Page 407 - Hand rearing birds second

Shorebirds 399

Most species of shorebirds do best with small, live, wiggly worms. They swallow their prey
whole, so use small items for newly hatched chicks and larger items as they grow. Good examples
are mini‐mealworms, fly larvae, and blackworms or tubifex worms. Live adult brine shrimp may
be used, as well as very small earthworms. Crickets and a few waxworms can also be offered to
older chicks. Once a plover chick starts feeding itself, it will quickly learn to eat nonliving foods as
well. See Box 24.1 for tips on feeding frozen and freeze‐dried foods.
Use small jar lids or small, shallow dishes for food and water so that chicks can easily walk in
and out of them and so, if chicks fall, they can easily get out of the dish (Figure 24.2). Larger chicks
will need wider dishes. All food should be coated in powdered calcium carbonate. For species such
as avocets, Nekton vitamins may also be needed. Oystercatchers require a specialized diet and
require a different protocol, see Klusener et al. (2018).
Long‐legged birds, such as avocets and stilts, do better with primarily extruded diets until fledg-
ing to help with getting enough calcium for their fast‐growing bones. The following is a recom-
mended diet protocol:
Approximate age 1–2 or 3 days old: In wide, shallow pans, 1 part Mazuri™ brand waterfowl
starter pellets soaked in shallow water pan to 1 part blackworms soaked in water in a separate dish.
Sprinkle a few mealworms and fly larvae on the pellets and around floor. All food is coated in 1
tbsp. of calcium carbonate powder per dish.

Figure­24.2­ American Avocet chick housed
with Killdeer chicks eating bloodworms
from a shallow dish. Source: photo courtesy
of International Bird Rescue.