Baby thrush...best food...worms or kitten food?

[Vegan]

My vet gives me any wildlife handed in and he has given me a baby blackbird with the advice to feed worms or maggots and kitten food as a last resort. Friends are telling me worms are toxic and not to feed them to her? For today I only have the option of worms or kitten food. Tomorrow the shops should hopefully be open again and I'll be able to buy maggots but what is best for now please? Worms, kitten food (chicken) or a mixture of both? Are worms toxic to baby thrushes?

[Kayleigh]

I would listen to the vet not your friends as if the worms were toxic all the birds would be dead by now..
No worms are NOT toxic you can eat them if your that way inclined..

[fluff11]

please dont feed maggots as they can set up botchulision(not sure if thats spelt correct), feed mealworms,worms,crickets(live)(most petshops will sell these,moist cat food.

[RKB]

The issue with worms is that they can harbour parasites (somehow this has morphed into them being 'toxic'), although it's not a major issue. Maggots should be avoided, due to botulinum or salmonella risk.

You could use mealworms (bought online from e.g. livefood.co.uk), but you have to kill them first (crush the head).

But there is nothing wrong with meaty dog/cat food. In fact, it's much more convenient. Cut it into small pea-szed bits, and use a toothpick or blunt nail to pick it up, then dip it in water, dab on kitchen roll to dab off the excess drip, and then feed to the bird. You'll probably have to open the bill for the first few days. You can do this with one hand if you have the knack, or it might be a two-man job. Put the food well back in the mouth. Feeb about a tea spoon's worth every hour for at least 12 hours a day.

[witham]

I agree worms are definitely not toxic, birds have been eating them and feeding them to their young since the year dot and if they were they would have been extinct long before now, haven't you seen a blackbird having a tug-of-war with one when trying to get it out of the ground or flying with a beak full to its nest. I would soak mealworms if they not live ones though as they will be easier to digest

[lincs lass]

I've dug up worms before to feed baby birds and every year I get maggots from the fishing shop to put out for the adults, the guys in the shop usually recommend the smaller maggots. There's always a bumper crop of babies in the garden, and the last lot usually fledge around June.

[Vegan]

[Vegan]

Thank you for all your replies! The photo was taken after we got her this morning. Since then she's had kitten food and only one small worm as despite digging down deep I couldn't find any more. I honestly didn't hold out much hope for her when I first saw her but amazingly she's already opening her beak for food and even quietly cheeping. I weighed her this evening and she's 14g. I now feel the hardest bit will be keeping her warm overnight. I know it's hot but she's so tiny and my vet advised keeping her warm. Oh yes and I realise "she" could be a "he" but I had to choose one as I don't like "it".

[RKB]

Blimey, I didn't realise it was so young. This bird cannot regulate its own temperature, so without external heat (usually provided by the mother sitting on it) it will die of hypohtermia before long.

You need to rig out a heat lamp (around 40 degrees C) or sit it on a hot water bottle of similar temp wrapped in a towel, and changed several times a day and night.

You're also going to have a problem with fledging. Do you have experience and success with soft-releasing birds like this? You can't just 'let them go' when they get big, so it might be better to hand it onto a bigger rehabilitation place before it gets much older (i.e. within the next week).

[RKB]

ps, it looks like a Blackbird, about 5-7 days old. How come it was taken from the nest?