Unlike cardinals, who can eat various foods, baby cardinals can not eat like adult cardinals. They require specific foods for their growth until they become mature, and many people have asked a question on online platforms, can baby cardinals eat worms?
The direct answer to this question is yes, and baby cardinals can eat worms. They can eat specific worms when they reach the age to consume worms. Know how you can properly feed them worms.
Table of Contents:
- Are Worms Safe For Baby Cardinals?
- When Can Baby Cardinals Eat Worms?
- Do Baby Cardinals Like To Eat Worms?
- How To Feed Baby Cardinals Worms?
- How Often & How Much Do Baby Cardinals Eat Worms?
- Final Words
Are Worms Safe For Baby Cardinals?
The answer is yes, and baby cardinals can eat a particular type of worm. As the baby cardinals are at an early age, they may not eat whole worms.
Baby cardinals need protein at a young age for growth, and insects are a great source of protein. Those include grasshoppers, bollworms, and mealworms. Keep in mind that only fledgling baby cardinals can eat specifically small-size worms.
Usually, the fledgling phase of baby cardinals starts after 4 weeks. At that age, the best option for protein-rich food is serving mealworms and bollworms.
When Can Baby Cardinals Eat Worms?
As mentioned above, only fledgling baby cardinals can eat worms. Very young baby cardinals cannot eat worms as their digestive system may not be ready for them.
Fledgling baby cardinals can start to eat small insects like mealworms. Fledging age is roughly more or less 4 weeks when the baby bird starts to get feathery and develop a strong digestive system ready for solid food. Baby cardinals need more or less 30% protein in their regular diet for healthy growth.
Do Baby Cardinals Like To Eat Worms?
Yes, baby cardinals crave protein and love to eat worms. Besides the worms, baby cardinals also like to consume bugs like beetles, grasshoppers, or bollworms.
What Do Baby Birds Eat & How To Feed? A Complete Diet Guide
If you have a pet baby cardinal, feeding worms are recommended at 4 – 5 weeks. At this age, they are fledging and learning to weave. Introducing worms to their diet will help them to have rapid growth and better training for weaving.
You can also have some worms in the backyard to attract wild cardinals because both adult and baby cardinals like to consume worms.
How To Feed Baby Cardinals Worms?
Feeding worms to baby cardinals isn’t a difficult task. As we have discussed, baby cardinals can not eat whole worms, but they need a high-protein diet at this age.
For this purpose, chop the worms in small sizes (if they are large) or you can buy mini worms from the market, including those mini mealworms. Follow the instructions below to hand-feed baby cardinals.
- Take a tweezer and pick a worm. Try to use a plastic tweezer instead of a metal one for the safety of baby cardinals.
- Tilt the head of the baby cardinal slightly upward.
- Take the worm near the baby cardinal. Usually, a hungry baby cardinal will open its mouth. But if the baby cardinal isn’t responding, try to stimulate them by touching its beak.
- When the baby cardinal opens its mouth, place the worm at the back of the mount carefully with a tweezer. This will stimulate the baby’s cardinal for eating.
- When the baby cardinal starts to eat, keep going.
While feeding worms to the baby cardinal, follow these preventive measures.
- Use a tweezer carefully, and don’t hurt the baby cardinal while feeding.
- If you are facing difficulty with the tweezer, you can use a straw as well.
- Don’t push too hard in the mouth of baby cardinal.
- Don’t overfeed.
After finishing the feeding session, clean the baby cardinal gently. And make sure there are no leftovers in the cage. Keep the baby cardinal warm and serve smoke fresh and clean water.
How Often & How Much Do Baby Cardinals Eat Worms?
Baby cardinals need 30% protein with a regular diet of fruits, veggies, nuts, and seeds. On average, a baby cardinal needs worms thrice a week to maintain a healthy ratio of protein.
Baby cardinals need to be fed a minimum of three and a maximum of 8 times per 1-2 hours. You can include a small portion of small worms in this feed.
When baby cardinals grow further, they need 4 meals per hour. This will continue until 6 weeks until the baby cardinal starts to fly and eat independently.
Always give small worms to 4 weeks young baby cardinals only. Never give worms to baby cardinals younger than 4 weeks. You can customize the feeding schedule based on health and environmental conditions.
Don’t forget to serve freshwater with worms. You can buy dried worms as well. Fresh worms are preferred for single-feeding sessions only.
If worms are large, don’t forget to cut them as baby cardinals are just in fledging phase and need a week or more growth to feed on whole worms.
Final Words
Baby cardinals are not capable of eating as adult cardinals are capable of eating. Feeding baby cardinals are also sensitive. That’s why it is asked whether baby cardinals can eat mealworms or not.
The above post will help you clear the doubts regarding the topic that many people wanted to know and ask many times.
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