The birds, which included 11 newborn and 6 juveniles, have been released. Parakeet chicks are quite small and can be difficult for anyone to hand feed and raise. However, the TTC staff and veterinarians achieved this big success by saving all of them.
The 17 parakeets were seized from smugglers by Nanded forest officials on December 16, 2020, and looking into their critical condition, the birds were shifted to the TTC after five days.
Parakeets are listed under Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and keeping them as pets or smuggling them can invite a jail term of up to 6 years or a fine of Rs5,000.
“It was winter and raising these small chicks, some of them had even opened their eyes, was a new challenge for the staff. We kept them in incubators in order to keep them warm. As the chicks were very small we fed them via pipettes and small syringes,” says Dr Syed Bilal Ali, veterinary officer, TTC.
“Once an arrested parakeet seller had told me they used to raise chicks by feeding gram paste. We offered cerelac and gram paste to these small birds four times a day with the help of a pipette. Six juveniles recovered fast and were released in Ambazari,” says Kundan Hate, state wildlife board member.
“The best part of raising these chicks is that no medicines were used and the entire treatment was based on nutritional feed. We offered them fresh vegetables and fruits like chickoos and apples. All the chicks are doing well and understanding the surrounding. The grown-up chicks screech loudly when their helpers Shubham Magar and Mahesh More prepare vegetable and fruit dishes for them,” says Hate.
The TTC is also recording the health condition of the birds and submitting reports to the Nanded forest officials who are fighting the case in the court against bird traffickers.
“Our efforts have borne fruit and all the birds are out of danger. Within a month, these parakeets will be fit for release,” says Dr Bilal.
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