larbabe
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Rescued orphaned swallow chick - 2006/10/24 22:23
Hi: I'm new to the forum. Several months ago, we noticed a large flock of cliff swallows enter into our So. California neighborhood (We live in Palmdale). They immediately set about constructing their mud nests, one of which is under the eaves of the roof of our two-story home. Last week, we discovered a chick in our yard, which had fallen out of the nest. From what I can tell, he (or she) was a week old . He had a broken foot, so we couldn't leave him on the ground or place him in a tree without keeping a close eye on him. We waited to see if his parents would find and care for him, but they didn't. Our only solution was to take him inside the home. We gave him water and (you'll never guess) peanut butter.
I honestly had no hope of him surviving. We even had the animal shelter send an officer over, but the man told us that there was nothing they could do for him. He told us if they took him, he would have to be destroyed...and we couldn't do that! The following day, he wouldn't take any food or water, so we placed him outside. He immediately perked up, and we were able to feed him. We then placed him outside our upstairs window sill, but still no visits by his parents all day.
Well, it's now day six. He has grown trememdously since then, and I guess we are his adopted parents. Every time we approach his cage/nest, he chirps and flaps his wings. We still place him outside every day so that he may observe the other swallows. Our hope is that he can learn to fend for himself, so that he can migrate with the other swallows which we think will be in September. As I understand it, these are the same swallows who return to Capistrano every year. Any ideas or similar experiences would be welcomed. I'll try to take some pictures of him as he matures. 
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Today, I'm going to start a picture journal of Fred's progression. Thanks for the comments. 
