So, yesterday afternoon I found this guy in the B1 parking, exhausted.
After reading a bit, seems once they start to venture out of the nest, they are still watched and fed by both parents, who will defend them fiercely.
I presume this little guy ventured on the wrong side of the door, waiting for his eminent death without food / water.
Once home, he started to eat water-soaked food from a syringe, he stopped shivering, started shitting, and survived the night.
This morning, it seems he is recovered, active, cleaning himself, and probably ready to depart.
So now what? Anyone with more knowledge than us? what’s wisdom?
not spoil him, release him, and let him fend for himself?
feed him for some days more, probably buying some of the food he is supposed to be fed (crickets, worms, etc)
I think when I was a kid, my Dad had a similar situation where he rescued a bird that my cat had tried to maul. Unfortunately It still died after a couple days. I don’t know much about your type of bird, but I’d keep it an extra day or two for observation and to make sure it’s at full strength. On the other hand… Does it seem eager to depart? If it’s a momma bird, it might have a nest it needs to get back to (you say you think it’s a baby bird that got away from its parents, but do you know that for a fact?).
From what I have read on this species (Taiwan black Drongo), they start to leave the nest (fledgling stage) under supervision of the parents. Considering his size / feathers / body size, etc) I am pretty sure he is in that stage.
However, he does not eat by himself yet, not even from a pincher.
Feeding by syringe works perfect though, which makes me believe he was still fed by the parents.
We grew these 3 rock stars from almost day one, so I have some reference, but not a lot.
Thanks. I realized that I misread the title as “Little Black Drogo” and I was thinking to myself how interesting it was that you gave this little bird a nickname.
I dont know much, sorry. But we have rescued a few drongo before. ad a heat sorce and make sure their enclosure is big enough to cool down . Temperature gradeints are always important with many animals. If they eat with syringe thats great. They are pretty heavy feeders. We used chicken feed mixed 70:30 with mealworm/cricket paste (basically cricket as much as we could catch then mealworm to make up the deficits because they are easier to buy) . Cancatch wild bugs or buy from a pet store if you live somewhere with one. Beetle larvae etc are good fat sources (like mealworms), just kill them humanely then squeeze out their intestines first to avoid too much soil/wood etc.Bird feed shops often have mealworms. Mashed well prior to feeding with syringe. They tend to be able to pick live ones pretty young, doesnt hurt to put it small dish in their cage. Add some carrt/sweet potato etc so the have water. Crickets will escape but mealworms in a dish are easy. i cannot speak for birds, but certainly with reptiles mealworms cause nutrient deficiencies and obesity if they are the sole food. Like eatin saugages 24/7. So i always just treat birds as a more active lizard and use mealworms for fat/protein mixed into other things.
I am not sure if that is good advice for drongos, sorry. But its not base to work from.
In the meantime we also got some advice from a local bird-shop in TP, Drongo’s seem to be on the slow side of getting independent, and are fed by the parents for weeks, while wandering the wide wild world.
They advised to do a week of syringe feeding, then try to attract him to some worms and crickets and the like.
Release time in 3-4 weeks from now, not earlier.
I built him a little zen-garden, most of time he is out of the cage, eating, washing, looking around, sometimes flying as good as he can, and scaring the other birds shitless …
It’s the bottom of a classic bird case, and indeed some sand from the cats (although I am going to change it for flat sand, I remember vaguely that birds might eat it, and its not good for them … or something like that).
To be frank, I have noooo idea …
He just looks like a he … so he is a he, till start laying eggs
And yeah, in hindsight, he was probably dehydrated, hungry, over heated … after 2 days of care, and now with some worm based food, he is back, and more interactive than I thought he should be … start to make noises too.
I don’t know much about your type of bird, but I’d keep it an extra day or two for observation and to make sure it’s at full strength. On the other hand… Does it seem eager to depart? If it’s a momma bird, it might have a nest it needs to get back to (you say you think it’s a baby bird that got away from its parents, but do you know that for a fact?).
