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Blackbirds are among the most common songbirds encountered in human proximity. No wonder you sometimes find a blackbird chick on a walk. Read this article when and how the young bird needs your help.

In a nutshell

  • Blackbird chicks leave the nest after 13 to 15 days
  • almost fully feathered at this point
  • are fed by their parents
  • don't take it with you, but wait for the parents to return
  • put uninjured nestlings back into the blackbird nest

Proper help for blackbird chicks

If you find a young blackbird, almost fully feathered, perched on the ground, don't take it with you. The probability that the cub was actually abandoned by its parents is very small. Instead, it is most likely a so-called fledgling that has already left the blackbird nest. fledglings

  • are almost completely feathered
  • wear the brown youth dress typical of blackbirds
  • usually sit on the floor
  • are often well hidden, for example in a bush
  • appear almost trusting to humans
  • make the first flight attempts
  • still depend on their parents to feed them

Observe the young bird(s) for at least an hour, preferably two hours, from a vantage point that is a little further away and hidden from you. The parent birds are foraging and visit their offspring to feed within this period of time. When you approach the adults, the young make themselves known through loud calls and active behavior. These young blackbirds are well taken care of and don't need your help.

Abandoned fledglings

The situation is different when the blackbird chicks have actually been abandoned. This can actually happen, for example because the parent animals have fallen victim to an accident or a cat while looking for food. However, since you cannot be sure of this after an hour or two of observation - after all, the adult bird may have already noticed you and therefore not approach you - you should wait a little longer. Young blackbirds at this stage of development can survive for about a day without water or food. If they continue to be fed by their parents, they appear healthy and have shiny eyes.

When to intervene?

If, on the other hand, the bird is not fed, you will notice this in the bird: plumage and eyes appear dull and it becomes weaker and weaker. In this case:

  • put on strong gloves
  • substitute a towel
  • Place the young bird in a box prepared with air holes
  • feed with worms (e.g. mealworms from the pet shop)
  • add some water with a pipette
  • contact a veterinarian who specializes in wild birds
  • alternatively the local wildlife sanctuary

Notice: Where there is an orphaned cub, there are bound to be more perched nearby. Young saplings do not all sit in one spot, but spread out in a radius of about 20 meters.

nestling

However, if the found blackbird chick has little or no feathering and is not yet able to stand on its own, it has probably actually fallen out of the bird's nest. But even then, you don't necessarily have to take it with you and raise it by hand - in fact, hand-rearing is the worst of all options. Instead, you should look where the blackbird's nest is and put the young bird back in - provided it is unharmed.
Make sure that the adult birds are not nearby and watching you! The likelihood that they will continue to feed their young afterwards is high. Under no circumstances should you place blackbird chicks in a foreign bird's nest, possibly another bird's nest. This only works for some bird species, but a blackbird usually notices foreign young animals and throws them out again

Notice: You can easily touch the young bird without gloves. Birds do not perceive a "smell of man" and simply continue to feed the chick.

hand rearing

The so-called hand-rearing is the last option and only comes into question when all others have been exhausted - the parent birds have not actually returned or (if a nestling is found) the nest has been destroyed. Raising a blackbird chick by hand is tedious and not very promising:

  • feeding young nestlings every 30 to 45 minutes during the day
  • from the age of 13 to 15 days about every one to two hours
  • Line the box with kitchen paper
  • change this several times a day
  • do not use hay or straw
  • may contain pathogens
  • can make the bird sick

Do not seek any further contact with the young blackbird outside of feeding, so that you do not unnecessarily impress them on humans. In this case, the animal could no longer be released into the wild or would have little chance of surviving in the wild.

frequently asked Questions

What to do if you find an abandoned blackbird nest with eggs?

The same applies to blackbird eggs as to chicks: first of all, you should observe whether the bird parents have actually left the two to five bluish eggs - the mother blackbird does not incubate continuously, but occasionally flies out to search for food. Otherwise, wild bird eggs are difficult to hatch artificially and the hatched young are not easy to raise. This task is hardly manageable for a layman, especially since you do not know how long the clutch has not been incubated.

What do you feed a blackbird chick?

Young blackbirds initially only eat animal feed. The best thing you can offer a nestling is worms. Berries and fleshy fruits - for example currants or cherries - are added later.

What to do if the young bird is injured?

They do not put even a slightly injured nestling back in the nest, but take it to a veterinarian who specializes in wild birds if possible. An injured young blackbird is sure to suffer permanent damage that will make it difficult for it to survive. Therefore, injuries should be healed and the animals should then be reared by hand.

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Category:

Animals in the garden