| Also at day 10, I only feed once during the night. The chick will have the beginnings of pin feathers. Day 12 I place a small dish of seed and some spray millet in the cage so the chick can get used to it. By day 16, I have completely stopped the night feedings and feed the chick every hour and 1/2 during the day, still keeping an eye on it to make sure it's getting enough. I weigh my chicks every other day and have noticed that they usually go through growth spurts every third day or so. The chick will beg for more food and you can generally increase the amount you give as it's crop will have also expanded. You may adjust the amount given at any point during the duration of hand feeding, just be sure the crop has emptied each time and you DO NOT over feed or over expand the crop! My 16 day old chick pictured above weighs 14.2 grams and eats a full 1cc syringe of formula per feeding, occasionally a bit more. The chick should be ready to fledge (leave the nest) at about day 22 or 23. When the chick fledges, it does NOT mean you can stop feeding it. While the chick may now begin to pick at seed and even begin feeding itself regularly, it will still beg for food and SHOULD be fed until it no longer begs for food from you. Most chicks will just stop begging for food or accepting it from you, when they are ready. |
| If you choose to hand feed, you'll want to know a few things first. Like a human newborn, baby birds need to be fed on a regular schedule. Unlike a human newborn, baby birds need to be fed much more often - like every 20 minutes for the first few days - nights included! You will have to prepare yourself for long, sleepless nights, and long busy days if you are serious about saving your chicks. A parent-raised Gouldian chick will not leave the nest until it is about 22 to 25 days old! It will not be feeding itself exclusively until it is about 40 to 45 days old! A hand-fed chick will take much longer. It will be reliant on you until it is able to feed itself, drink water from a watering device, and fly well. If you want the chicks to survive, you must prepare yourself for a long journey and be extremely vigilant! |
Meadowlark Farms
Lady Gouldian Finches - Hand Feeding Chicks - Page 1
| Your adults have abandoned the chicks. You do not have foster parents set up...what can you do? Hand feeding chicks is time consuming, but the rewards are great! |
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| A WORD ABOUT HAND FEEDING |
| MY HAND FED BABY CAGE SET UP |
| There are various ways to set up a brooder. You can use a shoebox and a heating pad, or a small hospital cage. Some folks even use isolettes designed for human infants while in the hospital. I set up my chicks in a small hospital cage with a small dish of water for added humidity. I use a ceramic bowl (ceramic retains heat) or seed cup lined with a washcloth as a nest, then cover the cloth with a piece of tissue. The tissue prevents the chick from catching it's nails on the loops of the cloth. I place a thermometer in the cage and partially cover the cage with a towel (The towel has been removed in this photo to better show off the set up). Because I have not been able to locate a heating pad that doesn't turn itself off after a few hours, I use a swing-arm lamp with a 40 Watt bulb that allows me to raise and lower it, effectively adjusting the heat in the cage. Because the towel is partially covering the cage, I do not have to worry that the chick will be injured by bright light. Initially, I keep the heat at about 90 to 95 degrees. As the chick feathers up, I raise the lamp to lower the temperature by increments. I also replace the ceramic dish with a plastic one. |
| FEEDING THE CHICK - DAY 1 THROUGH 7 |
| Mix the formula fresh each feeding. This is very important for your success and the health of the chick. You do not want the formula to spoil. Also, any electrolyte replacement product you use will only remain effective for a few hours. As in human baby formula, you should not feed the chick formula from a previous feeding. Bacteria can "back wash" into the syringe and into the formula and quickly multiply. And spoiled or nearly "gone- over" formula can make you chick sick or even kill it. I prefer to partially "crop" feed. This means I use a small (1cc) syringe fitted with a very fine soft tube to place the food directly into the chicks crop. I say "partially" crop feed because I do not allow the crop tube to totally enter the crop, just meet the very opening. Because finch chicks are so small, crop feeding is very tricky and can be potentially dangerous. I have to be extremely careful when feeding the chick so as not to rupture the crop or choke the chick. Eager chicks will rise up to the crop tube, potentially cramming it down their throat and injuring the delicate crop lining. In a serious case, the crop could be torn or damaged enough that it will no longer function properly. Test the force of the plunger on the syringe before attempting to feed the chick. I have several syringes and all of them have a different tension on the plunger. I have to make sure I test them first - one comes out very fast, another takes some effort to depress the plunger and comes out slower. When first feeding, a newly hatched chick will only take a very small amount of food - a mere few drops - because it's crop has not yet expanded to it's full size. Because you must go very slow, it can take up to 1/2 an hour to feed a newly hatched chick. Sometimes, by the time you are done feeding, cleaned the chick, and have cleaned the utensils, it will be time to feed it again! NOTE: If you are feeding more than one chick, you must use a different syringe for each chick, or sterilize the syringe between feeding each chick to avoid spreading any bacteria or infections between the chicks. If the chick has been tossed or abandoned, I look carefully at it's stomach. If I can see a yellow ball (yolk sack) through the skin, I will only feed a very thin, watery formula (approximately 5% solids) until the yolk has been absorbed. At this point, you only need to mix about 1/2 tsp of DRY formula per feeding. You will add approximately twice as much fluid, or slightly more. The chick won't eat this much, but it allows you to pull the formula up into the syringe. This very thin formula keeps the chick hydrated, but forces it to use up the yolk. I offer this mix every hour or so for the first two days or until the yolk sack is gone. You must be certain the yolk sac is used up before feeding the chick thicker formula. Also, when you ARE feeding the chick thicker formula, be sure the crop is empty or nearly so before giving the chick more. You may need more or less, depending on each chick. To hand feed:
From day 3 until about day 7, I feed the baby a slightly thicker formula (about 15% solids). Keep an eye on the consistency. You want to make sure there is enough fluid to keep the chick hydrated, but not so much that it isn't getting enough nutrition. At this stage, the chick will consume approximately 1/2 tbsp of prepared formula per day. Again, this may be more or less depending on the chick. The mixture must still be thin enough to come up the syringe, but not so thin that the baby isn't getting enough nutrition at each feeding. These feedings usually take place every 20 to 30 minutes around the clock. The only time I do not feed on this schedule is if the crop has not emptied completely or almost completely before the next feeding. |
| FEEDING THE CHICK - DAY 8 AND BEYOND |
| The chick will gradually need more formula, and you may now thicken the formula so that it lasts longer in it's system. You want to have a 28% solids mix. Just be sure to keep it wet enough to keep the chick hydrated and so that it still comes up in the syringe. You may also choose to add a little human baby applesauce or rice cereal to the formula. I have only used applesauce a few times and have found the food leftover in the jar must be disposed of before the chick can finish all of it. Rice cereal ferments easily and will create air bubbles in the food which may then be transferred to the crop - not a good thing! It seems like a waste, therefore, I have discontinued the use of both with no adverse affects. I have attempted to add ground seed to the formula, but have not been successful at getting the chicks to accept seed before the age of 23 days. They spit the ground seed out! If you choose to add ground seed, be sure you grind it very fine and remove ALL husks. You may have better luck than I have! At this point (about day 10), I begin to wean the chick off of the 20-30 minute schedule and being to feed every hour (though I keep a close eye on it's crop - when it's empty, it's time to feed!). You also want to band your chick. Sometime between 8 & 10 days, the chick will be big enough that the band won't fall off, yet small enough to get a closed band over his foot. Chicks grow very quickly over night, so keep a close eye on their size if you intend to band with closed bands. If the chick is too large, you won't be able to get the band over it's foot. |
You will need to keep the following items on hand:
weaned.
the push-up popsicle type and break off a small amount each time a make up fresh formula. The remainder of the popsicle goes back into the freezer for later use.
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| DECIDE TO DO IT RIGHT! |
| My first experience with hand feeding was a traumatic one. I had read up on how to do it, and diligently watched fed, bathed, and cared for my young one. I even carried him around with me on long road trips, making sure he was warm enough and fed when necessary! My mistake came when, in a hurry, I tried to feed him too quickly. He aspirated (breathed in) the food, and essentially drown in the food I had given him. In essence, he choked or suffocated to death. I was devastated. I had spent a full two weeks carefully caring for this poor little guy and he was even beginning to get a few pin feathers on his wing tips! His eyes were just opening and he knew I was his "mom"! And in my hurry, I killed him. From that moment on, I swore I would never lose another chick to stupidity or haste. If you are going to hand feed, you MUST make the decision to do it right! You cannot be in a hurry, and you MUST care for the chick with slow diligence! |
| At about day 12, I place a small dish of seed, a piece of spray millet and a tube type watering device in the cage so the chick gets accustomed to them. This chick is 16 days old and nearly completely feathered. I keep his temp at 83 degrees, which I will maintain until he fledges in another 6 or 8 days.As soon as the cuticle has left his feathers and he is able to fluff himself, I will remove the heat and allow him to adjust to the bird room temperature which runs between 75 and 80 degrees depending on the temperature outside. At this point he is already actively preening. |
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