In April, when all the birds of the raven family have offspring, it is sometimes possible to find alive but dead babies under the trees that fell from the nest. What to do with such yellowheads? It all depends on his age. If this is such a chick of a crow whose photo you see, it will not be difficult to leave it. But if he is much younger (only with hemp feathers or even naked), saving his life is fraught with certain difficulties.
First week of life
At this age, a raven chick is not yet able to independently maintain the body's heat balance. The mother warms the children, and if the spring turned out to be hot, then it cools them by flapping wings. Therefore, if you decide on an almost hopeless case to save a newborn raven, you need to build an incubator for him as soon as possible. It can be a small box (from under a shoe or a cake) or a pot. Inside this container must be covered with a soft cloth. Make sure that the new socket is covered with a light cloth, and place an incandescent lamp above it. You can replace it with a heating pad located at the bottom of the box, but this measure can only be temporary, since the heating from below for the raven is inorganic. If the chick is shaking, increase the temperature. And if he opens his beak and breathes often - remove the upper fabric and reduce the heat.
What to feed the raven chick at this tender age? Adults are almost omnivorous, but infants need baby food. It should consist of 30-50% of grated carrots. This component is not only rich in carotene, but also helps to give the feed a sufficiently moist consistency so that the baby swallows a piece and does not choke. Another 30% is protein. Grinded low-fat cottage cheese, boiled yolks, cereals. Very useful for the baby fish and minced meat. Baby formula added to the feed will provide your ward with vitamins, but you must not forget to add crushed shells of raw eggs to your food. So the chick will quickly fledge.
Second week of life
On the tenth day, the baby has the rudiments of future feathers. Thus, the raven’s chick no longer needs constant heating. Leave the lamp only at night, and turn it off during the day, but the temperature in the room should not be lower than +20 degrees C. Until the body completely covers the fluff, it is not recommended to remove the upper fabric from the socket. If you need to feed the chick in the first week every one and a half to two hours (with a break for the night), then meals should become more rare. You can accustom to the first team: to issue a hoarse loud “a” before feeding so that the raven's chick opens its beak.
In caring for ravens, it should be remembered that emptying of these birds occurs immediately during feeding, so you should put the chick on a newspaper before eating. In the future, you need to teach your pet a place for the toilet. It is necessary to provide the bird with toys (preferably always new and shiny). Ravens love to swim. Therefore, chicks can be sprayed from a spray bottle, and when they learn to walk, give them a basin of warm water for water procedures. Small zhelotorotiki do not drink, as water can enter the respiratory tract. In the first two weeks, limit yourself to bread soaked in water or milk. Then, when the raven chick learns to drink, always put him a container with fresh water. If the bird gets used to you, it can be taught to talk, as well as taken for walks to stretch its wings.
