Bluebird feeding - emergency (Part 1)
In addition to Messages that have appeared in the Bluebird Mailing Lists
on this topic, the following are on the Audubon Society of Omaha website:
Subj: emergency food for birds
Date: 5/9/99 9:06:50 AM Central Daylight Time
From: kridler"at"1Starnet.com (Keith & Sandy Kridler)
Sender: owner-BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Reply-to: kridler"at"1Starnet.com (Keith & Sandy Kridler)
To: BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu (BLUEBIRD-L)
Keith Kridler,
I believe us "more" experienced bluebirders are letting down the newer
members to our bluebirding family! We are waiting for something bad to happen
and then giving advice! This is often too late for the nest affected. We have
the people on this list who know most of the problems and the time frame they
will occur BEFORE THEY WILL HAPPEN. Lets anticipate the problems and maybe
"repost" the best thoughts for the new bluebirds and the nesting season just
about to go into high gear "up north".
Emergency food: I prefer insects for my "orphans" instead of canned food.
Would someone experienced in rehabbing birds give the "best" canned food
recipe's and warn about botulism and how to treat with "human" antibiotics or
what to keep on hand? What about wound care also? One of our local PHD's
recommends Preparation H for bird wounds! It kills the pain, seals the wound and
most stores carry it.
Insects:During cool weather hard bodied insects like grasshoppers/crickets
are a good food source. I keep sheets of old plywood "down in the field" for
crickets to congregate under. If I need them I flip over the sheets and will
find a "wealth" of varied bird food. Feed any type insect except stinging ones
or sow bugs (pill bugs). I keep the insects alive and pinch the heads and
generally tenderize the insects by crushing the hard bodies. Beetles I normally
take off the hard outside wing covers. White grubs like to live just under old
firewood crunch their heads before feeding to birds. Plant cabbage or broccoli
family plants and gather the cabbage lopers for food. Avoid earth worms and
"spiny/hairy" caterpillars! I use a large propane torch and will "flame" large
paper wasp nests at dusk or night and will have hundreds of wasp larva to feed
the birds. Place lights over a five gallon bucket and make an insect trap for
night flying insects. May/June bugs gathered this way last for days! Mud dauber
nests contain hundreds of spiders/larva and care should be taken because the
spiders are paralyzed but can still bite. Crush their heads with tweezers before
feeding. When I raised honey bees I would sit to the side of the hive and catch
hundreds of drones coming back to the hive on warm afternoons since drones don't
sting they make excellent food! If you have a front end loader for your tractor
driving through tall grass with the bucket low and pushing through the grass
will catch lots of insects and caterpillars. All the above methods were my
favorite ways to get early spring "fish bait" when I still had time to fish!
Experiment with some of them and see what works for you. (Yes I left off meal
worms since they have been well covered.) Use common sense! 1-4 day old chicks
have to have small soft insects. 4-8 days old can eat a mixture of hard soft.
After that they can eat most any hard bodied but well tenderized insect. Train
them to open their mouths to a whistle or squeak. Do not try to give "water"
your birds! Try to place in another bird nest as soon as possible! If not be
prepared to train them to feed themselves. This usually takes about a month
AFTER they learn to fly. You must train them to always come back to you for
food. DO NOT take them outside until they will return to you EVERYTIME they need
fed. You can not go to the top of a tree to feed them every fifteen minutes! I
think ALL bluebirders qualify so have a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! Best to all KK
Subj: suggestion
Date: 1/9/00 11:44:48 PM Central Standard Time
From: Tsapling"at"aol.com
Sender: owner-BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Reply-to: Tsapling"at"aol.com
To: Bluebird-L"at"cornell.edu
I have a suggestion regarding feeding. I don't know whether it will work because
I don't know how picky blue birds are. However, if any of us leave out dry cat
food, such as Friskies in a bowl on the ground, it takes only about 3 hours for
blue jays to find it, to amke sure the cat si away, to ascertain that it is
food, and to empty it one piece at a time. They love it. It is high protein and
high fat. iI you are thinking the parent blue birds might feed it to young, you
may want to moisten it so it will be softer. Anyway, let me know if the
bluebirds go for it.
Tina
Subj: cat food
Date: 1/10/00 7:33:36 AM Central Standard Time
From: kridler"at"1starnet.com (Keith & Sandy Kridler)
Sender: owner-BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Reply-to: kridler"at"1starnet.com
To: BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu (BLUEBIRD-L)
Keith K.
Cat food does make a good food for birds. Once wet it must be kept cold or
bacteria rapidly grows. Baby birds, like human babies have not enough immunity
to botulism and birds will die of "limber neck" a fatal disease that has to be
treated with anti-biotics. This is the same reason humans should not be fed
honey until they reach the age of 2 years (???? Bruce B. is this the correct
age???)
I learned this the hard way dealing with poultry/ducks/turkey's and baby
bluebirds. If dry cat food is moistened and used as food for baby birds throw
any left over away and mix a fresh batch each hour/each feeding. KK
Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 13:38:39 -0400
From: "Rebecca B. Guenther"
To: "'BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu'"
Subject: Bluebird problem
Hi,
My Mother has a bluebird family in her box every year here in Vermont.
Unfortunately, the male parent was killed by a car yesterday and now the mother
is all alone on the nest with the eggs. Any ideas on what will happen? The
mother expects him to feed her. Will she leave? Should we feed her and try to
help her with the babies? A local expert suggested we provide mealworms to her
and later to the babies.
Any advice is appreciated. I've found this list-serve today and hope it's the
right kind of question for this forum.
Many thanks!
Becky Guenther
Essex, Vermont.
Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 14:22:20 -0400
From: "Bruce Burdett"
To:
Cc:
Subject: Re: Bluebird problem
Rebecca, et al
Normally the lone female, or lone male, for that matter, can work extra hard and
raise a clutch of chicks without help. If you have a way of offering her
mealworms, I'm sure she'd appreciate it, because she wouldn't have to hunt as
much, or fly as far. Of course, certain types of stress can wreck everything for
her, - like weather extremes, blowflies, wind-driven rain, hawks, invasions by
enemies, lack of prey, etc. In such cases, she can lose them all, or some of
them. But aside from some mealworm help, and monitoring for parasites, there's
really not much you can do to intervene. One thing Listers seem to be learning
is that these birds vary widely in terms of aggressiveness, determination,
hunting skills, and just plain old core vigor. A strong single parent can
probably do just fine; a weaker one might fail.
I remember Essex well. My wife and I both went to
Middlebury.
Bruce Burdett NH Bluebird Conspiracy, Sunapee NH
blueburd"at"srnet.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Rebecca B. Guenther
To: 'BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu'
Date: Thursday, July 13, 2000 2:25 PM
Subject: Bluebird problem
...
Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 14:28:28 EDT
From: Bluebyrder"at"aol.com
To: BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Re: Bluebird problem
Dear Becky,
So sorry to learn about the loss of the male Bluebird. Although it will be
difficult for the female to be a single mom, it is possible for her to incubate
her eggs and raise the young without the assistance of her mate. You can
increase her chances at success by providing her with mealworms, as that will
reduce the time that she needs to be off her egg during incubation and the time
that she will need to search for adequate food for her young, as well as
herself, once the eggs hatch.
Although this is an unfortunate situation, it is far better for the male to have
lost his life than the female. The male has no brooding patch and therefore
would not be able or have the instinct to incubate these eggs, therefore this
entire clutch of eggs would be lost. Once the eggs hatch, the nestlings still
need brooding during the first 5 or 6 days of their life. Again, the male would
not be able to provide this necessary care for the young nestlings.
In some situations like this, another male has come into the territory. This has
met with mixed results. Sometimes his only interest is in mating with the female
and helping to raise a family of his offspring..not in assisting the female with
her current brood of nestlings. In other cases a new male has assisted with the
feeding of the offspring of the other male.
If you decide you want to purchase mealworms, they can usually be found at pet
store that sell reptiles, or at bait shops. They can also be mail ordered in
larger quantities from a variety of suppliers across the nation. Mail ordering
them is the most economical way to purchase mealworms, but if you want them in a
hurry, then it may be a good idea to purchase some from a local store and place
a larger order from a mail order supplier. If you are interested in the names
and numbers of mail order suppliers, there are several listed under the section
titled "Feeding Bluebirds" on the Bluebird-L reference guide http://www.crosswinds.net/~bluebirdguide/
Best of luck to you mother and her Bluebird. Please let us know how it turns
out.
Sincerely,
Diane G. Barbin
Harrisburg, PA
Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 15:49:34 -0400
From: "Elizabeth Nichols"
To:
Cc:
Subject: Re: Bluebird problem
---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "Rebecca B. Guenther"
Reply-To: rguenther"at"pfclaw.com
Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 13:38:39 -0400
Hi Becky:
You have already rec'd Messages that have stated what I would have said, both
Bruce Burdette & Diane Barbin are quite knowledgable and experienced. I would
only add that you are fortunate to have a local expert giving you guidance. In
your next report, please let us know how many eggs she is brooding and the
expected hatching date, if known. Mealworms will be of great help to the Mother
and the babies. Good luck, please keep us informed if you can. We are all here
to help! Thanks for contacting us.
Betty Nichols, Middletown, MD
Hi,
My Mother has a bluebird family in her box every year here in Vermont.
...
Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 16:47:20 -0400
From: "Randy Jones"
To:
Cc: "Bluebird Listserve"
Subject: Re: Bluebird problem
I had the same problem last year. I put out mealworms to help her. It took the
lone female two weeks before she began to use them, but then it was
gangbusters. She will work extra hard to take care of her babies, and will
probably be OK without help, but it will be wonderful for her if you can get
her to take them. I built a flat "table" of plywood about one foot square,
screwed to an old mop handle, drove it into the ground about ten feet away from
her nestbox facing the hole. I finally got her to take them by putting some on
the ground loose in front of the nestbox. Once she started taking
them, I moved the feeder about ten feet every few hours until it was 50 feet
away. I was trying not to tip off the predators.
Good luck. Let me know if I can help further.
Randy Jones
Allentown PA
randyj"at"enter.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rebecca B. Guenther"
To:
Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2000 1:38 pm
Subject: Bluebird problem
...
Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 14:30:56 -0700
From: "W.Guglieri"
To:
,
Subject: Re: Bluebird problem
Becky:
now the mother is all alone on the nest with the eggs.
The mother expects him to feed her. Will she leave?
No, she won't leave, and she doesn't expect the male to feed her completely
Although he will occasionally feed her while she is incubating, she would
(even if the male were still alive) leave during the warmer parts of the day to
feed herself.
Should we feed her and try to help her with the babies? A local expert
suggested we provide mealworms to her and later to the babies.
Most times a single female can do just fine with no intervention at all. It
probably isn't necessary, but as earlier posts have suggested, providing her
with occasional mealworms, especially later after the eggs have hatched, might
help her out. I wouldn't do it unless there is some sort of insect shortage in
your area. Mealworms, after all, are not her natural food and will not provide
the most complete nutrition to the nestlings at any rate.
As far as your PERSONALLY feeding mealworms (or anything else) to the babies:
Absolutely NOT! Have you ever watched an adult bird feeding a
young nestling? They literally stuff it down their throats. Placing anything in
the gaping mouth of a young nestling will do nothing unless it is pushed down
far enough to cause them to swallow. If not done properly, they just sit there
with food in their mouths, still wide open and gaping. If done improperly, you
may inadvertently be stuffing it into their airway. It isn't something you
should be doing.
By the way, your question is exactly the right kind of question for this forum -
Welcome! Sorry your first post had to be one of distress, but just relax, buy a
few mealworms if you wish, and keep us posted.
Wendy Guglieri
Rescue, California
-in the Sierra Nevada foothills 40 mi. east of Sacramento-
wendyg"at"jps.net
Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 18:50:51 -0500
From: "Fread Loane"
To: "BLUEBIRD-L"
Subject: A Novel Way To Catch Insects
I one time was faced with providing four goslings with ample food. To solve the
problem, I placed a white bed sheet over a clothes line and used a Coleman gas
lantern to attract bugs at night. In my case, I just let the goslings do the
picking until they could not waddle. However, an enterprising soul could capture
many different insects quite easily this way. They could be placed in a jar and
then put in the refrigerator to "cool them down", so when you doled them out,
they would not simply just fly away.
I would think that feeding only mealworms would not be a satisfactory diet for
most nestlings. I hope this might help those who are trying to get nestlings to
the fledge stage.
Fread J. Loane
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 18:17:33 -0700
From: Linda Violett
To: bluebird-l"at"cornell.edu
Subject: RE: Bluebird problem
Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif.
Your local expert gave you good advice about helping the single female with
supplemental offerings of food. You didn't mention how many eggs were in the
nest. On my trail, single females are able to tend the eggs just fine through
the hatch and first few days, but have difficulty in raising more than 3 chicks
on her own to fledging.
Consider that a single female with 6 chicks hatched (happened to me last year)
is comparable to a pair raising a 12 chicks . . . impossible. Here's the rough
timetable I see in nests with 5 or 6 chicks that have a single mom from
incubation.
Successful incubation
Full nest of 5 or 6 healthy chicks
3rd day: 1 or 2 fall behind
6th to 8th day: 1 or 2 dead with another failing
One more delayed death
2 fledge
In addition to the supplemental feedings, you might want to have a lineup of
foster nests the same age as your single-parent nest. If something happens to
the female, you will need to make quick decisions. Or, if you see failing
chicks, they can be saved if you have alternatives.
Interestingly, I find parents who lose their mate during the final week prior to
fledge seem to do just fine with 4 nestlings and supplemental feedings.
Welcome to the List and sure to keep the List updated on the progress.
"Rebecca B. Guenther" wrote:
Hi,
My Mother has a bluebird family in her box every year here in Vermont.
...
From: "Stan Blaylock" stanb103"at"bellsouth.net
To: "Bluebird Cornell" BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Feeding
Date: Sun, 27 Apr 2003 15:58:21 -0500
What and how can I feed baby BB's that appear to have been abandoned? The
nest box is in my backyard and I have not seen activity for two days.
Date: Sun, 27 Apr 2003 16:44:54 -0500
Subject: Re: Feeding
From: BJ Boykin bjgator"at"eatel.net
To: bluebird BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
you can get meal worms and squish them into the babies mouths...keep it up
until they seem full. How young are they? feathered at all? If you have a rehab
person around you can give them to her/him. Just make sure they are truly
abandon.
bobbie
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