# Hand rearing blackbirds?



## jock (Mar 27, 2007)

Hi m step-dad accidenlty disturbed a blackbird nest while cutting the hedge, the mother is just boobing around on the floor about 2metres from the nest. can i (should i?) take them in and hand rear them please reply asap thnx


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## darkdan99 (Dec 28, 2006)

leave them


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## darkdan99 (Dec 28, 2006)

Sorry for the previos reply, but i didnt want you to get them :d

If the mother is still around, it if far better to let them be, because she hasnt abandoned them. 

I would say stop what you are doing, and just keep an eye on them from inside. 

If the mother goes, and does not retrn then you may have to step in, but since she is stll there, she will likely return, and care for them herself. 

Try not to disturb them, if possible dont use the garden, or the area around the nest.

Throing some meal worms out will probably get her feeding, and the mothering insticts will hopefully take over.


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## jock (Mar 27, 2007)

ok thnx m8 i wanted to know before i did anything, i will keep u updated thnx


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## Schip (Mar 31, 2007)

It is illegal to have in your ownership a wild bred British bird so unless you are a breeder and can produce evidence of parentage etc you have no choice but to leave well alone. If you can put the everything back then you are allowed to do that ie the whole nest or the youngsters but you can't bring it in and handrear.


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## salad dodger (Feb 13, 2007)

Schip said:


> It is illegal to have in your ownership a wild bred British bird so unless you are a breeder and can produce evidence of parentage etc you have no choice but to leave well alone. If you can put the everything back then you are allowed to do that ie the whole nest or the youngsters but you can't bring it in and handrear.


are you sure about this ?
i know the rules on closed rung british birds as i used to breed them ,
but the rearing then releasing of orphan birds is something my family used to do every year & sometimes still do when they get delivered to the door.
i think its ok until full fledge , then it becomes a little more of a grey area .
the taking of wild birds with the intention of keeping them as adults is a different matter though


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## corvid2e1 (Jan 21, 2007)

Schip said:


> It is illegal to have in your ownership a wild bred British bird


No. it is perfectily legal to take in a sick, injured or orphaned wild animal of virtuly any species (there are a couple that have to go to licenced rehabers, but blackbirds are not one of them) with the intention of releasing it back to the wild once it is fit and able to survive. your best bet if the parents are still around and the nest is still intact is to leave them and she should come back. that being said, depending on the age of the nestlings they will need to be fed fairly frequently and will have to be brooded over night, or during the day too if they are still very young. if the mother has still not come back to them by dusk then you have a problem and will have to bring them in. caring for these animals is my full time job and I have personaly raised hundreds of blackbirds so if this does turn out to be the case let me know and I can tell you how to do it. do not be too keen to take them on though. it is a tough job and you can't hope to give them the sort of attention and teaching they would recive from their natural parents.


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## KittenGazelle (Jul 9, 2012)

*help pls*

I have a blackbird that I'm trying to tend so it can fly off. It somehow got in the road and was hiding under a parked car next to the wheel. The area is cat predominant and some foxes so I thought that if I leave it it will be squashed and if I place it in the wrong place it will be eaten, I did try leaving it in a nearby bush for a while and kept a distance but nothing. Anyone able to advise how to care for it, it gotten more and more energetic and feathers are growing well for about the 4 days I've looked after it, under the neck and wings plumage still a bit naked with plumage starting to grow, needle like feathers are now growing out normally, no real tail feathers, was giving it a slightly pasty mix I found for birds of insects and seed mashy thing, at time it refused the crushed dry mealworms mixed with water for moisture, now it likes the crushed mealworm stuff and I started giving it live mealworms, seems to like them, still chirps and cries to get my attention when hungry and not wanting to eat or drink what's available only taking from me. I encourage it to perch on wooden stick things, and its in a large cardboard box that I leave open with access to a lot of life, I encourage it to jump and flap about when it wants.

Am I feeding it right, what other foods should I give it now and later and how long before it can fly off? Anything I can do about some of its feathers that are sticky and dirty from the sticky food mix I gave it sometimes that at time would spill? I clean out the box when needed to keep it clean.

By the way its starting to get more vocal if that gives any clue to age...



corvid2e1 said:


> No. it is perfectily legal to take in a sick, injured or orphaned wild animal of virtuly any species (there are a couple that have to go to licenced rehabers, but blackbirds are not one of them) with the intention of releasing it back to the wild once it is fit and able to survive. your best bet if the parents are still around and the nest is still intact is to leave them and she should come back. that being said, depending on the age of the nestlings they will need to be fed fairly frequently and will have to be brooded over night, or during the day too if they are still very young. if the mother has still not come back to them by dusk then you have a problem and will have to bring them in. caring for these animals is my full time job and I have personaly raised hundreds of blackbirds so if this does turn out to be the case let me know and I can tell you how to do it. do not be too keen to take them on though. it is a tough job and you can't hope to give them the sort of attention and teaching they would recive from their natural parents.


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## corvid2e1 (Jan 21, 2007)

Easiest diet that works very well for young blackbirds would be a mixture of live mealworms and cat food. They will thrive on this and will recive all the moisture they need until they start to feed themselves. If your bird still has some natural bald patches (not just where the food has stuck to feathers) but is able to perch then it is probably just under 3 weeks old, border line fledgling. depending on how badly the feathers are soiled it may be able to clean them up itself when it starts to bath, however at that age I would not offer a too large area of water just yet as it is likely to get wet and cold. The main problem you are going to face with releasing your bird is that when they are reared from nestling age, alone, it is very easy for them to become too humanised, which makes release much more complicated. The best thing for your bird realy would be to find a wildlife rehabilitation centre who can take on the bird and continue the hand rearing in the company of its own species, then put it through the essensial soft release program it needs.


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## naz_pixie (Oct 6, 2008)

Schip said:


> It is illegal to have in your ownership a wild bred British bird so unless you are a breeder and can produce evidence of parentage etc you have no choice but to leave well alone. If you can put the everything back then you are allowed to do that ie the whole nest or the youngsters but you can't bring it in and handrear.


Erm, no! I lived/worked at an owl rescue for two years.. we hand reared and rescued an untold amount of native wild birds! Is not iligal at all! Pretty sure its only illigal to capture and cage perfectly healthy native birds or wildlife!


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## KittenGazelle (Jul 9, 2012)

*re*

Its got most it's feathers, tail feathers just started to grow, had it for about 1 week if even, it can perch, starting to strech its wings and hop about, i dont cuddle it or anything like that, it tweets more when its hungry, and not eating on its own yet, but has a bowl with live worms in it's place, i saw today it's starting to drink water on its own, some funny loose feathers on its head still, fluffy like. Know any rescues near Stratford Olympics area (east london) when do they ussually fly off or eat on their own? 



corvid2e1 said:


> Easiest diet that works very well for young blackbirds would be a mixture of live mealworms and cat food. They will thrive on this and will recive all the moisture they need until they start to feed themselves. If your bird still has some natural bald patches (not just where the food has stuck to feathers) but is able to perch then it is probably just under 3 weeks old, border line fledgling. depending on how badly the feathers are soiled it may be able to clean them up itself when it starts to bath, however at that age I would not offer a too large area of water just yet as it is likely to get wet and cold. The main problem you are going to face with releasing your bird is that when they are reared from nestling age, alone, it is very easy for them to become too humanised, which makes release much more complicated. The best thing for your bird realy would be to find a wildlife rehabilitation centre who can take on the bird and continue the hand rearing in the company of its own species, then put it through the essensial soft release program it needs.


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## joe190 (Jun 28, 2008)

its illegal to cut down tree's in bird nesting season, its alsi not advisable to hand rear the birds if you dont know what your doing, i would call a local wildlife hospital or the rspca which will transfer them to a wildlife facility


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## naz_pixie (Oct 6, 2008)

Dont even think about calling the rspca! Best case scenerio they will tell you to put it in a bix in the garden and let a fox get it... Or (and yes weve had this suggested by an rspca repressentative) put its head in a door hinge a shut the door. Purely disgusting. The rspca do not help young birds unless they are rare or will bring publicitiy.

Though I dont want to make this an anti rspca post! If he is still going strong keep going, lots of meat, hugh quality cat foods are okay, pretty sure black bird youngsters do very well with some EMP, its an egg bassed seed mix, used alongside a good cat food. Can buy online or from some pet shops. Been a long time since i have reared youngsters though so a tad rusty! If you wanted it to go to a rescue then look for a wildlife or bird rescue near you. 

Time wise your probably looking at another 2-4 weeks (not know exact age) id say 3ish.. 

And yes, trying to not bond will help. Young birds imprint very easierly x


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## Bird1X (Aug 13, 2013)

*Blackbird Rearing*

The 'Help' from the RSPCA is typical of most animal welfare places. I tried th RSPB too for help with a fledgling and was told that it is best to let them die.

It is possible to form a strong bond with any animal. It is easy enough to rear a bird (but if young, prepare to get up every few hours). If you supply a bird with the following, they will mature well:

1) A safe environment. A rodent cage is sufficient with a deep base
2) Clean bedding. An inch thick layer of wood chips is ideal with soft bedding material in a corner.
3) Access to water. Preferably NOT in the cage.
4) Acess to seeds. Corn and sunflowers especially.
5) Entertainment. A mirror or 2 for them to look at.
6) High protein food. Blackbirds like mealworms. Preferably alive.
7) Company. (You yourself is good)

With these catered for, a young fledging will grow up healthy. The bird should have access to a room with access outdoors so that when they feel confident they can leave to find territory of their own. Don't be surprised if your bird returns occasionally for food.

Blackbirds are extremely intelligent and can recognise you by sight and your voice. They can learn their names and a few choice phrases. If your bird decides they don't want to leave, then they should have full amenities for them. If you are unsure, watch birds in the wild and simulate the parent's activities.

The bird I reared is very happy. She has lots of live prey (crickets and mealworms especially). She has a dog dish full of water to have a bath in. She has a fish-tank with earth in that I put worms and woodlice in from the garden and she enjoys digging them up. She also has access to sand for a dust bath. She has seeds with added grit.

All these things are available from pet shops or made yourself. My bird will go outside, but not alone. She follows me around and sleeps in my room. They can be trained to use a litter box too. But remember - You should rear the bird with the intention of returning it to the wild, but your bird will decide where they are better off. Let them decide and they will be strong and healthy.

A&M


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Call the RSPCA and there's every chance they'll 'neck' it.

We have a pair of blackbirds that nest somewhere near my garden every year and almost every year we end up with 1 or 2 fledglings in our garden. It's perfectly normal - they don't just leave the nest and fly away, they leave the nest and fall to the ground in most cases.

We don't interfere at all, we just keep our cats indoors while the parents come down into the garden to feed and care for it/them until they are able to fly off themselves.

One tip I read somewhere that I thought was great was to put the fledgling into a large plant pot and basically hang it from the washing line, so the baby is kept safe from marauding cats, but the parents have easy access to continue feeding it until it learns to fly itself.

Here's a 2011 fledgling on my Hosta plant



And parent keeping an eye on it


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## x Sarah x (Nov 16, 2007)

Must be that time of the year, we left to go food shopping on Sunday when my fella stopped the car and said there's a bird in the road has it been hit? so i got out and sure enough there was a tiny little blackbird fledgling sitting there happy as larry smack bang in the middle of the road on the white line. As tempting as it is to scoop the little guy up and bring him home it's not the right thing to do, so i put him under a hedge on the pathway (garden side, not walkway side) just a few meters from where he was sitting in the road and just hope it stayed there.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Right thing to do Sarah, the parents would be nearby. :2thumb:


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