Prognosis for flightless Magpie

[Hedgehoggy]

For just over 2 weeks I’ve had a flightless magpie in my garden. It looks like all but one of his primary wing feathers have been chewed off on its left side (featherless chewed sheaths are clearly visible), and he’s missing some tail feathers on that side too. He has incredibly adapted to his (hopefully temporary) flightless existence for this long and has interestingly been ‘hanging out’ with the blackbirds – skulking under my shrubs flicking through the leaf litter alongside the blackbirds and hopping up into the shrubs following the blackbirds, which have been totally unfazed by his close presence. I’ve been putting out extra food for him under the shrubs he’s skulking around in.

He roosts in the large holly tree at the bottom of my garden and takes huge leaps across my garden to reach this tree, then hops up branch by branch to safety.

Every morning I look out for him, and every morning I’m amazed to see he has survived another flightless day/night. I’ve just returned from a long weekend away and was amazed to see he was still here!

If I really set my mind to it, I’m sure I could catch him with my son’s large fishing net, but don’t want to stress him out by incarcerating him unnecessarily, as so far he seems to be coping well enough under his own steam, so my question is, how long will it take for new feather regrowth? Can birds regrow new feathers in these circumstances at any time of year, or do they have to wait for their yearly moult?

[AfternoonLemon]

Oh dear... I hope it's a relatively quick recovery! I'd imagine the best thing you could do is feed it as much protein as possible to help with the re-building process.

Is it able to propel itself along the ground or up into the lower branches of a tree or shrub, much like a fledgling bird can? I ask because if not, the first cat that spots it will have easy pickings

[Hedgehoggy]

I'm hoping it'll be a quick recovery too, AL, as he's survived this long without predation! Yes, as mentioned above, he takes huge leaps (sometimes seemingly gliding along low down) to reach the safety of my large holly tree (which has branches touching the ground to act as his ladder up to safety). My other trees are inaccessible for him to reach as their lowest branches are just too high up

I've been feeding him soaked cat bics and cat meat to give him a helping hand to aid recovery.

[billybirder]

What a great tale.. so far! I do hope the magpie makes it. I love them! Do you think there is a chance/risk he will become attached to you? Since he is no getting any carrion at present, do you think some chicken wings or similar will also help? Something with bones in? (Also maybe raw for extra vitamins) Please keep updating and well done!

[nightshade]

Dog food, chicken pellets (for the calcium) the odd chicken egg, dried fruit.
It will be as right as rain by the spring. It amazes me how close you can get when they need help, then you won't be able to open a door without it flying off! good luck with the Maggie.
PS they can make good companions as long as there is mutual trust

[valleyforge]

Originally Posted by Hedgehoggy

... how long will it take for new feather regrowth? Can birds regrow new feathers in these circumstances at any time of year, or do they have to wait for their yearly moult?

Hi Hedgehoggy,

The time taken for the regrowth of damaged feathers is often underestimated.

Although generally feathers that have been plucked out (or cast) entirely, can start to regrow almost immediately and so be replaced in a matter of weeks, feathers that have been damaged/broken however, will normally remain in that condition until the next scheduled moult ... or in some cases longer ... since trauma can cause the moult process to be delayed or even skipped entirely for a period.

The periodicity of feather replacement can also be determined by at what point in the feather's development it became damaged ... that is, whether or not the feather was still growing and receiving a blood supply, or whether the growth cycle had completed and the blood supply had withdrawn and been sealed off from the stem (calamus), so that effectively the feather is 'dead'. Another key determining factor of course is the general health/nutrition of the bird in the interim period.

Since corvids normally complete a full moult by late autumn, if your magpie has only recently incurred the damage to wing and tail feathers, then quite feasibly it won't be back in full feather again until late next year.

Magpies are however feisty birds with long, strong legs, and as you have seen are quite capable of unexpectedly long 'sub-orbital' hops, and of jinking about to evade capture.

Provided the bird is able to get into cover (your holly tree sounds perfect), it should be capable of steering clear of predators (or facing off to them) ... however it will benefit greatly from your provision of a good food and water supply. The variety of foodstuffs alteady mentioned on this thread should be more than adequate.

If you are sure that only the feathers have been damaged and not the bones or muscles of the wing, then I'd advise against attempted capture on the grounds that you'd only be inducing unnecessary stress.

In cases where not too many feathers have been damaged however, it is possible to effect a repair by glueing a previously cast feather into the trimmed feather stump ... this is a procedure known to falconers as 'imping'.

[faz]

In cases where not too many feathers have been damaged however, it is possible to effect a repair by glueing a previously cast feather into the trimmed feather stump ... this is a procedure known to falconers as 'imping'.


Imping is a skill not to be taken lightly and if you have never done it I would leave well alone may cause more distress than needed. As others have said in this thread carry on doing what you have been with food and water.
If you think it needs more help or you are away on holiday etc call a rescue center

[valleyforge]

Originally Posted by faz

Imping is a skill not to be taken lightly and if you have never done it I would leave well alone may cause more distress than needed.

You are absolutely right there faz ... I only added that paragraph as an afterthought for sake of completeness, and to advise that in the case of damaged feathers, waiting for moult is not necessarily the only option open for an injured bird that has been taken into care.

I should have made it clearer that I wasn't advocating it as an option in this particular case.

[faz]

Originally Posted by valleyforge

You are absolutely right there faz ... I only added that paragraph as an afterthought for completeness, and to advise that in the case of damaged feathers, waiting for moult is not necessarily the only option open for an injured bird that has been taken into care.

I should have made it clearer that I wasn't advocating it as an option in this particular case.

i guessed that but thought i would throw my 2peneth in

[Hedgehoggy]

Great advice here, thank you all.

Originally Posted by billybirder

Do you think there is a chance/risk he will become attached to you?

Thankfully, no chance of that, he hops deeper into the shrubs when I approach with his food.

Regrettably I can’t feed him chicken, etc., as I know this would definitely act as a cat-magnet. A few years ago I used to feed the Red Kites with chicken portions in my garden, but the local cats started hanging around my garden and making off with the chicken before the Red Kites got a look in, so I had to stop

Forgot to mention that the Magpie is also feeding on the sultanas and crumbled fat balls I put out for the Blackbirds on a daily basis, as well as hoovering up sunflower heart and peanut spillage from my bird feeders. I also have two ground birdbaths and a pedestal birdbath, so fresh drinking/bathing water is always available too.

Originally Posted by valleyforge

Hi Hedgehoggy,

The time taken for the regrowth of damaged feathers is often underestimated.

Although generally feathers that have been plucked out (or cast) entirely, can start to regrow almost immediately and so be replaced in a matter of weeks, feathers that have been damaged/broken however, will normally remain in that condition until the next scheduled moult ... or in some cases longer ... since trauma can cause the moult process to be delayed or even skipped entirely for a period.

The periodicity of feather replacement can also be determined by at what point in the feather's development it became damaged ... that is, whether or not the feather was still growing and receiving a blood supply, or whether the growth cycle had completed and the blood supply had withdrawn and been sealed off from the stem (calamus), so that effectively the feather is 'dead'. Another key determining factor of course is the general health/nutrition of the bird in the interim period.

Since corvids normally complete a full moult by late autumn, if your magpie has only recently incurred the damage to wing and tail feathers, then quite feasibly it won't be back in full feather again until late next year.

I had a sinking feeling this would be the case, so I’ll now start feeding him a more appropriate diet suited to his needs as if he was in care*, and any foodstuffs he forages for himself will be an added bonus.

[*I have had corvids in my care short-term in the past while waiting for rescue centres to take over, and these were fed a more complex diet than just the supplementary food I’ve been giving this flightless maggy.]

I like the sound of chicken pellets, nightshade, so will check if my local petstore stocks them.


P.S. Don’t worry, Faz, it never crossed my mind that valleyforge was advocating me to perform imping!