It looks simple, but it is almost magical.
Aviculturist David Goldberg takes the cracked and ruptured bird’s egg and uses a wafer of toilet paper to cover the compromised bit where oxygen is getting in and drying out the membrane.
Then he drips a drop of non-toxic wood glue onto the paper, adds another wafer, pats it all down with his thumb — and the job’s done.
If the egg is not repaired, the membrane will lose its moisture and the chick will be trapped inside and die.
Now, even as the patch dries and firms, the natural development of the little bird can continue.
The repair panel is just the right thickness so it won’t hinder the chick when it wants to “pip” through the shell with its egg tooth to exit.
It is a trick Goldberg regularly uses in his parrot breeding business but it works equally well for local wild birds, and he has already saved numerous chicks, from plovers and falcons to owls and blue cranes, that would otherwise have died.
Nelson Mandela Bay naturalist Arnold Slabbert said it was an important tool for the conservation of endangered birds, where the survival of every chick was vital.
Goldberg said the first step was to pop the egg onto a digital egg heart monitor — an Egg Buddy.
If there is still a sign of life but the membrane beneath the hole is already starting to dry, then he uses a fine paint brush to dab it with distilled water.
After a few moments, the tiny pink form inside squirms, and its rescuer grins.
Thereafter, if the embryo is looking a little pale, it is possibly lacking iron, used up fighting to exit through the dried out membrane. So it’s time to apply a drip.
Well, not quite, but the Ringer’s lactate Goldberg uses is exactly the same as the drip solution administered to hospital patients.
He draws the solution with a syringe and needle and then drips six drops into a small ceramic bowl.
Then, having done a last temperature test on his wrist, he dribbles a few drops of the solution directly into the embryo’s tiny beak, which opens wide.
Goldberg works together with Slabbert and other conservation partners, who regularly bring him rescued eggs.
Often, these may have been left in a nest after the parent birds died from secondary poisoning or they may simply have fallen from a nest.
If there is no way to return the eggs to the nest, Goldberg pops them into an incubator where they are automatically rotated and carefully monitored.
Once hatched, the chicks are reared and released back into the wild.
A man of many parts, Goldberg, 67, who grew up in Summerstrand, initially qualified and worked as an attorney and advocate.
However, having left the law 30 years ago, he bought and successfully ran a series of hardware, retail, hospitality and fishing businesses, and today he focuses on engineering, construction and aviculture.
“I have always loved animals and I guess I have an inquiring mind.
“As I entered the aviculture business I learnt from the old hands, and I also got to know some of the top bird vets, and it was wonderful to see how they worked.
“I learnt from them and developed some of my own tricks.”
He said he was convinced the resuscitation and repair of marginal eggs could be a key strategy for the conservation of threatened birds.
“Birds can easily be rewilded and by saving these eggs that would otherwise be lost, we are giving endangered species every chance possible.
“At the same time, these skills can be used to support a licensed bird breeding and conservation industry which helps to push out poaching and smuggling of these species.”
He said he had spoken at several schools about his work with birds.
“They seemed fascinated with the egg repair stuff especially and, broadly speaking, as we look to draw more youngsters into conservation, it’s this physical hands-on stuff that will do the trick.”
The Herald
