Diets research
JZAR - Research article
Hand-reared common swifts (Apus apus) in a wildlife rehabilitation centre: assessment of growth rates using different diets
JZAR - Other languages
The scientific article is translated into Spanish and Polish
Hand-rearing protocol
Protocol description in different languages
RESEARCH CHRONOLOGY
2005
BSc (Hons) Animal Biology and Conservation
First contact with orphan and injured Swifts. Intership at the Torreferrussa Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre (Barcelona)2005
Torreferrussa Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre
It is the reference centre in Spain, with more that 15000 wildlife admisions per year2008
MSc Wild Animal Biology
MSc WAB Royal Veterinary College Zological Society of London2008
MSc WAB dissertation
“Growth Rates of Hand-Reared Common Swifts (Apus apus) in a Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre”2008
Growth assessment
Under the diet used at the time (Rat mince) vs. wild chicks2008
Hand-rearing diet at the time
Rat mince2008
Dissertation – Hand-reared vs. Wild
Similar fledgling weight? Literature (41.5g ± 2.42 SD)2008
Rat mince diet -CONCERNING RESULTS!
LOW final weight and POOR general condition2008
KEY FACTS on Swift rehabilitation
Body weight is an important indicator of the chances of survival at release2009
Alternative diets
Torreferrussa interrupted the protocol, and viable alternative proposals were analyzed. Particularly at an economic level. In that year (2008) over 1000 swifts and other insectivorous orphans were hand-reared. Last season (2019) the number increased over 6000 !!! (4500 Swifts)2009
Why not Cricket Diet ?
Mauersegler Klinik in Frankfurt is undoubtedly a reference clinic in Swift rehabilitation, with a proven optimal diet based on Cricket (Acheta domesticus).2009
Cricket Diet costs
Could Torreferrussa afford the enormous expense of a crickets diet just for swifts alone, considering the very high spending of a centre that admits over 15,000 wild animals a year? certainly not2009
Literature review
Developing diets is not a simple game and may jeopardize an animal’s life in rehabilitation. An extensive literature review on insectivore diets was conducted in parallel with the well known cricket diet used in Frankfurt’s Clinic.2009
Study Groups
Sample groups were distributed among the different diets. Maximum age for sample nestlings was 24 days (fledgling age ─40 days)2009
Study Groups
Four study groups vere selected – 1-Rat mince (Previous season sample group) 2-Kibble (current season + sample group) 3-Cricket (Sample group) and 4-Mealworm (Sample group)2009
Kibble Diet – Cat food based
For the 2009 season, a diet based on cat food was implemented. The formula was based on an article published in the Wildlife Rehabilitation Bulletin in the US. We trusted the positive results presented by the author. The catastrophic effects were unknown at this point.2009
Kibble diet -CONCERNING RESULTS!
Final fledgling weights, feather condition and flight performance on both non-insect diets, rat mince and kibble diet, were totally questionable when compared to wild-raised birds.2009
Cricket Diet – Study group
29 Common Swifts were located to this sample diet group2009
Cricket Diet – Results
2009
Mealworm Diet – Study group
28 Common Swifts were located to this sample diet group2009
Mealworm Diet – Results
2009
Fledgling Weight and Survival
SURVIVAL was also analysed (sample number in yellow), Kibble diet – (Sample group + Season 2009) and Mealworm diet (Sample group + Season 2010 – when it was implemented in Torreferrussa Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre)2009
Insect diets success
The results demonstrated the success of both insect diets when recovering nestlings in poor condition, even if severely emaciated, and highlighted the fact that all birds regardless of condition had a high possibility of survival.2009
HARMFUL Non-Insect Diets
Final fledgling weights, feather condition and flight performance on both non-insect diets, rat mince and kibble diet, were highly concerning.2009
Mealworm Diet, unfounded concerns
There were concerns about the use of mealworms in hand-rearing Swifts. At the time of the research, it was proved already successful when hand-rearing Chimney Swifts. Today after 10 years of a mealworm diet implementation in many rehabilitation centres, those assertions prove to be totally unfounded.2009
Mealworm Diet, unfounded concerns
At the time of the research, three nestlings with irreversible feather damage at arrival, were hand-reared for 20 days on the mealworm diet. Then sacrificed humanely for a hispothalogical evaluation of their internal organs, as it was claimed that mealworm could damage irreversibly some internal organs.2009
Mealworm Diet
We can recommend the use of mealworms, as long as a supplementation regime is strictly followed.2009
Mealworm vs. Cricket – costs
Mealworm is a great option for insectivore diets when the cricket’s cost is not affordable. Probably the best option is a range of different species in the insectivore diet.2010
6th European Zoo Nutrition Conference
The EAZA Nutrition Group organizes biennial conferences on zoo animal. These conferences are a major event for information exchange between individuals involved in zoo animal nutrition in Europe.2010
Mealworm Diet Implementation – Great results
in 2010 The diet was implemented in all rehabilitation centres in Catalonia – CF Torreferrussa, CF Aiguamolls, CF Vallcalent. The survival results were incredible compared to previous non-insect based diets. Similarly, the fledglings final weight. Survival in severe cases was highly remarkable.2011
www.falciotnegre.com
The website www.falciotnegre.com was launched. Falciot negre is the Common Swift’s name in Catalan language2012
Running for Swifts
Enric Fuste run a half-marathon and succeeded in raising the funds needed to attend the 7th EAZA Nutrition Conference (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) in Zurich to present the succesful results after the mealworm diet implementation in 2010.2012
7th European Zoo Nutrition Conference -2012
Success of hand-rearing common swift (Apus apus) using a diet based on mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) at a wildlife recovery centre: analysis of survival and fledgling weights compared to those on previous diets not composed of insects2013
Recovery success!
A orphan admitted under acute clinical condition was recovered 3 years later.2013
JZAR – Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research
The research is published “Hand-reared common swifts (Apus apus) in a wildlife rehabilitation centre: assessment of growth rates using different diets”2014
A new recovery success!
A recovery success in a rehabilitation centre in Portugal.2014
www.facebook.com/FalciotApusapus/
A facebook profile is created providing information on hand-rearing swifts. It receives numerous queries and has almost 2000 followers.2016
One more evidence of an optimal protocol and diet
Another orphan hand-reared and recovered 3 years later back from Africa2020
