HighRise071117 wrote:I noticed in your "martin history" you posted your friend had a chick with 43 blowfly larva.
Best wishes,
Toy in PA
Hi Toy in PA,
Thanks for your reply.
When I did the nest change (early afternoon) I did not see any blowfly larva on chick.
The chick looked healthy weight and size wise. Used chart to compare. But I'm no expert.
If both parents were sleeping in the gourd then there would be three birds for the blowfly larva to feed on?
I remember reading that first nest change should not be done before 10 days old.
I'm still learning.
Regards,
Mark[/quote]
Mark:
We all start out new & learn as we go. Old info is still out there, but we are all learning & testing new methods as we go. Things change, hopefully for the betterment of the Martins.
I've done nest changes, due to blowfly larva, at 4 days old. The important thing is to get rid of the larva ASAP, as they can cause major damage to a chick in 2 days. The chicks don't have a lot of blood & the larva can feed on them 24x7, causing the chick to weaken. Once they reach a certain point they can not recover. The larva don't like light, so they hide under the nesting material. Many will crawl off in the morning & hide until evening hours. However I have found them on chicks at any time of day.
When doing nest changes on chicks only a few days old, just use caution handling them. Place them in a box or bowl with nesting material. I used to tell others to use a rag in the box to lay them on, however their little toenails can get caught & rip off. So now we use some nesting material. Cover the box to keep them out of the sun, wind, etc. Do the nest change quickly & then put them back, always abdomen down.
The parents would pick off any larva that got on them. Chicks can't do that until they are older. Very seldom will you find a blowfly larva on an older chick that has feathers. You may find bird lice & mites on older chicks & adults.
If you haven't done any supplement feeding I would suggest you read up on it & watch the videos. It can save a colony during bad weather, lack of food times, etc. This is something landlords didn't do years ago. In my area all Martins died during the 1972 St. Agnes flood. It rained for 22 days. Back then houses were stationary & landlords never touched them once erected. Had houses been on poles with winches & supplement feeding was known about, they may have been able to save many of them.
Toy in PA
(chiggers like pine trees)
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