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Ítaca - FEEDING BABY BIRDS
Mother birds always love their babies unconditionally. They spend a lot of time to take care of their babies and keep them safe as much as possible.
Also, they don’t discriminate to their babies in terms of feeding them.
Then there is a question among bird lovers. How do mother birds feed their babies? The answer is that most mother birds eat food and then regurgitate it for the babies. They often feed their babies insects so that they can get more protein and grow healthy.
And that’s why we will provide you some necessary information so that you will be able to know how mother birds feed their babies. This writing is also our loving dedication to our beautiful feathered friends.
Baby birds always depend on their parents to eat food. In this case, a mother bird usually digests the food and then puts that food into the babies’ mouth. The babies always open their mouth wide and screech for the food when they are hungry.
However, the feeding method may be different, depending on the species. But every time the baby bird, which screeches louder, usually gets more food than others.
If the baby bird gapes its mouth strongly, then the parent can feed it easily, and the baby will be able to swallow much larger items.
How Do Mother Birds Ensure Which One Needs More Food?
Sometimes each baby bird doesn’t get an equal amount of food. Perhaps it may be sick or is unable to show the parent that it needs food.
In most cases, the other siblings are bigger and stronger. They can shove their other nestmates to get the food.
You may find various species of birds that have a variety of behaviors and sibling competition. So, it is tough to be sure entirely about birds.
Indeed, the mother bird has enough memory to know which one has immediately got food or even, which has not got the food for a while.
Besides, the one which is hungrier screech louder, and the mother usually put the food into the loudest screecher’s mouth.
Again, mother birds observe their babies well. The one which is swallowing silently, putting the food in the gullet, doesn’t get food in that particular time.
Most Mother Birds Provide Protein-Laden Food
Every mother bird usually feeds their babies many different things depending on their species.
Some perching birds like sparrows and finches eat seeds, nuts, and berries. But they feed their young babies insects because young birds need more protein than are found in the adult’s diet.
Songbirds often feed their babies almost 4 to 12 times an hour. They mostly provide the baby birds protein-laden insects and worms to make sure that they will be healthy.
Some Mother Birds Changes Food Habit
Some parent birds that usually eat seeds, such as finches, cardinals, and sparrows, switch to insects during the breeding season.
Generally, the mothers eat the smaller insects themselves and take the larger ones back to the nest for the babies.
So, they can carry more food to their ever-hungry offsprings.
Before feeding the babies, the parents hit the insect against the tree-branch or the ground. They kill the insect and soften the hard shell.
Sometimes, the parents chew the insect, and then break up the exoskeleton to make it edible for the baby birds.
Some Mother Birds Feed Substantial Milk to Their Babies
Some birds produce a substance similar to mammal milk. Pigeons are the best-known producers of crop milk, and both sexes produce it.
Crop milk produced by sloughing of special cells in the crop is very nutritious. Even pigeon milk has more fat and protein than that of cow or human.
For the first few days after hatching, crop milk is the only food that the mother bird provides to the baby birds.
Both parents feed crop milk for a couple of weeks. As the babies get older, it gets seeds with the milk. When they are gradually getting older, they get more seed rather than less milk.
Some Mother Birds Feed Their Babies Differently
Some parents, such as pigeons and doves, feed their babies by using different styles and techniques. They usually squeak and tap their beak against the baby birds’ beak to feed the food. The babies stick their beak down the parent’s throat and suck up to food of the crop.
Most of the songbirds do not have an actual crop, which is essentially a sack capable of holding a large amount of food. The baby birds which don’t have a crop can only hold a small amount of food at a time. They must be fed almost every 20 minutes from sunrise to sunset.
On the other hand, pigeons and doves can hold a large amount of food, which passes slowly through the digestive system. Even the youngest baby pigeon or dove can be fed no more than every couple of hours.
Some Mother Birds Feed Their Babies at Night
Most birds sleep and rest at night. But, some birds specialize at the nocturnal activities.
Nocturnal birds are in the minority, but there are plenty of genus and species of nocturnal birds.
For example, most owls hunt at night and are inactive during the day. Also, nighthawks kill insects in flight at night.
Besides, some swifts kill airborne insects at night. Bitterns and night herons are nocturnal. But most night herons are not.
The APB told why you can not touch the chicks that have fallen out of the nest
May 14, Minsk / Corr. BELTA/. BelTA was told why it is impossible to touch the chicks that have fallen out of the nest.
In May, June and July, fledglings leave their nests to learn how to live without parents. Seeing them, people often begin to help them and take them home. “If a chick sits on the ground, this does not mean that it is injured or abandoned by its parents. The fact is that the chicks try to leave the nest as soon as possible, because it is much easier for predators to find them there,” the APB noted. from the nest with short flight feathers and cannot fly.Then they land on branches or on the ground.Little by little they train and learn to fly, and the parents are nearby, in the nesting area, look after them and feed them.Therefore, take or transfer the chicks to another the place ("save") cannot be.
The organization told how to distinguish fledglings from adult birds. "Fledglings are partially covered with down, their flight and tail feathers may be in a tube. Owl chicks leave the nest early, when they are still in down. Sparrow chicks have yellow ridges on the edges of the beak, which increase the size of the beak so that parents do not miss food , not without reason they are called "yellowmouths", - said the APB.
Often, fledglings are mistaken for a "sick" bird. In fact, everything is in order with the chick - this is a "teenager", and he will soon become an adult bird.
The APB also gave advice on what to do if a fledgling was found. "If you see a fledgling outside the city, go further and do not disturb the chick and its parents. If in the city, evaluate whether the place is safe. If there is a busy path, road, dog walking area or playground nearby, then it is better to carefully move the chick to bushes or trees nearby, plant it on a branch, throw it on the porch visor or the roof of the garage so that a dog or a cat does not detect it by your smell. only in the most dangerous places for birds and very carefully. During the chase, the bird is stressed, and people can damage its still fragile bones, tail. Also, you should not try to feed the bird."
Another recommendation: if you have already taken the chick home, return it to the same place where you took it as soon as possible.
"Chicks are not kittens or puppies, but wild animals," stressed Semyon Levy, an APB environmental specialist. - They should stay in the wild. If you take home a strong chick, you have already "killed" it for nature. In addition, chicks require specific care, including feed. Unfortunately, more than half of the cases of such "help" from people end sadly. "
Public organization "Akhova birdie Batskaushchyny" appeals to everyone not to touch the chicks. If you see an injured bird (for example, it pulls its wing, limps, throws its head), you can seek help from a veterinarian or volunteers, whose contacts are on the APB website ptushki.org.-0-
Found a bird on the street - how to help and what to do?
An adult wild bird, if healthy, will never fall into the hands of man.
If you can catch a bird without any special equipment, it needs help. This does not apply to fledglings, they will be discussed separately.
The first thing to do is pick up the bird from street.
Regardless of whether the hawk is in front of you or the bullfinch, an injured or sick bird should not be left on the street - anything can happen to it there.
A small songbird won't harm you, but a large hawk can hurt you with its claws, a corvid bite is very painful, and a heron can stab you in the face with its beak. Therefore, when taking potentially dangerous birds from the street, be sure to take care of your face and wrap your hands in a thick cloth.
Observe safety precautions when catching birds!
Most bird diseases and parasites are not transmitted to humans, but still practice basic hygiene : Wash your hands after contact with birds and their droppings. Do not allow animals and young children to approach the bird and interact with its waste products.
Then contact your nearest rehabilitation center , send a photo and give a detailed description of the injuries, if any. Do not rush to feed or water the feathered one yourself.
If you do not know the exact diet of a bird in nature, improperly selected food can harm it, and forced watering in some cases can be fatal.
If a specialized center is able to accept a bird for rehabilitation, it is best to transfer the bird there as soon as possible. In most cases, you will have to drive the patient to the rehabilitation center yourself. In Russia, all existing organizations that donate to wild animals are non-profit, and they do not have the ability to provide free shipping for every bird found in the region. For many affected birds, the clock counts, and in case of delay, the bird may remain permanently disabled or die.
Do not try to help the bird yourself!
If you do not have the relevant experience, this can lead to the death of the bird or to the fact that it falls into the hands of specialists when nothing can be done. If the center cannot accept your patient (this happens when it comes to mass synanthropic species such as crows and pigeons), remember that the bird will need veterinary care anyway.
