when to start hand feeding

[wonderwomen78]

we have 5 babies that are 2 weeks old. we want to know when is a good time to take them out to start hand feeding them and what can e put them in or do you just keep them in the nesting box after each feed

[Jan]

we have 5 babies that are 2 weeks old. we want to know when is a good time to take them out to start hand feeding them and what can e put them in or do you just keep them in the nesting box after each feed

Hi Wonderwoman78

Two weeks is a good time to take the chicks out and start handfeeding them.
At this time they already builded up their immune systems against diseases and so on.
When i handfeed any chicks wheter IRN african grey i make use of a self built brooder box with a light that switches on and off working on a thermostat.

Chicks need warmth during the next ± 6 weeks of handfeding.
The younger the chick the more warmth they need.
I usually start of with temp from ± 36 degrees and gradually bring the heat down as the chicks get older.
Chicks are very sensitive to cold and can easily die if too cold for them.

The Brooder i keep them in will switch on at a temprature that is set for instance 25 degrees it will swith off and at ± 22 to 23 degrees it will switch on again regelating between 25 and 22 degrees.
Thhe thermostat can be set from 0 up to 40 degrees
Never had any problems this way.

Hope this is usefull.

Good luck!