Hand-rearing can be a very rewarding experience, but
it can also be a nightmare if you find yourself in an emergency situation
needing to feed abandoned chicks and not having the first clue regarding
what to do. This situation can be avoided with a little bit of forward
thinking and preparation. If you are going to breed birds, at some point
you will find yourself in the position of needing to be able to hand-rear
a chick or chicks. It could be that the parent birds reject their chicks,
you could have a death of one or the other parent birds, or any number of
other situations could arise. If you have put some thought into what you
will do if an emergency arises, your likelihood of a successful outcome is
greatly increased.
Ideally
your first experience with hand-rearing should be a pre-planned event.
Chicks that may be suitable for pets could be removed from the nest at
around 3 weeks of age. You will need to have a suitable container to keep
them in, something around the same dimensions as a nest box will suffice
at this stage. Shavings or paper towel will need to be replaced daily in
the bottom of the box. At 3 weeks of age the chicks will need around 4
feeds per day. These feeds need to be scheduled starting in the morning,
lunchtime, around 5pm and the last feed around 9pm. You need to leave
around 4 hours between feeds to allow the chicks crops to empty before
feeding again. If you are feeding the chick the correct amount it should
easily digest it all in 4 hours. If
this is not happening, you are either feeding too much or a chick has a
problem with its crop and it is not emptying at a normal rate.
It is very important to use a suitable hand rearing
food especially designed for parrots. Egg & Biscuit on its own is not
a suitable hand-rearing food as it does not contain everything a baby bird
needs to grow and flourish. There are several good quality hand-rearing
mixes on the market. Roudybush is particularly good and is used by many
professional "hand-rearers". This product can also be kept in
the freezer for a longer life, which can be very handy when you need some
urgently.You need to follow
the manufacturers instructions for feeding but generally the best idea is
to mix up the required amount, depending on how many chicks you are
feeding, and combine the dry food with some boiled water. Bring the food
up to the required temperature and maintain a stable temperature by using
the double bowl method (Container with hand rearing mix sitting in a
slightly larger container filled with hot water to keep the food at
optimum feeding temperature.) Check once you have added the water to the formula
that the density is something like a yoghurt consistency. Nice and smooth,
but not too thick and not too thin. Method of feeding is really a personal
preference, using either a small spoon with bent up sides or a small
syringe. As long as the food gets into the chick without too much ending
up all over the place is the main thing. Try to clean up any food that
gets onto the feathers as you go along, rather than waiting until its sets
rock hard and is difficult to remove. Once you have done a bit of hand feeding, it is
something you get a feel for as to the method etc. The most important
thing is to get the food to the chick at a good temperature. Food that is
too hot will burn the crop, but food that is too cold will also cause
problems, with the crop slowing down. Chicks
will often refuse cold food, even if they are hungry. I have always used
the method of testing a bit of the mix on the inside of my wrist or to my
lip to test the temperature, much as you would with a human baby. This
enables you to best decide if the mix is too hot or too cold and adjust
accordingly. Generally a chick of around 3 to 4 weeks would eat approx
10mls per feed. It is best not to overfeed as this too can cause crop
problems.
From
the age of about 4 weeks you will find that the chicks begin to attempt to
fly. This would be the stage at which they would leave the nest box if
they were still with the parent birds. This is the time that you can move
them from their "holding box" into a cage. Once they are in a
cage you can start introducing the chicks to seed, water and other foods
(while still maintaining their regular hand feeds). Initially they will
play with these new foods more so than eat them, but gradually they will
get the hang of it and start to become more interested in eating on their
own. Also provide the chicks with a calcium supplement such as cuttlebone
or a calcium bell.
As
the chicks get a bit older, you can gradually decrease the number of feeds
and encourage them to start experimenting with other foods like seed,
sprouts, greens, sweet corn etc. Millet sprays are also a good way to get
young chicks used to eating seeds. Generally from around 4 to 5 weeks,
feeds would drop to 3 per day. At around 6 weeks 2 feeds per day, and then
hopefully by 7 to 8 weeks they are just about fully weaned and may only
need one top up feed each day.Naturally
this can vary from chick to chick so you need to assess each chick's
individual needs. Chicks are usually easier to wean if there is more than
one, as they learn from each other. If you are trying to wean a single
bird you may need to be a bit more creative with things to tempt them to
start feeding themselves. If the chick is a bit inclined to just sit on
the perch and wait until you bring the next feed along, try removing the
perch to encourage the chick to walk around, nearer the food on the floor
of the cage. Usually by the time the chick walks through the foods you
have provided, it will start to try them and hopefully decide they are
worth eating.Only when you
are confident the chick is able to sustain itself without your help, is it
considered fully weaned.
Emergency
Situation Do's & Don't. The
biggest mistake people can make is to try and feed a "chilled"
chick. Imagine the situation. You find an icy cold chick abandoned by the
parents but it is still alive. Its crop is completely empty so it is
really a normal reaction to try and get some warm food into the chick.
Unfortunately this is more than likely to hasten the chicks' demise rather
than help.
The
correct procedure would be to warm the chick up first, either in a purpose
built hospital cage, or if this is not available, some type of warm
environment i.e.. a hot water bottle, lamp etc. Be careful not to overheat.
Give the chick a small amount of warm water (with some electrolyte
solution if available) to assist with rehydration. Once you are confident
the chick has returned to a more normal body temperature and is moving
around, and hopefully looking to be fed, this is the time to feed it with
some nice warm food. Observe how well the chick digests this meal before
you feed again. If the crop doesn't appear to be working too well it may
be necessary to consult your avian vet.
It
is very important when hand feeding chicks to observe good hygiene
practices. Utensils need to be thoroughly washed after each feed. Keep the
chicks nice and clean, as well as their environment. If you take these
simple steps you will avoid many of the problems that may arise through
bacterial contamination.
The
more time and effort you put into the process of hand raising a baby bird,
the better the result will be. Try not to rush the weaning process. It is
usually counterproductive and this sometimes makes it harder to wean the
bird than if you take the time to gradually decrease the hand feeding.
Give the chick plenty of time to get used to the idea of feeding itself.
Hand-rearing does take time, and is not something you can rush. So before
you take on the job, realise the size of the commitment you are making and
be prepared to do it
for as long as the chick needs your help……...
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