Zoo volunteers rescued and raised 17 storks in the Kyiv region: how did they manage it?
In the spring of 2024, volunteers rescued 20 stork eggs from four nests in Chernihiv Oblast and Kyiv Oblast. They were handed over to Irina and Valery Snopko, who took care of the birds until they became independent.
About this reported Kyiv animal rescue team.
They said that the unborn chicks could doom the mother stork, who was left without her partner, to the death.
Nyushanik estate. Help the birds/Facebook
Nyushanik estate. Help the birds/Facebook
“If the father stork dies while the mother is sitting on the eggs, she will not be able to hatch the chicks because she will starve to death. The only way to save her is to take the eggs.”the volunteers explained.
They decided to hand over the stork eggs to members of the non-governmental organization “Sadiba Nyushanik”, which is engaged in saving birds, in the Kyiv region. Unhatched chicks have been hatched here before.
The founder of the center, Iryna Snopko, said in a comment for “UP. Life” that animal rights activists brought eggs at different times – they received the first ones back in April. At that time, the volunteers were not afraid of the large number of “students” that they would have to leave.
Unborn chicks were placed under special lamps in incubators. Later, 17 chicks hatched from the saved eggs.
“Like domestic birds, storks have their own percentage of hatching. This is affected by cases of unfertilized eggs or conditions where they did not receive enough warmth from the mother bird.”– says Iryna.
In the first period after birth, chicks were fed raw meat. Later, fish, chicken necks and chicks under the age of 1 day were added to the diet of the pupils of the “Nyushanik Manor” – about 1 ton was purchased every month. On average, the birds ate about 15 kilograms of food daily.
The storks lived in an aviary in the open air, so they also learned to look for food on their own. The older residents of the shelter helped them in this – the children were set an example by storks with disabilities, which, due to their inability to survive in the wild, are in “Nyushanik Manor”.
Unfortunately, due to a serious injury, one of the pets had to be put to sleep, but later another orphaned bird joined the company of the chicks.
During upbringing, Iryna and Valery used the example of wild lilacs that settled near the shelter. Thanks to them, zookeepers followed the natural stages of development of birds, which they tried to reproduce for pets.
“We were helped by the fact that a pair of storks built a nest on our territory. They gave birth to four chicks this year. So we watched how it happened in theirs and did the same with ours“, the woman laughs.
The shelter children were not aggressive towards their caretakers or towards each other. According to Iryna, they often humbly lay down on the floor when people came to their apartment.
“The hardest part was finding a lot of food, paying for it all and cleaning it up”says the founder of the public organization.
During hot summer days, the storks had to be doused with water so that they could more easily tolerate extreme weather conditions.
Iryna notes that chicks do not need to be taught to fly. Over time, they independently begin to bounce above the ground, and later, feeling the wind, open their wings and fly.
“You just have to not disturb them. Our task was to organize food, water and cleaning for them. And then they are on their own.”she says.
Over time, all pets of the center were ringed – special tags were attached to their paws, thanks to which it is possible to monitor the migration of birds. The workers of the rescue center also added the phone number of “Nyushanik Estates” there, so that in case of injury to their pets, they could be contacted.
Volunteers say that the realization of how much time and effort was spent on caring for the birds came only when their pets flew off into “adult life”. One morning, shelter workers did not find a single bird in the yard.
“We just cried. It was a lot of emotions – both happiness and anxiety at the same time”– the founder of the center recalls in a trembling voice.
During the next few days, some birds did return, but soon they finally left “Nyushanik Manor”.
“17 snow-white handsome men were born thanks to the unceasing hard work of Iryna and Valery.
If next spring a real miracle happens and young storks make their nests near your house – maybe it will be one of them, from the 17 graduates of “Nyushanik Manor”.
So don’t forget to give a mental thank you to two wonderful people for making this miracle possible.”– say the Animal Rescue Team of Kyiv.
Earlier we talked about how in the stork’s nest noticed a vulture-like bird.
