baby chic ?????????

[TAWhatley]

Thanks for your post, Vasp. I just want to clarify a couple of your points. Mealworms and waxworms are commonly used by wildlife rehabbers as food for insectivores. It is true that these worms can chew their way out of very small/young birds and should be drowned or beheaded before feeding. Older birds are perfectly able to handle live worms.

Your caution about aspiration is a good one. Unless the person caring for the bird is experienced and has the proper equipement (syringes or gavage needles), great care does need to be taken when placing any type of liquid in the mouth of the bird.

Terry

[pdpbison]

Yahhhhh...

Far as I know, one never feeds vigorously 'live' insects to Baby insect-eating Birds anyway...

Meal Worms, when I use them, I buy a few hundred, or a thousand, and I let them spend their time at room temperature, in a large bowl with fresh Apple slices, Potato slices, and this in a deep bed of plain Oatmeal.

Soon the torpid, small, unhealthy looking Mealworms typical of what one can buy, become vigorous, growing, healthy ones.

When I am to feed one to a Baby, if the Baby is quite small, I smash the Meal Worm's head and then cut it's body into small bites for the Baby.

If the Baby is larger, I just smash the Worm's head, it in front of the Baby, for them to eat 'whole'.

Same with any potentially biteing or chewing insect - smash it's head well, then either cut into a few feeding bites, or let the youngster have it whole.

Winged Insects, remove the Wings then feed it to them "head forst" or let the Baby have it by just smaching it's head, removeing the Wings and doing this in front of the Baby and then let them take it on their own...let them watch you do these things also. Later, they will do them in their way.

Dried or semi dried Berries, such as Goji Berries, can be soaked in Water to become lusciously hydrated, then these can be cut into a few pieces and fed to the Song Bird Baby, and provide hydration for them, in addition to other foods doing so. Just make sure the food is not dripping, just shake it off lightly and all will be fine.

There is almost no reason to ever try giving them Water, unless they are truely dehydrated, in which case, the Water/electrolyte is best given into their Crop or into their far mid throat as a very slow pace.

The risk of trying to put Water into their mouth, into their Beak, on the sides of their Beak or any other similar way, is just too dangerous for them.

Keeping them rightly "warm" and constantly, is also critical...till they are developed enough to make their own adequate Body Heat...


Phil
Las Vegas

[Vasp]

Great posts you guys. Yep, that's good. She just said he received his first "live meal", and I sort of worried that the rehabber had fed him a live, squirming worm. I don't think or at least hope she'd do that.