HELP!!! i just found a baby magpie, fallen from his nest!!!i

[Sezzzzzzzzz]

Hi guys,

i just found a little baby magpie that has been blown/fallen from his nest.

I have a few questions:
*can i LEGALLY look after him myself? (i'm in nsw)
*if i can, what should i feed him?

i checked him over, his feet grip well, he can flap his wings the only thing that concerns me is one of his eyes is partly shut, but i suppose that could be partly due to his very young age.

thanks in advance!

 

[jedi_339]

Find a bucket, put a stick in the side so he can reach the top to perch and hang it as high as possible in the closest tree to the nest where he was found (make sure to drill a hole in the bottom of the bucket so water can drain out.

Legally keeping it and raising it no.

if you do string him up in the bucket check to make sure the parents are coming down to feed him

Some Info

http://www.cws.org.au/getcloser/images/pdf/babybirdposter.pdf

And this one

http://www.cws.org.au/getcloser/images/pdf/Baby Bird Management.pdf

 

[SteveNT]

Is it feathered?

 

[Sezzzzzzzzz]

thanks Jedi.


Yes steve he has feathers.

heres some pics.





we are just about to get a massive storm through here, so i will put him out first thing in the morning.

 

[Ramsayi]

Sure it's a magpie? Looks awfully black to me.

 

[jedi_339]

Sure it's a magpie? Looks awfully black to me.

I'd say you have yourself a currawong there,

If you want to feed it anything they'll take pinkie mice or bits of cut up mouse

 

[cathy1986]

its not a magpie they are grey with white when young

also they usually have bad worms and lice to be careful make sure you wash your hands

Cathy

 

[Sezzzzzzzzz]

he looks like his feathers have just come in.. we have magpies out the front all the time so i had just assumed.

there is a ladie on here that is a wildlife carer up here (central coast, nsw) but i cant remember her name for the life of me.

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I'd say you have yourself a currawong there,

If you want to feed it anything they'll take pinkie mice or bits of cut up mouse

rats? i only have hopper atm.

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after googling currawongs it appears i have currawongs in my front every day lol.

 

[jedi_339]

he looks like his feathers have just come in.. we have magpies out the front all the time so i had just assumed.

rats? i only have hopper atm.

He's got pretty decent feathers, he would be very close to learning to fly, I reckon he'd probably be already stretching his muscles and flapping occasionally strengthening himself.

Hopper rats will be fine, if you think they are to big then just cut them in half, wave them around above him till he opens his beak and it'll go down easily.


Just be aware if he was booted from the nest the mother bird often has a much better instinct when something is wrong then we do, I've known of baby birds booted from the nest, then within 3 or 4 days with a carer they realise the legs are not working properly or the bird will just die mysteriously with no explanation.

As soon as you can tomorrow stick the bucket in a tree as per those links and just check throughout the day that the adult is visiting the baby and he should be fine.

 

[Sezzzzzzzzz]

thanks so much for your help jedi. should i just feed him if he starts squawking?

 

[jedi_339]

yeah give him a feed then put him to bed in a box with a towel in a warm dark spot. (make sure the box has a lid :lol

And no problem, now you know for next time too

 

[Sezzzzzzzzz]

i have him in a washing basket with a towel in it and over it? will that do? i can't find a box anywhere atm. ill defrost him a rat after i finish my freshly caught flathead

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what about water?

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what about water?

 

[jedi_339]

i have him in a washing basket with a towel in it and over it? will that do? i can't find a box anywhere atm. ill defrost him a rat after i finish my freshly caught flathead

Hmmm, freshly caught flathead sounds good, I don't even know what's for dinner tonight, ahh the joys and mystique of camp food :lol:

Without seeing the basket it's hard to say, so long as he is secure and can't get out and no little children or pets can get into it then it should be fine.

If he opens his mouth for food you can drop a few little drops of water onto the inside of the tip of his beak, he should be old enough now to realise which way to swallow water and not choke, but only do a very few drops at a time and do it slowly, you should gauge his response and you'll get a feel for how much and how quickly to drip it in in no time flat.

 

[Sezzzzzzzzz]

yeah thats why i put him in there, cos we have the fluffy thing and Tilly around. he seems quite content in there.

what about water? lol, you must have edited after i read your post.

 

[Darlyn]

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after googling currawongs it appears i have currawongs in my front every day lol.

Bet that tickles?

 

[eddie123]

snake food?

 

[reb01]

Doesnt look like a magpie to me thou

 

[Sezzzzzzzzz]

Doesnt look like a magpie to me thou

we've already been through that. its a currawong.

 

[jedi_339]

we've already been through that. its a currawong.

See above regarding the watering, I added it into the last post.

I'm off work for the afternoon now, so I won't be back on to check the comp until 6am in the morning.

Good Luck and hope it goes well for the night

 

[Sezzzzzzzzz]

thanks again for all your help! i have gien him some water and i'm defrosting a rat now.