In late spring, it often happens that the chicks fall out of the nest. Some manage to survive. Sometimes we happen to pick up an adult wounded bird. What to do if such a find is a swift? How to feed this extremely picky bird at home? But let's first determine who is in front of us: a swallow (there are several species) or a swift.
In the village dwellers, 3 fingers on the foot are directed forward, and one - backward. For urban residents of the black swifts, everything is different. They have 4 fingers set forward like a foot. And adult individuals are even easier to identify: the swallow on the chest has a white shirt-front.
So, you are convinced that this is not a sparrow, not a wagtail or a killer whale, but the real Apus apus. In Russian, a black swift. How to feed at home your baby? In the EU countries there are special shelters for wild animals and birds, where specialists take care of them. We have all the hope - for the mercy and patience of ordinary people. But, in addition to kindness and a desire to help, you also need to know what to feed these foundlings, since improper feeds can lead to the death of the animal.
It is important to determine how old the swift bird is in front of you. What does young growth eat and how often? Parents feed their chicks 50-70 times a day, but your pet can do with one dose of food per hour. The whole diet consists of insects - crushed in the beak of the parents and pressed with the help of their saliva into a lump. Poultry is thrust deep into the throat of such calves. What to do to the city dweller who found the haircut? If the chick is very weak, first you need to give him a little water.
Need an insulin syringe with a removable needle. We collect into it 2-3 cubes of warm boiled water. Wrap the chick in a napkin, take it with his left hand. Gently open the beak with his right and fix it with the fingernail of the left finger. And then drop by drop we introduce liquid into the tongue. If a bird swallows water, then all is not lost, and it makes sense to fight for its life. A weakened haircut needs to be heated (lamp or heating pad). Put it in a box or basin (but in no case in a cage) and let it eat as soon as possible. How to feed a swallow chick ? At first - because time does not endure - offer him baby meat puree. Roll the ball and put the tweezers with rounded tips on the base of the tongue.
But such a diet should not be constant - a maximum of two days. Do not forget that he is an insectivore - this black swift. How to feed such a fickle at home? Bread is contraindicated, like eggs, food for parrots, canaries, dogs and cats. Only crickets, flies and their larvae, drones, ant eggs and wax moths. What are we doing? We order in specialized stores for animals or through online delivery of wax larvae and crickets. Contacting your local beekeeper association will provide you with drones. In shops for fishermen you can buy larvae of flies. Half of them need to be put in a warm place so that adult insects are hatched, and the rest - in the refrigerator.
You will encounter much greater difficulties if you fall into the hands of an adult swift. How to feed a bird at home, accustomed to catch insects on the fly? As long as your pet does not recover and does not gain the opportunity to get food for himself, you will have to provide him with live flies. And do not forget to water the bird every time after feeding.