I'm new to this website. I kind of only joined because I need some advice, and so far this website has been extremely helpful compared to any other platforms I've looked up.
I recently adopted a Starling (by recently, I mean a few weeks ago) and it's been relatively easy to care for him. I live in South Africa, so it's not the typical European Starlings that people usually post about. He's a red-winged Starling. He's actually a real cutie pie. Pecks my moles, bites my toes and knocks my stuff over, but super lovable and likes to cuddle at night when he sleeps. He's got a lot in common with what I've read about European Starlings, in that he absolutely LOVES water, likes to pick fabric apart and poo's almost a disturbing amount.
Anyways, he was still a baby when I got him, but had already started growing his adult feathers. I started him off on ground up high-protein cat food, making it like a porridge for him. Within two weeks he's fledged (if that's the right word, I'm not sure) and so came the question: What to feed him next?
My neighbour told me to order dried meal worms, and through some research online I found out that red-winged Starlings eat insects, fruit and seeds. So I've been feeding him the meal worms, slices of apple, and the even a wild bird seed mix. He devours the apples like crazy, eats the meal worms with some encouragement, and doesn't touch the seeds at all. But he's constantly making noise and telling me to feed him, even though I give him a full apple a day along with 2 hand sized tupperware bowls of meal worms. Even more sometimes, since he harasses me for food and clings to me otherwise.
I'm just wondering how much I should actually be feeding him, because Google told me that Starlings can eat up to 2kg a day, which sounds a bit questionable, since my bag of mealworms is 500g. I'd also appreciate any other Starling advice, maybe things he'd enjoy, things to keep in mind or ways I could improve his diet.
This is Steve. Yes, Steve the Starling. I thought it fitting.
I recently adopted a Starling (by recently, I mean a few weeks ago) and it's been relatively easy to care for him. I live in South Africa, so it's not the typical European Starlings that people usually post about. He's a red-winged Starling. He's actually a real cutie pie. Pecks my moles, bites my toes and knocks my stuff over, but super lovable and likes to cuddle at night when he sleeps. He's got a lot in common with what I've read about European Starlings, in that he absolutely LOVES water, likes to pick fabric apart and poo's almost a disturbing amount.
Anyways, he was still a baby when I got him, but had already started growing his adult feathers. I started him off on ground up high-protein cat food, making it like a porridge for him. Within two weeks he's fledged (if that's the right word, I'm not sure) and so came the question: What to feed him next?
My neighbour told me to order dried meal worms, and through some research online I found out that red-winged Starlings eat insects, fruit and seeds. So I've been feeding him the meal worms, slices of apple, and the even a wild bird seed mix. He devours the apples like crazy, eats the meal worms with some encouragement, and doesn't touch the seeds at all. But he's constantly making noise and telling me to feed him, even though I give him a full apple a day along with 2 hand sized tupperware bowls of meal worms. Even more sometimes, since he harasses me for food and clings to me otherwise.
I'm just wondering how much I should actually be feeding him, because Google told me that Starlings can eat up to 2kg a day, which sounds a bit questionable, since my bag of mealworms is 500g. I'd also appreciate any other Starling advice, maybe things he'd enjoy, things to keep in mind or ways I could improve his diet.
This is Steve. Yes, Steve the Starling. I thought it fitting.
