Hand feeding Baby Parrots

Hand feeding Baby Parrots

 Author:  Anil Garg,

Paradise Aviaries,

Bangalore.

Introduction:

Majority of the bird chick’s hatch totally defenseless, blind and naked. Constant care needs to be given to the weak chicks for their survival.  The parents do a good job in doing so.  But there are several instances of abandoned chicks, chicks fallen from nest, lack of parental instincts, slow breeding…  In this case human interference by way of artificial incubation & hand rearing can be very beneficial to the survival of the bird and the species.   It is noted that by way of artificial incubation and hand rearing we can increase the reproduction of birds by several folds. 

Many aviculturists prefer to hand feed baby parrots to natural parental care. Most common reason for it is to increase production endangered species and slow breeding species. The major advantage of Parental care is it helps the bird learn normal bird behaviour.  

Hand feeding birds reduce mortality, increase production, save orphaned babies, produce healthier birds and tamer birds.

We have been successful in raising over 1000+ baby parrots over last 17+ years and this paper is to share our experiences while doing so.

There are 4 major areas that we need to look into during hand feeding of parrots.

·          

•       Nursery
• ·         Formulae
• ·         Method
• ·         Process

Nursery:

Use of quality brooders is highly recommended during the initial 1-7 days of a chick’s life. If the same is not available we can make do with aquarium or wood box. Line the bottom with several layers of Pinewood shaving or tissue paper.  A heating pad is placed under the box or aquarium or a over head infrared lamp to provide requisite heat.  A towel is placed over the top to avoid excess heat loss.

A bottle or tin filled with water and holes punched in the lid to allow for evaporation will help to provide humidity.

The lining needs to be changed regularly preferably with every second feed for the first 1 week.

Brooder temperature is very critical during the first 10 days of hatching and needs close watch. Ideal temperature for a new born hatchling is 36° C (4-5 days) which is then gradually reduced to about 3/4° C a day for next 7 days (Age 12 days) and further reduced from 31°C to 27°C as the feathers start to grow. Age 12 to 15 days onwards the chicks are shifted to plastic containers with simple over head 60 watt Bulb except in case of weak and rare species where close monitoring is advised.

For most species we prefer keeping the clutch together for first 15-20 days and then thin them out to 2 chicks per box to avoid fights and control of infections if any. During weaning the birds are shifted to Galvanised cages.

Regular sterilization and disinfection of brooder, container and Cage is a must.

Common problem faced in housing is chilling, overheating, low / high humidity, fight among chicks & squashing, spread of infections. All these problems can be controlled easily.

Methods:

There are several methods of hand feeding parrots, common ones being Crop feeding, Spoon feeding and Syringe feeding. We prefer syringe feeding as the same is safe, easy, fast and hygienic. Disposable syringes are used for the same.  

During feeding time the plastic container holding the chick is removed and placed on table (room temperature should preferably be warm). With one hand using index and thumb is used to hold the chicks head lightly and use the other to hold the syringe, the syringe tip is slowly coaxed into the beak and small qty of food released into the beak.  Once the food touches the tongue the chick will make pumping motion which normal and helps it swallow the food. This is continued until the crop is 3/4 full.

Make sure that you put the syringe into the beak on the baby's left side - your RIGHT side - aim it toward the back of the throat, across the tongue at a slight angle to the left (your left). You will want to feed the formula slowly and watch the baby carefully as he will stop (pause) drinking the formula to take a breath. If you keep feeding the formula when he is trying to take a breath he will inhale the formula and this can kill your baby. During first feeding or weak chicks we may need to use our thumb to open the beak slightly.  Make sure you have a firm grip on your babies. Healthy hungry babies will have strong feeding responses (they pump sometimes very strongly) A firm grip will prevent injuries.

The quantity of food is species and ages specific. Avoid mixing of syringes to better control spread of any infections and wash hands before and after every feed with antiseptic liquid or spirit.

The temperature of the food should be in range of 38°C to 42°C (Luke warm).

Always keep tissue paper, warm water handy during feeding the chicks clean their beak and throat if dirty.  

 FORMULAS:

The easiest and wholesome (highly recommended) diet would be using ready Baby Parrot food by Nutribird, Pedigree and Versalaga but unfortunately the same is not readily available and need to be imported. If the same is available we could mix them in 50% ratio with Nestum ‘Rice’ (baby cereal) For smaller species and upto 25% for larger species.  For Macaws, Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus and Grey Parrot 18% crude Protein and 13% crude Fat should be the formula. For Cockatoos and other smaller birds 22% crude Protein and 9% crude Fat should be the formula.

Recipe for own formula:-

·         10% boiled Corn.

·         5% soaked almonds

·         15% fine ground sunflower seed.

·         15% fine ground millet (Sawa).

·         15% sprouted grams ( Wheat, Moong & Chana)

·         40% Nestum ‘Rice’.

·         Few drops of Abdec or Vimeral and Osteo-calcium syrup.

·         Few drops of  Digitone.

The ingredients are blended in a mixer with warm small qty of warm water into a thick paste and the same should be stored in the deep freezer. It’s easier to manage if they are packed in small packets so that they can be easily removed and used for each feed.  

Feeding schedule:

The new born hatchling is fed with Pedialite for the first 12 - 24 hrs starting with 0.2-0.5 ml and slowly increasing to 1 ml every 2-3 hrs. Pedialite helps in rehydration of the chicks and helps crop stretch.    

After the first 24 hrs of rehydration we can start with the recipe. The recipe is mixed with warm water. The first feed the paste needs to be thin and slowly thickened as the chick grows. The feeding cycle will vary from bird to bird. Feed chicks only after their crop is about 80% empty.  

AGE	Feeding interval	Thickness
0-24 hrs	Every 2 hrs	0%
Day 2	Every 2 hrs during day and 3 hrs in night.	10-20%
Day 3 to 5	5 feed during day and 2 feeds in night	20-50%
Day 5 to 10	4 feeds during day and 1 in night	50 -75%
Day 10 to 25	4 times during Day	75%
Day 25 to 35	3 times a day	75%
Day 35 to 40	2 times a day	75%
Day 40 to weaning	Once a day	75%

SPECIES	CAPACITY	SPECIES	CAPACITY	SPECIES	CAPACITY	SPECIES	CAPACITY
Macaws	100 to 140cc	Eclectus	35 to 50cc	Indian Ring-necks	12 to 25cc	Smaller Amazons	35 to 50cc
Cockatoos	75 to 120cc	Amazons	50 to 70cc	Quaker Parakeets	12 to 15cc	Alexandrines	25 to 35cc
Smaller Conures	15 to 30cc	African Greys	25 to 60cc	Cockatiels	10 to 15cc	Parakeets	4 to 10cc
Smaller Cockatoos	50 to 75cc	Large Conures	35 to 60cc	Brotogeris Parakeets	8 to 12cc	Lovebirds	5 to 10cc

Weight Gain:

Weighing the chicks at regular intervals is very important to keep track of the health of the birds. All chicks will gain weight every 24 hrs until almost weaned.  Most birds will loose some weight during weaning which is normal.

Any fall in weight or slow gain of weight is signs of unhealthy birds and root cause should be identified and rectified.

Chick weight                         Courtesy: Gemini Bird Farm
Days	Eclec tus  Min	M.S.C.  Min.	Mol.C  min	U C  Min.	Galah      Min	B&G M   Min.	Scar-let M   min	Palm     Min	Ama  zon   min	Nand.  Con.   min	Sun Con.  min
0	13	12	19	15	8	15	20	14	12	5	4
1	13	12	19	15	8	15	20	14	12	5	4
2	14	13	20	16	9	16	20	15	12	6	6
3	16	14	22	17	11	17	21	17	13	8	6
4	17	15	26	19	13	20	23	19	14	9	8
5	19	16	32	22	16	24	26	22	16	11	10
6	22	18	40	27	21	29	31	25	20	16	13
7	27	22	50	32	26	35	38	28	25	19	16
8	32	28	62	40	36	45	48	31	30	22	19
9	40	35	73	50	46	55	60	34	35	26	23
10	48	43	85	60	60	68	75	38	42	30	27
12	70	63	115	82	90	100	110	48	60	40	37
14	80	88	150	110	115	130	160	58	85	55	52
16	100	120	200	140	145	165	210	64	115	75	68
18	130	160	250	180	180	220	270	78	145	95	80
20	145	200	290	220	210	285	330	100	175	105	90
22	175	237	335	260	230	360	395	130	205	115	96
26	235	310	420	340	260	495	535	190	250	135	112
28	265	335	455	370	265	530	605	220	275	145	116
30	295	360	500	410	270	590	670	260	310	153	122
34	330	400	600	455	275	710	780	335	360	170	136
36	342	405	620	480	285	760	820	370	375	173	138
38	350	420	630	490	280	790	860	400	390	175	142
40	350	440	650	510	270	820	920	445	400	175	140
42	350	440	665	515	265	870	960	480	395	173	138
44	345	445	670	510	260	920	970	520	390	173	138
48	355	450	685	510	260	970	1010	580	385	170	138
50	370	450	690	520	255	1000	1000	605	380	170	136
52	375	450	695	510	255	1020	1010	635	380	170	134
56	375	440	715	490	260	1040	980	705	375	165	132
58	365	435	720	480	260	1050	990	720	350	163	130
60	360	440	725	470	255	1060	970	740	340	160	128
64	350	435	725	455	255	1020	960	757	315	158	126
66	350	435	730	455	260	1030	940	760	315	160	128
68	345	445	730	455	260	1000	930	770	310	160	130
70	345	445	735	450	265	1000	920	780	315	160	130

Weaning :

The birds are left in a cage with a flat plate with required grains like Sunflower seed, Millet, Sprouted grams, boiled Maze,  etc and fresh fruits. Offering few seeds and pieces of fruit every now and then by hand will coax them to try and eat on their own. Hand feeding is completely stoped once the bird starts to eat own its own in good quantity. Water should be present at all time.  

Weaning Chart:

Species	Clutch size	Incubation period	Weaning Start
Rosellas	3-6	19-22	35-40
Palm Cockatoo	1-2	32-35	90-120
S.C Cockatoo	2-3	26-28	65-85
Galah	2-5	23-25	50-55
Macaw's	2-4	24-27	95-105
Cocktiels	3-7	20-21	30-40
Eclectus	2	28-30	75-80
A.G Parrot	2-4	28-30	75-80
Amazon	2-4	26-27	60-65
Red-Rump Parrot	4-6	20-22	30-35
IRN Parrot	4-6	22-24	45-50
Alex Parrot	3-4	24-25	52-60
Conure	2-6	21-24	50-55
Rainbow lori	2	23-24	55-60

Ringing:

For easier identification and keeping History like parentage, DOB, sex, owner etc ringing of birds is necessary.  Close ring leg bands are fitted on the chicks during the age of 8 to 20 days (Species specific) the leg band come in sizes which are species specific. Right size Close ring Leg bands cannot be put once the birds grow up and are difficult to remove.

Problems:

Problem	Possible Cause
Weight loss / slow weight gain	Incorrect diet	Change recipe, increase Protein
	Low temperature	Increase brooder temperature
	Thin Formule
	Digestion problem	Give Digitone
	Infection	Start Required Antibiotic
	Under feeding	Increase feed qunatity/Frequency
Crops not emptying even after 5-6 hours	Thick formulae
	Digestion problem	Give Digitone
	Over feeding / Faster frequency
	Cold food
Crop burn	Over heated food	Rinse with cold water
Poor feeding responses	Too Cold/Hot food
	Dehydration	Give pedialite
Regurgitation	Over feeding / Faster frequency	Reduce size of each feed  and increase frequency. Give Pedialite.
Unexplained deaths	Do Post-portem to find out problem
Leg abnormalities, such as splay leg or turned legs	Calcium deficiency in chick or parents	Use steel wire to slowly bring it back to shape/position.
	Incorrect bedding
Sour Crop, Candida, and Crop Stasis	Chilling, overfeeding, food sitting in the crop too long, and "dry" food in the crop.

Eye infections	Congectavites	Ciplox eye drop reduction of temperature
	Excess heat

Equipments :

The following are the list of equipments which are regularly required during regular course or emergency during Hand feeding.

·         Spare Bulbs

·         Spare heater

·         Thermometer – digital and Mercury

·         Tweezers and Scissors

·         Stainless steel wire and rod.

·         Syringes

·         Needle

·         Antiseptic cream and spirit

·         Thermos

·         Hand towels and tissue paper

·         Ear buds

·         Sterile water

·         Hot water bags

·         Digitone, Sporolac & Terramycin.  Ciplox / Gentamycin eye drop. Chloramphenicol tube.

·         Pedialite

      Bonnison

References:-

Mr. S. Balasubramanian,  

Gemini Bird Farm,

Chennai.