Page 517 - Hand rearing birds second

514 Hand-Rearing Birds

to gently hold the bird’s mouth closed until it swallows. Start with a drowned (in water) waxworm,
torn open and balled up, then graduate to larger mouthfuls of waxworms in the same manner. Once
eating these readily, try drowned mealworms, torn open mealworms, and then freshly killed meal-
worms and crickets (feed the abdomen only to nestlings), using a syringe afterwards to give water
droplets. Feed at least 6–7, up to 10–12, mealworms, waxworms, or crickets at each feeding.
All immature swifts require time to adjust to being fed in captivity. Be patient, gentle, and under-
standing. Older fledglings and juveniles will arrive frightened and unwilling to accept food from
hemostats. When chicks are reluctant gapers, make sure they are fully hydrated. If they are healthy,
they can be placed with other healthy begging swifts. Waving a tissue above the birds to simulate
the “wind” of the parent’s wings can evoke a begging response. Sometimes a door closing or a simi-
lar noise will also work. Gently stroking a swift on the side or head can also result in gaping. Be
ready and quick to get food in when they do gape. Adults need to be assist-fed until released.
Yeast infections can also be a cause of nongaping. Both Vaux’s and White-throated Swifts are
prone to yeast infections. Reluctance to gape, pale mouth color, and tacky/stringy saliva can be
indications of a yeast infection. Diagnosis is by microscope examination of mouth and fecal swabs
to look for budding oval organisms. Fluconazole (which seems more effective than nystatin) can be
used to treat or can be administered prophylactically for the first week in care. See Hawkins et al.
(2018) for dosing information.
Feeding techniques for Chimney Swifts are applicable to Vaux’s Swifts too. However, White-
throated Swifts can be a little tricky. In general, they are tactile and don’t respond to feeding calls,
whistles, or things waved in front of their face. They do respond to touch and vibration. To facilitate
getting a reluctant White-throated to gape, place a thick hand towel with one end rolled or folded
on a flat surface. Rest the swift’s feet and upper body on the folded/rolled part of the towel, and
place one hand over the bird’s body so that four fingers are cupping one side of the body and the
thumb tip is resting on the opposite side of the body at the commissure of the bill. With the other
hand, secure an insect in a pair of hemostats. Most swifts mistake the thumb placed by its mouth
for a parent swift approaching from the side to feed. When the young swift turns to put their mouth
on the thumb, quickly stuff the insect on the hemostats into the swift’s mouth. Eventually they get
the idea and start accepting the food from the hemostats without having to be handled and removed
from their basket/nest. If nongaping persists, gentle assist-feeding is required. Use extreme care
when assist-feeding any bird, but especially a swift. The lower mandible is a thin, somewhat flexi-
ble rib of bone that is easily fractured when excess pressure or rough handling is applied.
Chimney Swifts are highly intelligent birds that will make direct eye contact with you. They are
highly sensitive to your emotions. If you treat them with confidence, love, and gentle hands they
will relax. If you become frustrated or angry, they will become equally stressed.
Once swifts are readily begging and eating, gradually increase the amount you feed on the for-
ceps. Work up to six to seven mealworms at a time, or as much as you can hold in the forceps, and/
or a couple of cricket abdomens and/or three to four waxworms. This makes feeding a quick and
easy experience. Feed each bird as much as it will eat at each meal.

­ Expected­Weight­Gain

Chimney and Vaux’s Swifts hatch pink, blind, and naked, weighing 4.5–5.5 g. Shadows appear
where pin feathers are to emerge. Pinfeathers are present by 7–8 days, when chicks weigh 12–13 g
and nestlings still have their eyes closed. By 12–14 days old, chicks weigh 19–20 g and resemble a
bristle brush or porcupine of quills, with eyes starting to open and feathers on the wings and back