Great tit fledgling/nestling found - what to feed?

[Snoop Puss]

Found a tiny great tit fledgling/nestling on the ground. Or rather the chickens found it. Couldn't leave it there, as the dogs and cats also started to show an interest. Parent bird about but nest too high to put it back in and anywhere lower and it would have been vulnerable to cats.

So, it's currently sitting in a little tub with kitchen paper, out of the way of other animals.

Any advice on what to do next? No agencies to take it on. So I'm guessing hand rearing is the way to go. But what to feed it? Only insects will be those I catch... I don't suppose I'm going to be as good at that as a parent bird.

All advice welcomed.

[nickdub]

I watch the bluetits feeding their young - the pair take an insect in to the nest about once every 30 seconds during the day.

best thought - have a look round for someone with a long ladder who wouldn't mind doing a good Samaritan - window cleaner ? facebook ?

[Snoop Puss]

Thanks, Nick. The nest is in a hole in a branch way up high in an olive tree with very fine branches around it and a great mass of twigs at the top. No good for resting a ladder up against and can't climb up high enough through the tree. So far, one big fat grub (chopped in two to make it a bit more manageable) has gone down. We have very tall ladders but Mr Snoop decided against it.

Will maybe need to go digging for worms. Any chance it might eat anything else? Bits of mince?

[Jay22]

Did you check for advice online Snoop?

[Jay22]

It says online you can feed a fledgling tit , mashed up cat food, scrambled egg or raw finely minced meat obviously insects would be best. Suppose it depends how small it is.

[Snoop Puss]

Yes, insects were recommended. But I'm going to find it hard to catch enough, I suspect. This isn't the kind of place where you can buy this kind of thing either. Farming territory, no fishing. And no services for this kind of eventuality. And no caterpillars on leaves. Could maybe catch spiders, but don't fancy manhandling them into the bird's beak...

If cooked mince or other small bits of meat were possible, that would be fantastic. Have some cat food (not biscuits) that could be pressed into service too.

[Snoop Puss]

It's very small. It has feathers on its wings but straggly fluff on its body.

Interesting about the raw meat. I assumed cooked would be better for health reasons. Thanks, Jay-ell. You found a better source of info than I did.

[nickdub]

Sounds like you are doing a good job but I wouldn't give up on the ladder side of things - even if you can raise it, teaching a bird how to behave is really a job for other birds - maybe someone locally knows a firefighter and the local brigade fancies trying out their turntable one ?

[Snoop Puss]

Well, it was a brief interlude. I managed to feed it a big fat grub and a couple of bits of scrambled egg, for which I was rewarded with a surprisingly large poop in my hand. But it wasn't very keen on eating, just wanted to sleep in my palm, presumably nice and warm.

I watched the birds in the tree for a bit, and surprisingly there are two nests in holes in the same tree. One very badly positioned as far as the cats are concerned though. But the nestlings in there seem to keep very quiet till the adults turn up, which is why I hadn't heard them earlier. So, I've dropped the bird in that hole and now have to hope for the best. It's an odd place for the birds to have chosen, because one of our cats likes that tree for perching in. All he will have to do when the birds are older and curious about the outside world is sit and wait... But it's better off there than with me.

Edited to add: sorry for not responding, Nick. I know a fireman, and a nice man he is too, but the locals would think I was a batty Englishwoman for wanting to save a chick, especially if it involved getting the fire engine out.

[nickdub]

Well, it was a brief interlude. I managed to feed it a big fat grub and a couple of bits of scrambled egg, for which I was rewarded with a surprisingly large poop in my hand. But it wasn't very keen on eating, just wanted to sleep in my palm, presumably nice and warm.

I watched the birds in the tree for a bit, and surprisingly there are two nests in holes in the same tree. One very badly positioned as far as the cats are concerned though. But the nestlings in there seem to keep very quiet till the adults turn up, which is why I hadn't heard them earlier. So, I've dropped the bird in that hole and now have to hope for the best. It's an odd place for the birds to have chosen, because one of our cats likes that tree for perching in. All he will have to do when the birds are older and curious about the outside world is sit and wait... But it's better off there than with me.

Edited to add: sorry for not responding, Nick. I know a fireman, and a nice man he is too, but the locals would think I was a batty Englishwoman for wanting to save a chick, especially if it involved getting the fire engine out.

No worries - just chucking out ideas ( which is singularly appropriate )

PS not to burst your bubble Mrs S, but the locals already know you are a batty Englishwoman - that ship will have sailed long since :-)

[Snoop Puss]

^Not so. Mr Snoop is regarded as quite the intellectual, which reflects well on me. I'm careful not to go out that often in public as well, so as not to shatter their image of me.

[nickdub]

So you're going for the "Mrs Rochester" approach ?

Personally I don't mind being thought of as a bit bonkers (just as well really) - it lets me get away with doing strange things if I feel like it.

[SarrissUK]

Personally I don't mind being thought of as a bit bonkers (just as well really) - it lets me get away with doing strange things if I feel like it.

haha same here! It allows you to do some off the cuff things that others don't feel they can get away with haha

[Snoop Puss]

I do all my strange things at home...