TehLizardKing
Sitting on the front steps
Hey y'all!
Yesterday, while on a family outing, my dad pulled into the side of the curb and yelled 'bird out', which is our signal for a bird on the road that needs grabbing. Thankfully the road was clear, so I went and grabbed what I thought to be a small adult bird that had been stunned, but it was in fact a fledgeling robin being blown around by the wind. There was no nest in sight, not even any foliage, so I set him down atop a wall and was feeling very bad, but restrained myself because obviously mum and dad robin are gonna be better at looking after their own child than I am. However, once set on the wall, it couldn't support itself on one leg... it just fell to the ground, but otherwise looked bright eyed and healthy nonetheless. In the end we decided to take him back with us, because we use to live in the area so I know how many cats are about, it was raining and there was no cover at all to leave him in, plus my dad had to be back home quickly...
So now I've got a baby robin to care for! He's too old to want to gape for me, but after two feeds he stopped resisting when I gently open his beak, and is eating with relish. I've hand reared many, many birds before, so I know the ropes, but only parrots and doves, so an insectivore is new to me. I'm managing fine, but I just wondered to know if anyone has had a similar experience, or just hand-raised other softbills that have similar needs.
I originally tried a mix of two parts mashed dog kibble, one part kaytee hand rearing mix, and 1/8 part nutrobal vitamin and mineral powder... however he wouldn't even let me get that in his beak, and the amount of manipulating it took, I was worried he'd aspirate because he's used to being fed on whole insects and berries. So now he's being fed on mealworms and crickets, and I'm gonna switch the mealies to waxworms because of the higher fat content and smaller amounts of chitin. On the next feed I'm gonna dust them with nutrobal, and I'm feeding him every two/three hours with as many insects as he'll eat before he starts getting distracted. Does that sound about right? Any info or anecdotal help would be so helpful here, this guy is so cute, oh, and he's an English Robin, not an American one, so a lot smaller. Thanks guys!
Here's the little fella:
Yesterday, while on a family outing, my dad pulled into the side of the curb and yelled 'bird out', which is our signal for a bird on the road that needs grabbing. Thankfully the road was clear, so I went and grabbed what I thought to be a small adult bird that had been stunned, but it was in fact a fledgeling robin being blown around by the wind. There was no nest in sight, not even any foliage, so I set him down atop a wall and was feeling very bad, but restrained myself because obviously mum and dad robin are gonna be better at looking after their own child than I am. However, once set on the wall, it couldn't support itself on one leg... it just fell to the ground, but otherwise looked bright eyed and healthy nonetheless. In the end we decided to take him back with us, because we use to live in the area so I know how many cats are about, it was raining and there was no cover at all to leave him in, plus my dad had to be back home quickly...
So now I've got a baby robin to care for! He's too old to want to gape for me, but after two feeds he stopped resisting when I gently open his beak, and is eating with relish. I've hand reared many, many birds before, so I know the ropes, but only parrots and doves, so an insectivore is new to me. I'm managing fine, but I just wondered to know if anyone has had a similar experience, or just hand-raised other softbills that have similar needs.
I originally tried a mix of two parts mashed dog kibble, one part kaytee hand rearing mix, and 1/8 part nutrobal vitamin and mineral powder... however he wouldn't even let me get that in his beak, and the amount of manipulating it took, I was worried he'd aspirate because he's used to being fed on whole insects and berries. So now he's being fed on mealworms and crickets, and I'm gonna switch the mealies to waxworms because of the higher fat content and smaller amounts of chitin. On the next feed I'm gonna dust them with nutrobal, and I'm feeding him every two/three hours with as many insects as he'll eat before he starts getting distracted. Does that sound about right? Any info or anecdotal help would be so helpful here, this guy is so cute, oh, and he's an English Robin, not an American one, so a lot smaller. Thanks guys!
Here's the little fella: