant it on some kind of elevation, where predators like cats and dogs will not get it. Unless, you notice that the chick is injured, then the sparrow can be picked up. Such a chick has quite a lot of chances to adapt in the wild again. Moreover, he may never get used to you, trying to escape at any opportunity.

Nestling

First, arrange a "nest" for the chick from a soft, lint-free fabric. You need to wrap it so that the chick is in a semi-inclined position: the breast rests against the edge of the nest, the paws are at the very bottom. So the chick will be comfortable and comfortable. And don't forget to regularly check the cleanliness of the nest.

In general, you will have to forget about peace until the moment the chick learns to feed on its own. Every 15-20 minutes during daylight hours, you will need to feed the chick, and until it is satiated (stops opening its mouth, demanding another portion). Because of high level metabolism, chicks, not having received food at the right time, simply "burn" their resources. Leaving the chick without food for 3-6 hours, even if after that you start to feed it intensively, you doom the bird to death due to metabolic disorders.

Most small songbirds (including sparrows) feed their chicks with insects. Therefore, your chick also needs animal feed. Ant cocoons, flour worms, fly larvae, chicken eggs, cottage cheese are suitable. Do not howl about a variety of vitamin and mineral supplements. In addition, it is impossible to completely replace insects in food, for example, with cottage cheese.

We feed correctly

Since the sparrow will have to be fed very often, you need to either be with him or carry him with you. The second option is not very good, as it is additional stress for the chick. The first two days (if you picked up a newborn chick) you will also have to provide heating for the pet. You can make a heating pad from a flat bottle filled with warm water.

Small chicks can be kept in a box until they start trying to get out of there. For older chicks, it is better to find a small cage. In any case, soft, dry bedding, such as dried grass or moss, is necessary. They can be temporarily replaced with cotton wool, but then try to make sure that the chick does not get tangled in it or swallow the fibers.

It is most convenient to feed the chick with tweezers. Try to get the chick to open its mouth by itself (there will be no problems with small ones). This can be achieved if during feeding, bringing tweezers, slightly shake the nest or touch the feathers on the head or the corners of the mouth with tweezers. You can even lightly click on the beak.

If it was not possible to force the chick to open its beak, the first feeding will have to be carried out by force, opening the beak with your hands. Once having taken food from the tweezers on its own, the chick will continue to willingly beg for supplements until it learns to feed on its own: as soon as the chick begins to pick up food from the floor of the cage, the food can be moved to the feeder. By the way, by this time the chick needs to pick up a large cage so that the sparrow can run, jump and fly.

Preparing the mixture for feeding the chick

Health depends on the quality of the mixture and the completeness of the nutrients contained in it, appearance and even the life of a chick. Below is a recipe for a complete mixture, nothing needs to be changed in it, this mixture is not so difficult to prepare.

one). Grate a medium-sized carrot on a fine grater, squeeze the juice as hard as possible. You only need the squeezed pulp.

2). We rub one boiled egg on a fine grater.

3). Grind boiled veal, beef or chicken with a knife, tear into thin fibers.

4). Grind some greens (lettuce, wood lice, dandelion leaves, but not spicy herbs).

5). We take 10 grams of low-fat and non-acidic cottage cheese, let the curd flow around, you can squeeze it out if possible.

6). Put 2 tablespoons of boiled crumbly millet porridge without salt and without oil.

7). Add a teaspoon of daphnia (dry fish food).

eight). Add calcium glycerophosphate (proportions - 1 tablet per liter of the mixture).

nine). Add half a teaspoon of finely grated eggshells.

ten). Mix all ingredients thoroughly. If the mixture sticks to your hands, you can add some cereals and cereals ground in a coffee grinder.

Leave the mixture to stand to even out its moisture, then mix again. The feed mixture should roll into small balls that do not stick to the hands. The serving size for feeding is smaller than a cherry pit. Since the mixture turns out to be quite a lot, it can be stored in the freezer in the refrigerator and defrosted, if necessary, a portion for the day.

Also, do not forget to water the chick (from a pipette), preferably during feeding (1-2 drops of water for each ball of food). The pipette can simply be substituted to the tip of the beak without opening it.

This is the main thing that is important for you to know if you decide to feed a sparrow chick at home. We hope everything works out for you.