Jackdaw nursed back to health by family
Jackdaw nursed back to health by family
A jackdaw chick dumped in a back garden by a seagull has been nursed back to health by a family - and still lives with them eight months later. Jake was just three weeks old when it was plucked from its nest by the gull - and dropped over the home of Jaime Lee.Jaime, 43, picked him up and looked after him but never expected it to become such a big part of the family home.Jake - named after rescued bird from the film Shawshank Redemption - now 'hangs out' with them for most of the day.He has also shown a mischievous side by eating crisps from their mouths and stealing bank notes.Jake also likes joining in with menial domestic tasks such as making cups of tea and also shown an likeness for puzzles.Jaime said she took the bird in and nursed him back to health by feeding it Weetabix.Such is Jake's popularity, he now has his own Facebook blog - read by more than 2,000 fans - which posts pictures and selfies submitted by people he lands on.She said Jake has now become so dependent on them that it is like caring for a newborn child as he refuses to leave the small home in Axminster, Devon, she shares with husband Adrian, 43.Jaime said: "My husband was washing up and he looked out the window and a seagull dropped Jake. ''Luckily he spotted it before the neighbour's got to it.
There were two cats hedging towards it and he managed to snatch it up."My husband brought him in and we tried to bring him back, we put him in the garden and all the other crows and jacks came over to see where he had gone."But we read online that they won't feed them when they're on the ground.
They watch out for them but they don't feed them."The young bird suffered a damaged wing and leg in the fall and was discovered with two holes in his neck and was not expected to survive.However, during the next 24 hours Jake clung to life - despite regularly fitting from shock.But throughout his recovery Jake lived in the couple's front room.Despite efforts to release him back into the wild, he kept returning and has since became an irreplaceable family member.Such is Jake's confidence around people, he is regularly spotted delighting residents old and young by landing on their shoulders in search of a treat.Jaime added: "Everyone recognises Jake.
He is definitely the talk of the town.
He is cheeky, funny and adorable."However, being parent to a Jackdaw has not always been plain sailing.He has gone missing twice since his rehabilitation - with Jaime travelling to as far as Crediton and Taunton to retrieve him.She thinks the popular jackdaw could have been taken in, as he picked up new tricks - such as using door handles and playing with keys - after he was found.Jaime said: "He definitely did not do that before, he must have learnt them from someone."With Jake completely dependent on Jaime and Adrian after he was found, the couple said they had to improvise a way to keep him fed.They did some research and eventually settled on a diet of mushed up Weetabix, administered with a syringe, and cat food.Jaime added: "We realised we would have to feed him because he was a bit weak and in a bit of a state, he had a bad leg, a bad wing, and two holes in his neck. "He was only three weeks old, roughly."To start with, we had to get him something soft down and I tried Weetabix with a syringe, then later that my husband fed him cat food and the next morning he was a completely different bird."But Jack's recovery had only just begun, and Jaime and Adrian were forced to continue looking after the bird for months.Jaime added: "We had to keep feeding him like that for about another four weeks, we assumed he would go after that as his parents were checking on him every day."They fed him on the garage roof after three weeks."We thought he would leave with his parents but he decided to stay with us, his parents still come to visit and when they arrive they call to him and he calls back but he stays with us."He will fly off with them for a while but he keeps coming back."He comes back often, sometimes he roosts away and when he does he checks back in four times a day."We've developed a connection to him, without a doubt.
We imprinted on him, or maybe he imprinted on us - everyone should have a Jake in their life."
A jackdaw chick dumped in a back garden by a seagull has been nursed back to health by a family - and still lives with them eight months later.
Jake was just three weeks old when it was plucked from its nest by the gull - and dropped over the home of Jaime Lee.Jaime, 43, picked him up and looked after him but never expected it to become such a big part of the family home.Jake - named after rescued bird from the film Shawshank Redemption - now 'hangs out' with them for most of the day.He has also shown a mischievous side by eating crisps from their mouths and stealing bank notes.Jake also likes joining in with menial domestic tasks such as making cups of tea and also shown an likeness for puzzles.Jaime said she took the bird in and nursed him back to health by feeding it Weetabix.Such is Jake's popularity, he now has his own Facebook blog - read by more than 2,000 fans - which posts pictures and selfies submitted by people he lands on.She said Jake has now become so dependent on them that it is like caring for a newborn child as he refuses to leave the small home in Axminster, Devon, she shares with husband Adrian, 43.Jaime said: "My husband was washing up and he looked out the window and a seagull dropped Jake.
''Luckily he spotted it before the neighbour's got to it.
There were two cats hedging towards it and he managed to snatch it up."My husband brought him in and we tried to bring him back, we put him in the garden and all the other crows and jacks came over to see where he had gone."But we read online that they won't feed them when they're on the ground.
They watch out for them but they don't feed them."The young bird suffered a damaged wing and leg in the fall and was discovered with two holes in his neck and was not expected to survive.However, during the next 24 hours Jake clung to life - despite regularly fitting from shock.But throughout his recovery Jake lived in the couple's front room.Despite efforts to release him back into the wild, he kept returning and has since became an irreplaceable family member.Such is Jake's confidence around people, he is regularly spotted delighting residents old and young by landing on their shoulders in search of a treat.Jaime added: "Everyone recognises Jake.
He is definitely the talk of the town.
He is cheeky, funny and adorable."However, being parent to a Jackdaw has not always been plain sailing.He has gone missing twice since his rehabilitation - with Jaime travelling to as far as Crediton and Taunton to retrieve him.She thinks the popular jackdaw could have been taken in, as he picked up new tricks - such as using door handles and playing with keys - after he was found.Jaime said: "He definitely did not do that before, he must have learnt them from someone."With Jake completely dependent on Jaime and Adrian after he was found, the couple said they had to improvise a way to keep him fed.They did some research and eventually settled on a diet of mushed up Weetabix, administered with a syringe, and cat food.Jaime added: "We realised we would have to feed him because he was a bit weak and in a bit of a state, he had a bad leg, a bad wing, and two holes in his neck.
"He was only three weeks old, roughly."To start with, we had to get him something soft down and I tried Weetabix with a syringe, then later that my husband fed him cat food and the next morning he was a completely different bird."But Jack's recovery had only just begun, and Jaime and Adrian were forced to continue looking after the bird for months.Jaime added: "We had to keep feeding him like that for about another four weeks, we assumed he would go after that as his parents were checking on him every day."They fed him on the garage roof after three weeks."We thought he would leave with his parents but he decided to stay with us, his parents still come to visit and when they arrive they call to him and he calls back but he stays with us."He will fly off with them for a while but he keeps coming back."He comes back often, sometimes he roosts away and when he does he checks back in four times a day."We've developed a connection to him, without a doubt.
We imprinted on him, or maybe he imprinted on us - everyone should have a Jake in their life."
