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birds are given once a day on insects. These birds will do very poorly and fail to thrive when a
blended formula is substituted. Feeder insects can be easily purchased in bulk; appropriate choices
include small to medium mealworms, small to medium crickets, and waxworms. Insects need to
be appropriately sized and also require proper care to remain healthy and nutritious. When buying
or cultivating mealworms, do not use large or super-sized worms, as the skins are tough and diffi-
cult to digest. Mealworms should be made more nutritious by feeding them for at least 24 hours
before feeding to chicks. The authors use a basic dry dog food plus carrots (JN) or poultry crumbles
with carrots/yams (VB). Crickets are an excellent insect to feed. They also require proper care until
used as food. Fluker Farms sells a cricket food and cricket gel for moisture that is nutritious and
easy to offer, although some rehabilitators have concerns about the orange food coloring added to
the gel; see Box 43.1 on keeping and feeding crickets within Chapter 43. Waxworms are another
insect that can be offered; however, waxworms do not eat in this stage so cannot have their nutri-
tional content improved by feeding. Waxworms should only be fed in conjunction with other
insects and never fed solely as a diet.

­ Feeding­Procedures

Using hemostats, feed small or medium insects depending upon the size and age of the chick,
killed before each feeding. Feed every 30–60 minutes, 12–14 hours a day. After every feeding, give
as much water as the bird will take using a 1 cc syringe with a cannula tip on the end. Feathered
swifts also enjoy being misted with a water bottle during hot temperatures, but this does not sub-
stitute for droplets from a syringe by mouth.
Saliva transfer is critical for the survival of hatchlings or any swift under 7 days old and will
require saliva from a conspecific. Use a healthy older nestling, juvenile, or adult swift’s saliva.
Take an insect using a hemostat and swab the mouth of older swift with it, then remove it and
feed it to the young bird. Swab at least once each feeding until feathers unfurl. Do NOT raise
single swifts. Hatchlings that do not receive saliva transfer may be at higher risk for bacterial
infections.
Chimney Swifts that are chattering and gaping can be a challenge to feed. In the wild, the parent
flies down the chimney and feeds the young from below. The young hang their heads over the nest,
chattering loudly, swinging their heads left or right. They do not open their mouth and keep it
open; instead, they snap it open briefly and quickly between chatters.
In the rehabilitation setting, the birds will need to adjust to being fed from above. The younger
the bird, the quicker the adjustment. Some adjust within just a few feedings. Fledgling/juvenile
birds can take days or longer to make the adjustment. One method of easing the transition is to
hold one hand over the bird with your thumb positioned near the bird’s mouth. In your other
hand, hold forceps with a balled up soaked (in water) waxworm (balled up waxworms or soaked
cricket abdomens may simulate the ball of insects fed by the parents and are refused less often).
When feeding crickets to very young swifts, kill the cricket, remove the wings and legs, and feed
just the abdomen. Stick your thumb in its mouth when the bird snaps, holding it open long enough
to give the food. Transition to soaked mealworms and then freshly killed mealworms, crickets, and
waxworms. Feed every 30 minutes. Continue water droplets after every feeding. Hatchlings or any
swift under 7 days old (unfeathered nestlings) require a small dab of nonfat plain yogurt on an
insect at each feeding.
Assisted feeding may be necessary for birds who will not chatter or gape. Gently, being careful to
avoid bill damage, use your fingernail to open the lower mandible and place the food. You may need