Page 653 - Hand rearing birds second

654 Hand-Rearing Birds

Add any of the following to the kibble mix diet:
Chick (1 day old).
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Mouse, starting with pinkies or cut mice initially, and working up to whole mice as the bird
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learns to grip and tear the food.
Hard-boiled egg, with shell on.
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Unsalted nuts of all kinds, especially those found wild in the bird’s native area (i.e. acorns).
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Insects (including mealworms, waxworms, crickets, and those found naturally).
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Vegetable chunks.
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Vegetable bits, i.e. frozen corn kernels, chopped string beans, broccoli bits, peas.
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Fruit chunks and whole fruits, especially those found in the bird’s natural habitat.
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Fruit tidbits for pecking exploration stage – raisins, raisin-sized bits of strawberries, grapes, can-
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taloupe, and watermelon.
Cooked sweet potato as a good source for vitamin A.
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Colored kibble bits, for example: Kit and Kaboodle cat food (Purina).
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Peanuts, unsalted, in the shell, cracked, and out of shell.
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Cones that are found in the habitat of the species being cared for.
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Berries, especially those found in the bird’s native habitat.
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Carrion/roadkill.
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Jays should be exposed to bird seed, especially seed containing dried corn and nuts. Even crows
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show an interest in this. Species that depend on a particular seed should be given the particular
seed that they require.
When ravens become self-feeding, their diet is largely whole meats or carrion. Even in the final
stages of hand-feeding they will reject the BSFR and gape only for cut-up meats like rats, chicks, or
mice. Older juvenile crows also develop a taste for whole meats. A varied diet should continue to
be offered to these species for self-feeding in preparation for a successful release.
Feeding Procedures

Warm and hydrate all birds before introducing food. Once this is accomplished, if the young bird
is actively gaping, begin syringe-feeding with the BSFR. If the young corvid is warm and hydrated
but refuses to gape, it may be force-fed. During force-feeding or when feeding a corvid hatchling,
support the head and extend the neck using gentle finger pressure. Place an appropriately sized
syringe (Table 42.3) containing the BSFR down the right side of the bird’s throat, positioning the
tip past the glottis when force-feeding or when feeding a hatchling. For older, vigorous birds, the
syringe may be placed in the back of the mouth and the bird will swallow as the food is pushed in
via the syringe. Use a 1 ml syringe with a stainless steel feeding tube or teat cannula syringe
extender if necessary for a tiny (25 g) or weak bird, and 0.5 ml or less of the BSFR for the initial
portion for any corvid. Begin with small amounts of food and ensure that the bird does not expel
the food or gag. Refer to Table 42.3 for approximate feeding amounts for the following categories:
hatchlings (nakeds), nestlings (pinfeather birds and pre-fledglings), and fledglings.

Expected Weight Gain

Corvids vary greatly in size between and within a species. Charting the daily weight in grams ver-
sus feather growth for members of the common species in your area will be useful for future refer-
ence. The birds increase rapidly in size and weight, and tend to level off as pinfeathers develop and