Captive Starling Care Tips
Starling Feldging
Introduction:
If you are like me and found a Starling as a baby, you have either brought it to a wildlife rehabilitator or tried to hand feed it your self. Though Starlings are not native to the US some states do not allow you to keep them as pets, along with you have to be careful that the little baby you found does not have any health issues or diseases. A handfed Starling (from a few days old) that is handfed by humans will become imprinted on a human. They will not know how to survive in the wild like their wild cousins, though it can be done at a young age with experience. Like my European Starling, he became bonded with me right away and letting him go would cut his chance of survival in the wild by nearly half. I am not a Starling expert but I have learned ways to keep your Starling safe, warm and healthy and this section is just for you. If you have found a Starling and cannot keep it please find a local wildlife rehabilitator in your area.
If you are like me and found a Starling as a baby, you have either brought it to a wildlife rehabilitator or tried to hand feed it your self. Though Starlings are not native to the US some states do not allow you to keep them as pets, along with you have to be careful that the little baby you found does not have any health issues or diseases. A handfed Starling (from a few days old) that is handfed by humans will become imprinted on a human. They will not know how to survive in the wild like their wild cousins, though it can be done at a young age with experience. Like my European Starling, he became bonded with me right away and letting him go would cut his chance of survival in the wild by nearly half. I am not a Starling expert but I have learned ways to keep your Starling safe, warm and healthy and this section is just for you. If you have found a Starling and cannot keep it please find a local wildlife rehabilitator in your area.
Caring for a Nestling
Nestlings
The reason most nestling Starlings are found is they have fallen from the nest during storms, were almost caught by predators, or just by accident. Nestlings are baby starlings that have zero or hardly any feathers. They are pinkish in color have fluffy grey feathers and big yellow beaks. Nestlings are very delicate and require immediate care. I will give you the advice I followed to save and raise my own starling nestling.
Handraising a Starling Nestling:
1. First off you need a place to keep your starling, I used a old shoe box, but anything like this will do just fine, though be prepared to clean it out a lot!! (After a few weeks you will need to cover the box with a cage top, like a hamster cage, or he will escape! remember Starlings grow very quickly!)
2. Never put grass in the box, I used paper towel on the bottom then shredded newspaper on top of that, this is important because the starling needs some kind of traction to keep his legs from growing the wrong way.
3. Next is very important, You MUST keep the baby warm, but not to hot! I used a heating pad, turned it on LOW and placed it under (outside only) the shoebox and left it on the entire time, turning it off to cool every few hours or so. This kept the inside of the box a good temperature. Do not put the heating pad inside!!!
4. Next, I placed 2 water bottles with hot water in them inside of socks on each side of the box, the baby would cuddle up next to it to keep warm when needed, and also something to learn to perch on once he is ready.
5. Feeding time! Your starling is starving and he will be every 1/2 hour or so. Nearly half the starling's insect food consists of beetles, weevils, ground beetles and they required very high protein. I mixed up a ½ cup of dry chicken formula dog food and crushed it up, added warm water and a ½ scoop of parrot hand feeding formula along with a hard boiled egg and mixed it all together into a soupy consistency. I had a plastic syringe with a long enough tip for hand feeding to small bird. It was not a problem feeding him, he opened his mouth with ease (it was always open!) I would squirt about 2-3 cc’s at a time as he got bigger I would do a full 5ml syringe about every hour or more. I would also mix up the formula by adding applesauce and other fruits for different variety.
Do not put a bowl of water in the box until your Starling is starting to perch and has more feathers and is no longer handfeeding as much, you can put one in earlier as long as it is not large enough that the baby can drown in.
Your baby will start to grow fast, his feathers will start to change and his cute yellow beak will grow longer and darker.
6. "Leaving the Nest" after a few weeks of handfeeding, your baby will not eat as much and will go longer between feedings, he will eat more at each feeding but at this time you need to start and introduce a adult diet and more variety such as dried or live bugs, vegetable and fruits. This will help your baby to eat more variety when he is older. Once your baby has started to perch it is time to move him into a cage. The cage MUST be large enough to move around in, I started with a meduim size cage and worked my way up to a flight cage. Provide various size perches at different heights to give your Starlings feet strength. I do not reccomend the type that are to "wear down" nails, those are to rough for a Starlings feet.
Adult starlings need a balanced diet of protein and fat: 33.1% protein and 12.1% fat. Protein/Fat ratios were estimated by calculating the average value of insects, seeds/grains, and wild fruits then multiplying the bird's intake ratios (as a percentage of total diet) of each food group and averaging the totals. A baby starling has even higher protein needs than do the adult birds.
Basic Hand Feeding Formula & Care:
½-1 cup Soaked and Smashed Organic Chicken Dry Dog Food
1/2 scoop of Kaytee hand feeding formula
Tablespoon of applesauce
1 cup warm water
Let the mix soak for 15 min’s, mix again suck into a syringe and feed, if the mix gets stuck in the syringe add more water to the mix. Make sure the mix is NOT watery! Starlings cannot handle liquids at such a young and can drown!
Starlings up to 7 days feed every 20-30 minutes (approx)
Starlings over 7 days feed every 30-45 minutes
Fledglings feed every 45mins-1 hour or when needed
You will not over feed your bird, he will not beg for food when he is full.
Remember!
Crush the dry food and soak well enough that it cannot get stuck in the starling’s throat.
Do NOT just feed the Kaytee Formula alone! It does not have the right nutritional values for Starling’s it is formulated for Parrot Species Specifically. The Kaytee mix in small enough adds the vitamins and egg to the formula.
Make sure the formula is refrigerated after use. Mix can last about 24 hours refrigerated.
The formula should be ROOM Temperature before feeding!
Because a high level of animal protein is necessary for baby starlings, it is not appropriate to feed them parrot handfeeding formula or softbill pellets. Parrots and most captive softbills have different nutritional needs than starlings are more insectivorous.
Handraising a Starling Nestling:
1. First off you need a place to keep your starling, I used a old shoe box, but anything like this will do just fine, though be prepared to clean it out a lot!! (After a few weeks you will need to cover the box with a cage top, like a hamster cage, or he will escape! remember Starlings grow very quickly!)
2. Never put grass in the box, I used paper towel on the bottom then shredded newspaper on top of that, this is important because the starling needs some kind of traction to keep his legs from growing the wrong way.
3. Next is very important, You MUST keep the baby warm, but not to hot! I used a heating pad, turned it on LOW and placed it under (outside only) the shoebox and left it on the entire time, turning it off to cool every few hours or so. This kept the inside of the box a good temperature. Do not put the heating pad inside!!!
4. Next, I placed 2 water bottles with hot water in them inside of socks on each side of the box, the baby would cuddle up next to it to keep warm when needed, and also something to learn to perch on once he is ready.
5. Feeding time! Your starling is starving and he will be every 1/2 hour or so. Nearly half the starling's insect food consists of beetles, weevils, ground beetles and they required very high protein. I mixed up a ½ cup of dry chicken formula dog food and crushed it up, added warm water and a ½ scoop of parrot hand feeding formula along with a hard boiled egg and mixed it all together into a soupy consistency. I had a plastic syringe with a long enough tip for hand feeding to small bird. It was not a problem feeding him, he opened his mouth with ease (it was always open!) I would squirt about 2-3 cc’s at a time as he got bigger I would do a full 5ml syringe about every hour or more. I would also mix up the formula by adding applesauce and other fruits for different variety.
Do not put a bowl of water in the box until your Starling is starting to perch and has more feathers and is no longer handfeeding as much, you can put one in earlier as long as it is not large enough that the baby can drown in.
Your baby will start to grow fast, his feathers will start to change and his cute yellow beak will grow longer and darker.
6. "Leaving the Nest" after a few weeks of handfeeding, your baby will not eat as much and will go longer between feedings, he will eat more at each feeding but at this time you need to start and introduce a adult diet and more variety such as dried or live bugs, vegetable and fruits. This will help your baby to eat more variety when he is older. Once your baby has started to perch it is time to move him into a cage. The cage MUST be large enough to move around in, I started with a meduim size cage and worked my way up to a flight cage. Provide various size perches at different heights to give your Starlings feet strength. I do not reccomend the type that are to "wear down" nails, those are to rough for a Starlings feet.
Adult starlings need a balanced diet of protein and fat: 33.1% protein and 12.1% fat. Protein/Fat ratios were estimated by calculating the average value of insects, seeds/grains, and wild fruits then multiplying the bird's intake ratios (as a percentage of total diet) of each food group and averaging the totals. A baby starling has even higher protein needs than do the adult birds.
Basic Hand Feeding Formula & Care:
½-1 cup Soaked and Smashed Organic Chicken Dry Dog Food
1/2 scoop of Kaytee hand feeding formula
Tablespoon of applesauce
1 cup warm water
Let the mix soak for 15 min’s, mix again suck into a syringe and feed, if the mix gets stuck in the syringe add more water to the mix. Make sure the mix is NOT watery! Starlings cannot handle liquids at such a young and can drown!
Starlings up to 7 days feed every 20-30 minutes (approx)
Starlings over 7 days feed every 30-45 minutes
Fledglings feed every 45mins-1 hour or when needed
You will not over feed your bird, he will not beg for food when he is full.
Remember!
Crush the dry food and soak well enough that it cannot get stuck in the starling’s throat.
Do NOT just feed the Kaytee Formula alone! It does not have the right nutritional values for Starling’s it is formulated for Parrot Species Specifically. The Kaytee mix in small enough adds the vitamins and egg to the formula.
Make sure the formula is refrigerated after use. Mix can last about 24 hours refrigerated.
The formula should be ROOM Temperature before feeding!
Because a high level of animal protein is necessary for baby starlings, it is not appropriate to feed them parrot handfeeding formula or softbill pellets. Parrots and most captive softbills have different nutritional needs than starlings are more insectivorous.
Cage for a Starling
Flight Cage
Starlings need free flight for about 2 hours a day at the least, some people keep their Starling out all the time but this can be dangerours. All Starlings should have a large flight cage as their safe place. The bigger the cage the better!!!
Perches: Use different size perches for your Starling, his feet will thank you!
Food and Water Cups: I keep a 2-3 food cups with a variety of food in them, with 2 water dishes
Also provide a bathing dish each day (2x daily) for baths!
Perches: Use different size perches for your Starling, his feet will thank you!
Food and Water Cups: I keep a 2-3 food cups with a variety of food in them, with 2 water dishes
Also provide a bathing dish each day (2x daily) for baths!
Free Flight
Starlings owners must let their birds out to fly in a safe place free of danger. I reccomend turning off all fans, closing all windows, any heat elements and you must "Bird Proof" your home before letting your Starling fly wild. Keep all other animals away such as dogs and cats. Pick up any objects on the ground or surfaces (Starlings will eat anything!!) ALWAYS watch your starling while he is out, they can get into a lot of trouble when your not looking!
Adult Starling Food
Orlux Insect Patee
Many people feed their Starlings a mix of dog or cat food which is fine if they are getting enough protein, here are some products you can buy to go along with the dog food mix.
Click here for other foods you can feed your Starling. (There are links to where you can but these products directly)
Starling Talk has a great recipe for an adult Starling diet, click here
Click here for other foods you can feed your Starling. (There are links to where you can but these products directly)
Starling Talk has a great recipe for an adult Starling diet, click here
Toys
Foot Toy
Starlings love to play but certain toys could be dangerous! Buy toys that are small for smaller birds but that don't have pieces that your starling could possibly swallow. Starlings are softbills and cannot "chew" on toys but will love to peck and carry them around here are some examples.
Small Foot Toys
Sisal Toys
Acrylic Toys
You can find a great selection here: www.naturechest.com
Small Foot Toys
Sisal Toys
Acrylic Toys
You can find a great selection here: www.naturechest.com
Treats
Mealworms
Figs
Hard boiled eggs
Grapes
Cherries
Chopped nuts
Mealworms & Crickets
Hard boiled eggs
Grapes
Cherries
Chopped nuts
Mealworms & Crickets
Health
European Starling Breeding Adult
If you follow directions your Starling will grow to be a happy healthy best friend, though he will need regular vet checks with a exotic veterinarian along with nail trims. Find a local exotic or avian vet in your area that will care for your Starling when needed. Starling Talk has great information on Starling Health, Just click here!
Starling Talk is a great website to check out for Starling care and information, it helped me raise my wonderful Starling and i hope it can help you! if you have any questions, comments or concerns please email me at [email protected] and visit Starling Talk