Rescued Baby Swallow Update - Will Little Toothless Ever Fly?

A few days ago, I came across this charming little fellow.

I wasn't planning on naming it, but after tending to it a while, I get the feeling it might not be going anywhere. For now, its name is Toothless since he looks a bit like the dragon from "How to Train Your Dragon."

From what I can tell, its wings are a little dysfunctional and he doesn't seem capable of flight. Hopefully, it's still in a developmental stage and will grow to be a fully-functioning adult swallow, but I'm not so sure.

Regardless, it's welcome to stay as long it needs to; there's certainly a place for it in the family.

I've come up against a few challenges in rearing it, but nothing major so far. Feeding it was the most confusing thing to deal with and of course, such an issue had to be dealt with immediately.

As it turns out, swallows are a bit of a pain to feed as they can be quite temperamental about their diets. They require insects, insects and, if I'm not mistaken, more insects.

But, there's a loophole! An insectivorous diet means they can and do digest protein quite well. With a little research, I found out that bird rescuers burdened with caring for young swallows tend to get great results from feeding them easily digestible protein-rich foods like minced meat, soft cat food or dog food soaked in water and mashed into a paste, egg yolks, etc.

I went with egg yolks, but Toothless here is a rather picky eater, so I ended up mixing hard-boiled egg yolk into honey and a little water. The result: a lumpy paste sweet enough to fool a picky little swallow into eating. It won't quite eat on its own just yet though. I have to feed it with a small paintbrush to coax it to eat, but each day, it has eaten more and more.

I've succeeded in getting it to drink with the paintbrush technique as well - art supplies for the win!

With food, it has regained its energy. I'm not sure if that's entirely good as it apparently likes to run rampant all over my room - flapping its wings around and scuttling under the bed, into boxes, over my toes and into my shoes. It does the same outdoors. Honey must make it hyperactive.

I've been taking it out on walks every day in the hopes it would up and fly away. It hasn't. It just might become a permanent family member if it doesn't get its wings. That's fine by me, though it'd be sad to see it never get a chance to fly. We might be able to get some additional advice from a vet. Who knows?

To all you lovely, supportive Steemians, Toothless says hi from Costa Rica!