Hia . i am gonna get a 4 wks olf baby irn. I would like some info for feeding it pls....
thank you
4 wks old baby irn
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Neokireina
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birdman5000
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this isnt mine its melika's sorry for posting the same thing there was no reply when i posted this but by the time i was done u had posted first. thanks for correcting my netiquette manners neo (is it ok if i call u neo or nik for short i can never remember how to spell your name) got it on this site from another post it works for me
I don't reccomend gavage or tube feeding. A syringe is less risky.
If the syringe gets a little sticky just put some sunflower seed oil around the edge of the rubber before assembling for feeding. Then it will glide smoothly. ^_^
Your best bet it to go ask a breeder and have him/her show you in person how they handfeed.
Have a handfeeding "kit" and keep everything together. I used an old cookie sheet. I put paper towels on the bottom since I left everything to dry on it after each feeding.
My kit:
syringe
spoons (one for scooping formula and one for mixing it with the water)
mixing cup (mine was a plastic cup for lunches, lol)
pyrex or other microwave safe container for heating the water
digital thermometer, we ended up with one for meat, candy ones work great
a roll of paper towels (you'll never have enough!)
Exact formula was kept in the fridge
I handfed in our kitchen. The microwave is right there, sink for washing, and it was open space, lol. The babies were in my room upstairs so we just brought them down for their feedings. We would set them in (I know this is funny but really, lol) a turkey baking pan since the high sides wouldn't let them roll off the table. Just an old towel in the pan for them to sit on. They don't like sliding around on metal or wood while they're eating.
I did about three test runs in the kitchen before we got out babies to find out: 1) How long was needed to microwave the water to reach proper temp. and keep it's temperature when the formula (which was refrigerated) was added. 2) The ratio of water to formula. And 3) How to do everything smoothly.
We used a two cup pyrex liquid measure for heating our water (use natural spring water, NOT distilled). The container for mixing the formula in was marked as to how much water was needed for (I think we used two and a half or three tablespoons of forumula for two birds... can't remember exactly) the formula. Because you're not mixing the formula in the container you heated water in, you don't need to worry about "hotspots". Believe me, you'll be mixing it so much the temperature evens out perfectly.
Once the formula is the consistancy you want (at first it was like loose grits, then thickens a little as the chick ages), add the thermometer and get it down (stirring) to 107 degrees F. I prefer to feed between 104 and 107. You *can* go to 103 but I wouldn't- since the formula already cools when in the syringe. If the temp falls below 104, just place the container with the formula into the still hot water (the hot water from the microwave, this is another reason we use separate containers) until it gets back up to temp. If it doesn't get hot enough, nuke the water container for a bit and try again. It can be a juggling act but when you are faster at feeding you won't usually have this problem. Mikaela is 100% correct when she stated: "never nuke the formula".
This is where a schedule comes in that you can modify. Try to only feed when the crop is empty, that way you don't have old food sitting around in it with the new. If your chick's crop is moving slowly (guage from the other birds) add a little baby food (green vegetable) to your formula. That'll help move things along.
While you're feeding, you'll see the crop begin to bulge. His crop is at the base of his neck. Like a balloon. Don't overfeed. Most chicks will refuse food when thier crop is full, but others will continue to eat. Once you have an idea of what the crop should look like, you'll have no problem making sure they eat enough.
It's easier to feed one baby at a time, since once you get them to take a little they eagerly eat more. This will allow you to guage their crops better as well. And keep track of who has already eaten. A baby barely crawling around because of his belly with his eyes glazed over in happiness has obviously already eaten. Laughing
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Until they begin to feather out, keep the chicks out of cold areas and cover them to stay warm. Spend time with the chicks after they've been fed. Scratch their little heads and talk to them. Tell them how ugly they are and how beautiful they'll be when they feather out, lol. And touch their feet.
And let them learn how to fly. I feel it's important to a bird's mental health to fledge properly. Once they can land without crashing, then you can clip if you choose. Learning to fly also helps them glide down after clipping and helps prevent injuries.
ALWAYS clean everything with hot water and soap after each feeding. Try to clean immediately, crusted on formula is no fun, lol.
Also clean their cage or tank before placing them back in, sanitation is important. And until they can perch or walk around, don't use the metal grate bottom if you're using a cage. Smile
My schedule (days are the chick's age in days):
18- 27 days 6:00am, 10:00am, 2:00pm, 6:00pm, 10:00pm
28- 35 days 6:00am, 11:30am, 5:00pm, 10:30 pm
36- 42 days 6:00am, 2:00pm, 10:00pm
42- weaned 10:00pm
I allowed myself a half-hour give in times once they got to three feedings; remember it takes about ten or fifteen minutes from heating the water to beginning feeding so include that in your estimate. And let the baby birds set the pace.
When I first got the babies (at three and a half weeks old) I started with the 18-27 day regimen, since they were used to getting fed often from the parents. After about five days we moved to the 28-35 day and dropped feedings from there.
This is just a guideline, what worked for our birds might not be exactly what yours need.
They'll begin refusing food around fledging time but make sure they eat enough. They're not weaning, just dieting to get weight down for flying. Little buggers try to trick us. ^_~
This was little Hane when I was handfeeding him, he always insisted on eating first so Tsume had to wait. Confused
This is what Mikaela was talking about, feeding towards the right side of the bird, from it's left.
Whoa, talk about a tan, LOL!
Again, it's important to be trained by a breeder or someone who can show you hands-on:
Dangers for handfeeding if not properly trained
Aspiration- Forcing formula into the babies mouth to fast or improperly causing the baby to aspirate the formula
Burnt Crops- Using formula that is not at the proper temp.
Stretched Crops- Forcing the baby to take more formula then he can handle stretching the crop to the point that it can not empty properly
Bacterial Infections- Can be caused by not cleaning the nursery or equipment used for hand feeding. Can also be caused by contaminated food.
Malformed Beaks- Babies beaks are still soft and pressing the syringes into their beaks can create malformation in the beak.
Dehydration- If you do not mix the formula properly you could be given them the wrong consistency.
Poor Weight Gain- Formula too thin, Not following correct feeding schedule, Not feeding enough.
these are all in *C I've lost my little paper with the *F conversion lemme see if I can find one online
Day 1 --> 35-37c --- 95-98F
Day 2 to 5 --> 33-36c --- 91-95F
Day 6 to 10 --> 31-33c --- 87-91F
Day 11 to 15 --> 29-31c --- 84-87F
Day 16 to 20 --> 27-30c --- 80-86F
After day 20 --> 25-27c --- 77-80F
From an eggie they need spark, the rehydrating thinggie. The formula is mostly liquid. It says this
Feeding chicks from newly hatched The first feed of the day for three days should be a quality yoghurt with a high live organism count.
[POST EDITED]
ABOVE INFROMATION ORIGINALLY PROVIDED AND CREDITED TO MELIKA.
~ Mikaela
SITE ADMIN.
I don't reccomend gavage or tube feeding. A syringe is less risky.
If the syringe gets a little sticky just put some sunflower seed oil around the edge of the rubber before assembling for feeding. Then it will glide smoothly. ^_^
Your best bet it to go ask a breeder and have him/her show you in person how they handfeed.
Have a handfeeding "kit" and keep everything together. I used an old cookie sheet. I put paper towels on the bottom since I left everything to dry on it after each feeding.
My kit:
syringe
spoons (one for scooping formula and one for mixing it with the water)
mixing cup (mine was a plastic cup for lunches, lol)
pyrex or other microwave safe container for heating the water
digital thermometer, we ended up with one for meat, candy ones work great
a roll of paper towels (you'll never have enough!)
Exact formula was kept in the fridge
I handfed in our kitchen. The microwave is right there, sink for washing, and it was open space, lol. The babies were in my room upstairs so we just brought them down for their feedings. We would set them in (I know this is funny but really, lol) a turkey baking pan since the high sides wouldn't let them roll off the table. Just an old towel in the pan for them to sit on. They don't like sliding around on metal or wood while they're eating.
I did about three test runs in the kitchen before we got out babies to find out: 1) How long was needed to microwave the water to reach proper temp. and keep it's temperature when the formula (which was refrigerated) was added. 2) The ratio of water to formula. And 3) How to do everything smoothly.
We used a two cup pyrex liquid measure for heating our water (use natural spring water, NOT distilled). The container for mixing the formula in was marked as to how much water was needed for (I think we used two and a half or three tablespoons of forumula for two birds... can't remember exactly) the formula. Because you're not mixing the formula in the container you heated water in, you don't need to worry about "hotspots". Believe me, you'll be mixing it so much the temperature evens out perfectly.
Once the formula is the consistancy you want (at first it was like loose grits, then thickens a little as the chick ages), add the thermometer and get it down (stirring) to 107 degrees F. I prefer to feed between 104 and 107. You *can* go to 103 but I wouldn't- since the formula already cools when in the syringe. If the temp falls below 104, just place the container with the formula into the still hot water (the hot water from the microwave, this is another reason we use separate containers) until it gets back up to temp. If it doesn't get hot enough, nuke the water container for a bit and try again. It can be a juggling act but when you are faster at feeding you won't usually have this problem. Mikaela is 100% correct when she stated: "never nuke the formula".
This is where a schedule comes in that you can modify. Try to only feed when the crop is empty, that way you don't have old food sitting around in it with the new. If your chick's crop is moving slowly (guage from the other birds) add a little baby food (green vegetable) to your formula. That'll help move things along.
While you're feeding, you'll see the crop begin to bulge. His crop is at the base of his neck. Like a balloon. Don't overfeed. Most chicks will refuse food when thier crop is full, but others will continue to eat. Once you have an idea of what the crop should look like, you'll have no problem making sure they eat enough.
It's easier to feed one baby at a time, since once you get them to take a little they eagerly eat more. This will allow you to guage their crops better as well. And keep track of who has already eaten. A baby barely crawling around because of his belly with his eyes glazed over in happiness has obviously already eaten. Laughing
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Until they begin to feather out, keep the chicks out of cold areas and cover them to stay warm. Spend time with the chicks after they've been fed. Scratch their little heads and talk to them. Tell them how ugly they are and how beautiful they'll be when they feather out, lol. And touch their feet.
And let them learn how to fly. I feel it's important to a bird's mental health to fledge properly. Once they can land without crashing, then you can clip if you choose. Learning to fly also helps them glide down after clipping and helps prevent injuries.
ALWAYS clean everything with hot water and soap after each feeding. Try to clean immediately, crusted on formula is no fun, lol.
Also clean their cage or tank before placing them back in, sanitation is important. And until they can perch or walk around, don't use the metal grate bottom if you're using a cage. Smile
My schedule (days are the chick's age in days):
18- 27 days 6:00am, 10:00am, 2:00pm, 6:00pm, 10:00pm
28- 35 days 6:00am, 11:30am, 5:00pm, 10:30 pm
36- 42 days 6:00am, 2:00pm, 10:00pm
42- weaned 10:00pm
I allowed myself a half-hour give in times once they got to three feedings; remember it takes about ten or fifteen minutes from heating the water to beginning feeding so include that in your estimate. And let the baby birds set the pace.
When I first got the babies (at three and a half weeks old) I started with the 18-27 day regimen, since they were used to getting fed often from the parents. After about five days we moved to the 28-35 day and dropped feedings from there.
This is just a guideline, what worked for our birds might not be exactly what yours need.
They'll begin refusing food around fledging time but make sure they eat enough. They're not weaning, just dieting to get weight down for flying. Little buggers try to trick us. ^_~
This was little Hane when I was handfeeding him, he always insisted on eating first so Tsume had to wait. Confused
This is what Mikaela was talking about, feeding towards the right side of the bird, from it's left.
Whoa, talk about a tan, LOL!
Again, it's important to be trained by a breeder or someone who can show you hands-on:
Dangers for handfeeding if not properly trained
Aspiration- Forcing formula into the babies mouth to fast or improperly causing the baby to aspirate the formula
Burnt Crops- Using formula that is not at the proper temp.
Stretched Crops- Forcing the baby to take more formula then he can handle stretching the crop to the point that it can not empty properly
Bacterial Infections- Can be caused by not cleaning the nursery or equipment used for hand feeding. Can also be caused by contaminated food.
Malformed Beaks- Babies beaks are still soft and pressing the syringes into their beaks can create malformation in the beak.
Dehydration- If you do not mix the formula properly you could be given them the wrong consistency.
Poor Weight Gain- Formula too thin, Not following correct feeding schedule, Not feeding enough.
these are all in *C I've lost my little paper with the *F conversion lemme see if I can find one online
Day 1 --> 35-37c --- 95-98F
Day 2 to 5 --> 33-36c --- 91-95F
Day 6 to 10 --> 31-33c --- 87-91F
Day 11 to 15 --> 29-31c --- 84-87F
Day 16 to 20 --> 27-30c --- 80-86F
After day 20 --> 25-27c --- 77-80F
From an eggie they need spark, the rehydrating thinggie. The formula is mostly liquid. It says this
Feeding chicks from newly hatched The first feed of the day for three days should be a quality yoghurt with a high live organism count.
[POST EDITED]
ABOVE INFROMATION ORIGINALLY PROVIDED AND CREDITED TO MELIKA.
~ Mikaela
SITE ADMIN.
Last edited by birdman5000 on Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:36 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Neokireina
- Posts: 864
- Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2005 2:42 am
- Location: Adelaide
- Contact: