Housing in Curver boxes
The best way to house swifts is in a plastic curver or a box with high, smooth walls. Even very small nestlings are excellent climbers and could escape from any basket or wooden box, no matter how high. Many a finder, who was just getting advice on the phone or busy procuring the right food, was astonished when their swift chick - lovingly bedded in a warm nest just before - suddenly came crawling towards them in the hallway or elsewhere. And in the worst case, this can also end with an accidentally trampled swift, or with the disappearance without a trace of the foundling, which is then found dried up behind some shelf weeks later. This is unfortunately not a joke, but has all happened before.
A swift must never be placed in a bird cage or behind wire! Although this seems obvious: It is only too understandable to think of a bird cage when you suddenly have to house a bird foundling. Unfortunately, this has fatal consequences for swifts. Usually it will batter its flight feathers and tail so badly on the bars that it can no longer fly later. It has also happened that a swift climbing around got a wing caught between the bars and twisted it so badly that it had to be euthanized. So a swift does not belong "behind bars" or in any other container with rough walls designed to damage feathers or cause injuries!
The ideal swift housing for adult or almost fledged young swifts should have a floor area of at least 30x40 cm so that the bird can stretch its wings and do flight gymnastics, and should be half covered with a cloth to imitate the familiar dim cave atmosphere. Babies and very young nestlings can also be housed in smaller curvers, but should later "move" when they grow up.
Equipment, accessories, and cleaning
Line the box with a soft mattress of several layers of kitchen paper. You can also place a towel on the bottom of the box and cover it with kitchen paper. Newspaper, straw, rodent bedding, or similar are absolutely unsuitable as lining for the swift box! Remove droppings as soon as possible and change soiled upper kitchen paper layers at each feeding. Feather damage can occur if the swifts container is not kept meticulously clean, or if it is too small and cramped. Bent, broken, and battered flight and tail feathers, droppings-smeared and encrusted plumage, bald spots, and pressure sores must not and may not occur! 1-2 times per week you should thoroughly wash out the entire box with warm water, to which you can add a mild detergent (never use harsh cleaning agents!), and completely renew the linings. Additional disinfection of the box is not necessary.
Place a nest (flat small bowl or ashtray, wrapped with kitchen paper) in one corner of the box. For older young birds and adult swifts, a roll made from a rolled towel and wrapped with kitchen paper is recommended. Swifts like to sit somewhat elevated or cling half-hanging to the roll.
Special luxury is the installation of a "climbing wall", which can be easily installed on the wall of the box using a short curtain rod and two adhesive hooks. A small towel (cut off the hanging loop - a swift could strangle itself in it!) is clamped to the curtain rod with 2 clothespins. You will be amazed how much a swift likes to cling vertically to the towel and even spend the night there! The vertical position is apparently perceived as very comfortable and relieving. You just have to make sure that there is sufficient distance between the curtain rod and the top edge of the box or that a lid or board is placed over it, otherwise the "climbing wall" becomes a first-class escape route!
Still naked or sparsely feathered nestlings as well as intensive care patients absolutely need a heat source. A heating pad that has at least 12 hours of operating time and multi-level temperature control works best. For a swift, due to its lying body position, gentle heat from below is best suited. However, you can also use an infrared dark heater that emits no light, only heat, and can therefore remain on overnight (in an emergency, also an infrared light as used for medical purposes). The temperature in the nest should be 32-35°C and must be checked regularly. The animal must have an escape option. Under no circumstances may an ultraviolet heater be used, as it causes severe burns. A heat source of any kind must never be left unattended - fire hazard!
Location
The location should be quiet, dry, and draft-free and not near the television, radio, or childrens room, nor in the kitchen (highly heated Teflon can be deadly for birds!). Swifts are extremely sensitive, noise-sensitive, demanding, and complicated patients; children would be overwhelmed with their care, and they are certainly not a toy! Other animals such as dogs, cats, rats, parrots, etc. must not have access to the bird patient. Never smoke near a bird! Strong odors, e.g., intensely fragrant flowers, are to be avoided. Never house the swift in a damp, musty room and avoid dust development (risk of aspergillosis)!
Individual / group housing
Swifts are very social. It is more advantageous to raise two swifts together than just one. Although the risk of imprinting on humans is rather low with this bird species, the bird visibly feels more comfortable when it is not alone but in the company of a conspecific. Even a very frightened or restless young swift calms down almost immediately when placed with one or more conspecifics. Even adult birds, which can be extremely wild, defensive, and inaccessible, come to terms much more readily with temporary captivity and the completely unfamiliar feeding conditions in the company of other swifts. They lie contentedly together in pairs or in groups, groom their own plumage and that of their neighbor, and one gets the impression that real friendships develop. Even intimate pair bonds are not uncommon.
Hand-raised young swifts, like their naturally growing conspecifics, engage much with each other, scratching and preening each other devotedly, talking to each other, and like to lie side by side. In nature, too, there are usually clutches of two or three. "Only children" are rather rare.
Housing in terrarium
At the Swift Clinic, patients are often cared for over a very long period, e.g., when they need to recover from feather damage. Therefore, special housing forms have been tested and applied here. While a young swift that only spends its nestling days in human hands is best housed in a half-covered curver box reminiscent of its natural nesting cavity, housing in spacious, open-top terrariums placed near windows with a free view outside has been introduced for long-term patients.
The terrariums are elaborately equipped with various rolls, nests, hiding places, curtains, and climbing walls. The swifts have retreat and climbing options. Depending on the size of the terrarium, they are kept in groups of four to eight. Amazingly quickly, the birds get used to the glass panes and enjoy the view outside from elevated rolls and seating corners. Climbing walls and cave-like hiding places behind/under small towels or fleece scarves are gladly accepted. Sometimes the inmates stack like sardines in one nest, sometimes they hang in a row next to each other on a climbing wall, interestedly observing what is happening around them through the glass panes.
The purpose of all this is that the swifts do not lose their sense of sky and space and their connection to the outside. This is very important for their later release.
Light therapy
Long-term patients such as swifts with feather damage or feather pushers benefit greatly from a light source with natural UV and daylight spectrum. At the Swift Clinic, a top with 2 compact lamps each, which complement each other in their light spectrum, was installed above each terrarium for this purpose ("Reptil Glo 10.0" and "Reptil Glo 2.0", manufacturer "Exo-Terra"). The radiation of the UV and daylight lamps reaches up to 50 cm. They must not be placed on a glass surface, as the radiation would then be ineffective. The birds must absolutely have the option to retreat from the radiation area and seek cover from the light.
The combined UV/daylight radiation has a favorable influence on feather growth and psyche. The swifts are noticeably livelier and more active, eat well, and often seek resting places directly under the lamps, where they intensively preen and care for their plumage.