I use the starling diet. you can find it here
http://starlingtalk.com/babycare.htm I wouldn't feed mealworms because they can crawl back up the throat and they are more fat than they are protein. The external skin could be hard to digest also. Of course no earthworms since they could carry gapeworm. They suggest cat food brands like innova. You need to get a brand that has meat as the first ingredient, turkey, chicken, etc. I wouldn't use the rice baby cereals. You need to add the calcium tablet (tums) as the site suggests, because the calcium is a very important part of the diet. Now... I'm going to list the problems I've had with this diet (not the diet itself but the way you prepare it). If you decide to feed them with a syringe (I do just because it's quicker and you know how much each bird is getting) you need to grind the cat food up in a coffee grinder first. It will NOT get through the syringe if there are chunks of cat food. Same thing with the white of the egg. You can take a blender and put the ground cat food and everything else in and grind it until it's really smooth. But the consistency still needs to be the texture of sticky oatmeal, so you really need to watch how much water you add. I just put them in ice cube trays and freeze them. Pop a cube out each feeding and just pop it in the microwave. I'm sure you know to avoid hot spots in the food.. Just watch how much you are putting in the ice cube trays, if you use too much you'll just waste more than you use. Good luck!
Handfeeding Mixture for Baby Starlings
The handfeeding recipe below supplies a balanced diet for baby starlings. When making the recipe, use an appropriate dry dog food or cat food that has been soaked in water, and remember to be sure that chicken or meat is the first ingredient on the label. Check the avian vitamin package for the right amount of vitamins to use since different vitamins have different recommendations.
Recipe: Handfeeding Mixture
1 cup soaked dog/cat food
1/4 cup of applesauce
1 hard boiled egg
Avian vitamins (follow dosage on package)
Around 750 mg calcium (I use Tums Smooth Dissolve tablet) ground to powder and dissolved in a little water.
Water
Mix all ingredients together, and add enough water to make it the consistency of cooked oatmeal as seen in the photo at right.
Proper consistency of handfeeding formula.
The above formula can be divided into portions and frozen. This formula works well for baby House Sparrows and some other passerines. Only leave this food at room temperatures for an hour or so, as it can spoil.
