Baby swift bird food

How to breed a swift at home

Who fed the swift, God kissed him (proverb)

The swift is a special bird, one of the fastest in the world, which can stay in the sky for months: feed, breed and sleep on air streams. Since all 4 fingers of the swift are facing forward, these birds cannot sit on the branches of trees and walk on the ground, therefore, if you notice a swift sitting on the ground, it means that it needs human help. Just like that, a swift cannot end up on earth, its future life depends only on you.

The first rule: under no circumstances should swifts be tossed or released from balconies or bridges! If he has an internal bruise, fracture, dislocation or some other internal injury, by throwing him up you will provoke him to fly and thereby worsen his condition. He will fly a few meters and still fall.

Second rule: swifts are strictly insectivorous birds, they are fed ONLY with house or banana crickets, Turkmen or marble cockroaches, locusts, ant eggs (pupae), zofobas . (This food can be purchased from us. If this food is not available in your city, we will be happy to deliver it by train, bus or post.) Before buying insects, but not more than a day, you can give the bird balls of low-fat homemade cheese (the so-called " cottage cheese"), so that digestion does not stop. Homemade cheese is the product that you can’t poison the swift and harm it.

The main reasons why swifts can end up on the ground are:

1. injury
2. unsuccessful flight of a young swift
3. a small chick falling out of the nest.

In all cases, the bird should be carefully picked up and examined for injury. If the bird appears to be intact and undamaged, it should be placed in a box large enough so that it will not get stuck if it opens its wings fully, and left alone. The box must be DARK. It is very important! The bottom of the box must be lined with toilet paper, which is changed as it gets dirty. It is impossible to plant a swift in a cage, as it can break, damage or shatter the plumage. You can not drink, because if the bird has a traumatic brain injury, then drinking will provoke cerebral edema and death. The swift is one of the few birds that will definitely not die of dehydration within a few days. And since it flies very fast, head injuries are quite common.

Contents

Injury

If the swift has an open fracture of the shoulder, wing, trauma to the eye, body, bruises or wounds, it is necessary to anesthetize with Meloxicam tablets (7.5 mg - whole tablet, 15 mg - 1/2 tablet) - dilute in 0.75 ml of water; then take 0.1 ml (2 drops) of this solution and add 12.5 ml of water to them. The resulting second solution should be given to the swift 0.05 ml (one drop!) 1-2 times a day for 2-14 days, depending on the condition. Mix a new solution every day.

IMPORTANT! IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO ANESTHETATE (and also bandage, plaster) A BIRD WITH INJURY, even in case of an open fracture, if it does not die from pain shock right at that moment.
If you anesthetize a bird, it will no longer be able to fly, even if the injury was treatable.
Dark boxing (2 weeks), good nutrition and PAIN - 3 components of success. This forces the bird to sit still and take care of the damaged wing.
If anesthetized, the bird will feel able to fly. She will be restless, active. This will most likely prevent the damaged organ from recovering properly. The pain threshold in birds is very high.

If at first glance the bird is whole, you need to shine a flashlight into the eyes and find out if the pupils constrict at the same time, if not, then it has a traumatic brain injury (TBI). One of the clearest signs of TBI is developing swelling (eg, swelling of the eyes, swollen eyes). In this case, it is necessary to give a one-time hormonal preparation on the advice of a veterinarian and in the exact dosage and place it in a dark box for two weeks. Starting from the 4th day, you need to give:

• Piracetam ¹ - 1 drop per day, the drug is cumulative, so it is given for a long time,
• Mexidol - 1 drop per day,
• B1 - 1 drop 1 time per day.

Important! Preparations for TBI should not be used in the first three days!

You can read detailed information about the treatment of the swift on the page dedicated to help, maintenance and feeding VKontakte.

Don't rely too much on the help of veterinarians or bird watchers, the swift is a wild bird, and bird watchers often give the wrong advice on feeding or treating the swift. Moreover, do not give the swift to zoos or bird shelters, often the swift is given as food to birds of prey, since the food of the swift is expensive and it is unlikely that anyone will want to deal with treatment there.

Unsuccessful flight of a young swift

It happens that adult birds fly to Africa, leaving the chick, and the chick flies out of the nest in search of food, but because it lacks strength - it has become thin or not fully feathered - it falls to the ground . In such a situation, it is necessary: ​​

1. Find out the age of the swift according to this table
2. Weigh the bird and start feeding according to this chart. If a relatively mature bird weighs less than 23-25g, the bird is emaciated and its stomach needs to be run according to this advice: https://www. mybirds.ru/forums/topic/128929-iz-opyta-vyhazhivaniya-strizhey/.

If the bird is relatively mature, more often it should be supplemented for a short time and released according to the advice below.

Swift in the sky

Little chick falling out of the nest

If you come across a very small swift that has fallen out of the nest, the main thing for him now is food.

Feed the little swift every 2 hours at least 10 times a day. The approximate amount of food according to age (by day) is provided at the end of the article in the tables.

Birds should gain 1–1.5 grams of weight every day! A chick in a nest can weigh up to 55 grams. But before it starts to fly, the chick begins to lose weight, refuses to eat. At this stage, you can feed him less, but so that the weight before the flight is not lower than 37 grams. It is important to feed the chick enough so that he has a reserve for losing weight! A hungry bird does not develop a feather well, and feathers are the whole life for a swift!

As noted at the beginning of the article, swifts are strictly insectivorous birds.

After purchasing crickets and cockroaches, they must be put in the freezer so as not to accidentally infect the bird with helminths (especially if you have to feed wild-caught insects before purchasing specially grown food). Then get the required amount, tear off the legs, mustache, ovipositor (since these hard surfaces can injure the swift’s esophagus; or you can buy ready-made “carcasses” without legs), throw them into warm water, when they are thawed, put them on a napkin and feed. It is not necessary to give a lot of water to the swift, as they get it from insects.

Ant eggs (pupa) can be bought or dug up from anthills. This is a very useful and favorite food of the swift. Ant eggs are also stored in the freezer; before feeding, they must be thawed and washed. Grasshoppers or grasshoppers can be caught in nature, but you need to freeze for at least 5 hours to destroy helminths. By the way, swifts do not gain weight too quickly on fillies, so they need more than other fodder insects.

Do NOT feed swifts meat, bread, eggs, maggots, potatoes, baby food, pet store bird food, vitamins, earthworms, bloodworms, or the like.

If the bird is not properly fed, then when it returns to the sky, when it begins to eat its usual food - celestial plankton (i.e. insects), its metabolic processes will fail, molting will begin and the bird will fall. And this is a very terrible death. By the way, from malnutrition, some birds begin to lose feathers even before departure. Liver disease is also common. Therefore, nothing but insects should be given to swifts! (Below we provide links to the pages of European organizations involved in feeding swifts, which clearly write that nothing but insects should be fed to the swift, and there are also photos of plumage after improper feeding.)

Feeding rules

It happens that the swift feeds on its own, grabbing food from the fingers, but if the chick has already grown up and refuses to eat from the hands, it is necessary to try to find the way the parents fed the chick - to lead the insects along the beak from different sides, provoking to grab food.

If the chick refuses to feed on its own, it must be force-fed. To do this, it is necessary to wrap the swift in a napkin in order not to damage or stain the plumage, and carefully, opening the beak from the side, put the insect into the mouth. The beak of swifts is very fragile, it cannot be opened by the tip, because it can break, it is necessary to open it only from the side, do not use sharp and hard objects! There are many videos on YouTube with examples of feeding swifts - you can watch and learn.

Departure time

Since adult birds do not teach swifts to fly and, leaving the nest, they immediately go to Africa, the chicks begin to train in the nest before the flight.

If you see that the swift has become restless, aggressive, his look has changed, he often trains, it means that the departure time is approaching.

Check before departure:

1. The swift's wings must be at least 3. 5 cm longer than the tail.
2. Weight within 37–42 gr.
3. All feather tubes should come off.
4. The base of the pen, where the tubes were, should darken.

The bird should be released in a wasteland with low grass, where there are no wires, houses, trees, cars, so that in case of a fall it can be easily found. The weather for the next few days should be sunny, warm and windless.

You need to release it by raising your hand with the bird up. Do not toss, swing or throw. The bird will decide for itself whether to fly or not. It happens that swifts feel the presence of a predator and do not take off from the hand, in which case you can try to release the next day.

Important:

• Do not let fly at home, around the apartment.
• Do not teach to fly.
• Do not take outside.
• Treat the plumage very carefully and carefully.

So, feeding a chick in the first days is not so easy, but then, when it rises from your palm into the sky and lives happily there for more than 10 years, believe me, you will never forget the time you spent with this bird, because this a fantastic bird will live forever in your soul. Add to our group in contact, we will always give advice in time and help in this good deed! Good luck!

Swift in flight

Useful links

• Determining the age of the swift with photographs
• Food selection
• The right amount of food
• Site "Give the sky to the bird"
• VKontakte group

All articles

Notes

1. You can’t give our (Russian), only the original drug is given - Nootropil (piracetam) ampoule, made in Belgium[↩]

How to feed a swift chick that has fallen out of the nest at home

Do you often look out the window or look at the sky in the summer when you leave for work early in the morning and return from work late in the evening from Monday to Friday? In a heap of momentary troubles, constant dissatisfaction with life, resentment, squabbles, health problems, we often do not notice the simplest and most accessible to everyone - the beauty of nature.

Found a chick of a swift in the entrance

Read on dacha6. ru:

0179 Strizh at the entrance

Content:

• Where swifts fly from Russia for the winter
• Can a swift take off from the ground?
• How to save the swift
• You found a swift: what to do?
• What do swifts eat, is it possible to feed them with maggots?
• Letting the swift out

Where swifts fly from Russia for the winter

I myself am mired in all this, as if blind. Today, with surprise, I noticed flocks of swifts flying right in front of my window and making a piercing squeak.

But these birds come to us in the first half of May, and from South Africa! Our swifts can be observed firsthand by semi-savage African tribes, who still wear leaky loincloths, use homemade spears for hunting and live in clay shacks. Here is such a hello to them from us and to us from them.

For example, Egypt, where many Russians like to relax and where it takes 4-5 hours to fly by plane from Moscow, is only North Africa.

Can a swift take off from the ground?

As a child, I had to pick up and bring home the young that had fallen out of the nest several times. This happened more often in rainy weather, when the nests became more wet and slippery.

Unfortunately, we have never been able to feed the cubs and after a while they died. But don't despair, we can help!

I always thought that swifts can't take off from the ground, they supposedly need to fall down from a height to fly. Actually, it is not. Adult birds take off perfectly from clear ground, without obstacles in the form of thick grass and other irregularities that can interfere with takeoff. If an adult does not fly away, most likely, there may be health problems.

Another common myth is that if you return a lost chick to the nest, then the parents will not accept it, as they will smell the person. Even if they accept, they would only find that nest!

How to save a swift

First of all, check on the Internet if there are specialized rehabilitation centers for birds in your region, where chicks can be provided with qualified assistance. Here are just a few of them:

• Association of Bird Lovers, St. Petersburg.
• "Green Parrot", Moscow.
• "Birds without borders" them. A. I. Kuindzhi, Ryazan region.
• Chamomile, Tver region.
• "Phoenix", Kaluga.
• "Smolenskoye Poozerye", Smolensk.
• Simbirsk Wild Bird Rescue Center, Ulyanovsk.

If the center is not nearby, contact the city veterinary clinic or veterinary station.

You found a swift: what to do?

1. Determine whether you have found a chick or an adult. Babies have white edging on large flight wings, and white specks can be seen on their heads. Also, chicks are distinguished by tubes, from which feathers open.
2. Carry out a general visual inspection for visible damage and injury, if the integrity of the plumage is broken. Carefully inspect the wings and legs. Compare body parts in pairs - they should not differ much. If one wing is lower than the other and dangles uncharacteristically, it is probably broken. A broken foot can also dangle. If a fracture is suspected, only a veterinarian can help. If the bird's keel sticks out noticeably, and there are few muscles around it, then most likely the bird is emaciated and will need to be fattened.
3. If there are no visible injuries, but the swift looks lethargic and inactive, it is also necessary to take it to the veterinarian for testing to rule out common infectious diseases. It should be checked for ornithosis, salmonellosis, fungi, bacteria, protozoa, helminths, influenza virus. When dealing with a bird, observe the rules of personal hygiene, wash your hands with soap and water after each contact, especially after cleaning the droppings.
4. Inactive birds that refuse to eat should be warmed up. You can use 40 and 60 W light bulbs located at a distance of about 50 cm from the box (the light should not fall on the swift). Heating pads, hot water bottles are also suitable.
5. Check if the swift is able to eat. To do this, take a small insulin syringe, draw 0. 2 ml of warm boiled water from the kettle into it and gently drop 1 drop into the beak, trying to get on the tongue. If the bird swallows at the same time, then the swallowing reflex is preserved. This is a good sign!
6. The haircut should be located in the shade, not in a draft. You can use a box 30 by 40 cm (width, length) and 15-20 cm in height. Lay several layers of toilet paper on the bottom, which will absorb excess moisture. Be sure to build a nest inside the shelter, in a secluded corner. Regular foam will do. Cover the top of the box with cheesecloth. Place a 40-60 W lamp nearby for warming up (the light should not fall on the nest).
7. Do not wash or cut the feathers of a swift. Wipe them gently with a chamomile solution as much as possible.

What do swifts eat, is it possible to feed them maggots?

Swifts feed on compressed lumps of insects 50-70 times a day. In the early days, you can use baby meat puree, consisting of beef and turkey, as well as low-fat 0% cottage cheese mixed with gammarus and daphnia (available at aquarium stores). Use an insulin syringe for feeding. Feeding frequency 1 time per hour, 0.4 ml of puree at a time.

The simplest and most affordable food is a boiled chicken egg (a mushy protein and only a little), raw chicken fillet, finely chopped to a pate (mix with water to become thin).

You still have to add insects to the diet. Suitable maggots (you can buy in stores for fishermen), drones, crickets, ant eggs, moths, caterpillars, flies. It is advisable to soak them in warm water before use.

By the way, insects can be stored for future use and stored in the freezer. They are mixed into a single mass, a little water is added, balls are rolled up and put into the freezer, covered with paper or foil on top.

Bread and grains are not suitable for food - the chick will die. Milk will cause permanent diarrhea.

At the end of the next feeding, the swift must drink water. Pour about 4-5 drops of liquid into the beak.

Before the next meal, carefully wrap the bird in a handkerchief or napkin and hold it in your left hand. With your right hand, gently open the beak and fix the gap with the tip of your index finger.

Using tweezers, take a cooked insect (or other food) and place it at the bottom of the throat, behind the base of the tongue. After feeding, gently stroke the feathers on the neck to build trust in the chick.

Each chick eats up to 50 medium-sized crickets per day. This means that in one sitting (1 time per hour) 3 similar insects should be fed.

You need to feed the chick from 5 am until late at night. An older individual can be fed less often, but more plentifully.

An adult bird, ready to fly, should weigh 40 to 44 g and have a body length of 20 to 24 cm. It is necessary to release a strengthened swift on a mowed field or other open area. Place your pet on an open palm and raise it above head level. No need to toss.

Ideally, you will feel a slight shiver - the swift will start to warm up the muscles and soon fly away. If he lands nearby, it means that he is not yet quite ready for independence.

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