# Found a baby magpie



## Jassm1na

Hi, I wonder if someone can help me and give me some advice please?
I found a baby magpie days ago, its too young to perch and keep it's balance yet. I believe it fell out of the nest or maybe been pushed out by the older sibling? I am feeding it hard boiled eggs mushed with a drop of milk and crushed winter bird food because it seems to be more oily than dried mealworms and also because the magpie likes it better. It learned to drink on it's own and I am working on teaching it to eat independently also but so far I have to feed it with tweezers every few hours. It seems to be doing well and getting stronger, so I've build the aviary in the back garden, around 2x2x2 meters although I'm hesitant to leave it outside alone just yet.

If someone can give me few pointers on what other diet would be beneficial, when I can start leaving it outside overnight? From what I read the bird will need another 4-5 weeks of feeding, will it get used to me and keep coming back, and mainly - will it ever have a chance to survive in the wild? How can I help it to learn how to fly and avoid dangers? I would like to know what to expect and what is the best option, if I should try and tame it and encourage it to be coming "home" for the night and to be fed, or should I rather have minimal contact and hope to return it to the wild? I forgot to mention that there is a lot of magpies where we live and since they are territorial I am a bit scared that my baby magpie will end up getting killed, especially that it will be less prepared for the harshness of living in the wild.

I really appreciate all the comments xx

Thank you.


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## Rafa

As magpies are carrion eaters, I would try some finely minced beef.

Do you have a bird or wildlife sanctuary close to you where you could either take the bird or get some advice?

I found a blackbird chick many years ago and I did rear that to adulthood. From memory, I fed her mushed corned beef and cat food to begin with and later on, worms.

I did put the food into her beak at first but later, began dropping the worms on the floor and she picked them up for herself.

How many times a day are you feeding him?


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## Siskin

Sweety said:


> As magpies are carrion eaters, I would try some finely minced beef.
> 
> Do you have a bird or wildlife sanctuary close to you where you could either take the bird or get some advice?
> 
> I found a blackbird chick many years ago and I did rear that to adulthood. From memory, I fed her mushed corned beef and cat food to begin with and later on, worms.
> 
> I did put the food into her beak at first but later, began dropping the worms on the floor and she picked them up for herself.
> 
> How many times a day are you feeding him?


I had a young blackbird for a while as well and more or less did the same as you did.
She became very tame to me, but no one else. I used to go digging in the garden for her to find worms which, after a bit of help, she spotted and gobbled them up herself. She then started to spend the days out and about unless she spotted me in the garden, then come home at night. Eventually she just disappeared.
I taught her to fly by encouraging her to flap her wings whilst she was sat on my finger, by moving my hand up and down so she flapped in order to get her balance, this was to strengthen her flight muscles which they tend to do naturally anyway. When I started to see her jumping up or down off things using her wings, I put her up high on a branch and encouraged her to fly to me with a worm as a reward. It didn't take long before she started flying properly.


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## Jassm1na

Sweety said:


> As magpies are carrion eaters, I would try some finely minced beef.
> 
> Do you have a bird or wildlife sanctuary close to you where you could either take the bird or get some advice?
> 
> I found a blackbird chick many years ago and I did rear that to adulthood. From memory, I fed her mushed corned beef and cat food to begin with and later on, worms.
> 
> I did put the food into her beak at first but later, began dropping the worms on the floor and she picked them up for herself.
> 
> How many times a day are you feeding him?


Hi Sweety,

thanks for the reply, I feed it twice in the morning, first thing and then after dog walks before I leave for work, I pop in to feed it during my lunch after about 3.5 - 4 hours later, then after work, after the dog walk and before bed, sometimes it calls me so I feed it a little bit in between too but I found that sometimes its refusing food. I do leave some on the floor and she tried it bur prefers to be fed.

Thank you for advice - I will try some mince, it seems very reasonable. She doesn't like worms at all but mince will be softer.

There is no sanctuaries around where I live I know of, I am a bit scared that they will want to take it away to be honest - it got used to me now and might be a bit stressful if I had to give it up.

How long have you been feeding your blackbird and did it have any issues with flying? Do you know if it survived in the wild?


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## Jassm1na

Siskin said:


> I had a young blackbird for a while as well and more or less did the same as you did.
> She became very tame to me, but no one else. I used to go digging in the garden for her to find worms which, after a bit of help, she spotted and gobbled them up herself. She then started to spend the days out and about unless she spotted me in the garden, then come home at night. Eventually she just disappeared.
> I taught her to fly by encouraging her to flap her wings whilst she was sat on my finger, by moving my hand up and down so she flapped in order to get her balance, this was to strengthen her flight muscles which they tend to do naturally anyway. When I started to see her jumping up or down off things using her wings, I put her up high on a branch and encouraged her to fly to me with a worm as a reward. It didn't take long before she started flying properly.


hi Siskin,

Thank you, this is very useful I will try this with teaching her how to fly. Its also reassuring to know that this is possible for the bird to hang around the garden and then still come back home if it wants to. How long have you had the bird and how long did it take for the bird to trust you so much? I am trying slowly to get the magpie used to being stroked - I only had her 5 days and she recognises me and calls for food but she is still very scared.


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## Rafa

I fed the blackbird for around ten/twelve weeks.

I didn't actually teach her to fly, she did that for herself, but I have a large back garden and I did begin taking her outside and encouraging her to fly off my hand. She flew short distances at first, which gradually increased.

I don't know whether or not she survived in the wild.

I live on an estate and opposite me is a railway banking, lined with trees, and a Golf Course behind. I took her up there, put her in one of the trees and scattered plenty worms around. She didn't try to follow me home, which surprised me because she had become very tame. I used to take her to work with me in the car and she travelled perched on my shoulder.

The office staff became so familiar with her, they used to say "Morning Chuckie" to her when we arrived in the mornings.


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## Siskin

It was quite a long time ago, just before I got married in 1973

A cat had got hold of the chick from a nest somewhere, it hadn't fledged too young, and the parent birds were chasing the cat. I joined in and the cat dropped the bird and ran off still being chased by the parents. I put the chick in a safe place and kept watch to see if the parents came back, sadly they didn't, they were more interested in sorting out the cat and as the chick had been taken from a nest the parents wouldn't be looking for it where I had put it, the chick didn't call for the parents either. As it was getting dark I realised that the chick was unlikely to survive the night, so took it in.
I had to feed by hand initially and that created a bond as the chick was hungry and worked out that I provided food. She would follow me everywhere and in the evening would climb up onto me as I sat watching TV and snuggle up under my chin to keep warm. I suppose she was with me for about four or five weeks. 
I didn't encourage the bird to stay once she was flying about and looking after herself as I prefer to see birds flying free rather then in a cage. However someone I know raised a crow chick who elected to stay with them and they had him for years.


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## Franksthename

I've had a few different corvid I found cooked chicken was a favourite food I never kept them in avairys though when they reached adulthood they could come and go as they pleased,I found that magpies and jays in particular imprinted and tended to hang around one of them a jay used to follow me everywhere and he stayed with us for a few years and even talked a little then one night just flew off and never came back.


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## elmthesofties

Corvids aren't as instinct driven as things like blackbirds, which usually become wild on their own without much difficulty. Cordvids sometimes keep their confidence around people, which can result in a bird that likes people and isn't afraid of them, or a bird that hates people and isn't afraid of them. They might go up to people and for a cuddle, to take off their jewellery, or just to attack them. The rescue I was at tried to dissuade people from having contact with the corvids once they were old enough to feed themselves for that reason.


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## Franksthename

Good point you make about corvid flying up to people for a cuddle,if you know different you would think it was attacking,I was working up some scaffold once and a carrion crow landed on my back I stroked it a few times then off it went


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## Calvine

Magpies are wonderful. My neighbour knocked on my door one morning (ex-military, seen a lot of action, so not a wimp) and said he wanted to move his car but there was a baby magpie stuck between wheel of car and kerb which he didn't dare pick up as birds scared him. I went out and got him, think he was older than your guy, he was able to stand and flutter (not exactly fly). A neighbour had a big cage which they had used for, I think, a chinchilla, and let us have it. I recall we fed him on dog food (in the days before I had cats) which he ate greedily, then my son went to an angling shop and got some worms which went quickly too. Eventually we left the cage open and the window also so he could go out if he wanted to and eventually he would go out and come back and perch on his cage. Spartacus (son chose the name) obviously saw us as his 'new family' and would perch on the shoulder of anyone who would have him...eventually think he must have found a partner as one day he didn't return; but we had him for well over a year. he was adorable and very smart.


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## Siskin

Corvids do seem to leave the nest early usually before they can fly and wander around after the parents squawking or find somewhere safe to wait food arrivals. One of my previous retrievers used to find them and bring them to me quite unharmed. It was very amusing to watch the disgruntled, slightly damp rook march off back to its hiding place.


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## Piki's Ben

Hi, I'm a new member and just saw your post on your magpie. I have a magpie, Zeka, that a neighbour gave me after its nest was destroyed in a wind storm. Her eyes were still closed and totally naked. She is now a handsome young female and part of the family. Because she is now totally imprinted on us it is impossible to release her back into the wild. Also, the magpies in New Zealand are very territorial and usually kill those not raised within their 'tribe'. She is now a full-fledged member of the family. We also have a 14 year old dog, Rocky, and a 7 year old Rainbow Lorikeet, Piki. The three are now totally inseparable and spend the day with us either working indoors or outdoors. Piki and Zeka love riding the tractor and watching everything we do. Zeka is fed on high protein dog and cat food and anything she can steal off our plates. Rocky and her will even share a meal from his bowl. When she is not with us Zeka and Piki spend their time in separate cages. That's the one thing they refuse to share. Zeka loves to be outside and watch everything, but comes in during the cooler nights into her 'night' cage. With stoats, ferrets and feral cats we don't keep her outside at night.


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## leashedForLife

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baby birds & even adult birds eat WAY-more often than mammals - when i did wildlife rehab, we fed baby birds every 20 to 30-mins from sun-up to dark.
Fledglings can self-feed from the ground, if clean, or from a bowl, cup, or a tray [to keep the food cleaner // avoid the droppings on the floor].
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Insectivores, grain eaters [pigeons, doves, pheasants, ducks, geese, etc], omnivores such as robins / grackles / starlings, all eat different diets.
A wildlife rehabilitator is the best option for optimal rearing, a flight cage, & eventual release - average pet-owners usually end by making a pet of the bird, who then cannot be released.
Look on-line for rehab folks in Ur area. // They should be registered with local authorities.
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