Wednesday 17 April 2013

How to Feed a Nestling - Squab


My trepidation with feeding the squabs has subsided, having fed them every 4 hours since taking them in. I opted for liquidised food delivered by syringe, since they are still a bit on the young side for eating on their own. The biggest danger doing this is getting it into their lungs which would kill them. Great care has to be taken with the right length of flexible tube entering from the left side of the bird, and seeing the tube go down into the crop on the right side. Avoiding giving too much in case the crop overflows into the airway. A mixture of lettuce, porridge oats, and chick starter feed liquidised and warm, is what I've been giving them. Will switch to mixed bird seeds a bit later. Short video of how it's done in case anybody has to do it for some homeless and parentless bird.


Meanwhile the mother duck is keeping a close eye on me when I have to enter the Aviary to provide food and water,  the ducklings are warned to keep away, so all is as it should be.

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