First Time Hand Feeding ! HELP

Kiki · Jul 13, 2011

Today I been to the pet market, I saw a baby cockatiel being plucked by his parents, I felt so sorry for the baby, the owner sold it to me for a very cheap price because he couldn't raise it up himself and he didn't want to separate him from his parents ! So I just took it back home.. I knew already it would have the same destiny of "Tiki" my little tiel, if he stayed with his parents he woulda be proper plucked by then ..

I think it's a quite healthy tiel, at least healthier than my previous baby Tiki ..

I guess he is around 2 weeks n more , he got the feathers of the wings fully grown n some of his back but head n face not yet !

The thing is this is gonna be my first time to hand feed a tiel , and Oh My God I'm just TOO NERVOUS ! I don't wanna do it with the syringe I'm too afraid of causing him an aspiration, even though I literary know the way to do it like from the left side to the right but still I don't have enough confidence and courage to do it..

I chose the spoon way ! and it worked .. he had some "cerelac", he had some with the spoon, that was when his stomach was a bit full with his parent's food, now It's being empty, and he refuses to eat from my hands ! I only can see a little bit of yellow thing in his stomach that's all !

I thought he would be crying for food ! But he is just not ! and I don't know when he has enough of the formula ! quite confusing ! ...

I put the baby in a nest box, and there is the bedding as well, I'm just a bit afraid that he eats the material ;/ !

Now he doesn't wanna eat ! I took him to bed he needs to sleep ! but his stomach is empty .. only a bit of food in it !

How long does a baby tiel survive without food ? I'm too nervous to wake up in the morning n see him dead ! HE JUST REFUSES TO EAT ! that's weird ! other tiels cry for food n he just gives me his back when I have a try ! even though this noon he had some food with the spoon ! but for dinner no ! n now he is sleeping quite hungry I think ! coz as i said no enough i think

What would u advice me to do ?

Kristian · Jul 14, 2011

Poor baby! He really needed someone to take care of him better then in that pet shop.
Best wishes.

Kiki · Jul 14, 2011

Oh Wow !

I got surprised I entered the room Mum was holding the chick and she fed him with the syringe !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and when I asked her how did u do it she said I put it on the left side and just pushed it

mitch2006 · Jul 14, 2011

i dont use any tubes just a syringes tubes are used o feed directly into crop or removing bad food from crop only..you only need the syringe for normal handfeedings
how much are you feeding it ......is the syringes cc or ml?
he looks a little red which means hes dehydrated
do you have a gram scale to weigh him?or a kitchen meat/baking scale that weighs in grams
most 2 week -3 week old chick eat aprox 8-10cc/ml or til crop is full.every 4 hrs
10 cc is max amount at 2-3 weeks old..
this is why we weigh chicks so you feed max 10% of his weigh at each feed

Kiki · Jul 14, 2011

I saw that tube thing in videos ...

Do u think he is ok ? he is now trying to sleep I put him back to the nest box ...

I posted the syringe pic there r MLs on it .. no CCs ..

I don't know how much I am feeding him !! coz it was by a spoon but TOO LITTLE u know that's why he looks dehydrated ..

mitch2006 · Jul 14, 2011

by the way mum has the right idea just go slow and guide chick to syringe

mitch2006 · Jul 14, 2011

do you have a thermometer?
you could measure/mix out up to 10 ml of formula and place in a juice glass and place in a bowl of hot water (the glass )to keep it hot but get the temperature of the formula to 104f-106f before serving it to baby too cold it gets crop problems too hot it will burn the crop...then feed with the spoon or keep trying with the syringe you/he will get used to each other pace of pushing plunger/swallowing formula in sink.
i think he will be ok
but needs more fluid in his crop then in pic look at how full mine is in #27
try the method above and see if it works for you both

Kiki · Jul 14, 2011

Very much thanks

.. I'll do that keep u updated !

tielfan · Jul 14, 2011

You're getting great advice on the handfeeding, so I'm just going to comment on the baby's age. I think he's at least three weeks old, and probably more like four weeks old. Most of the pictures don't show the flight feathers and tail feathers, but this one shows part of the tail:

Compare this tail to the pictures on srtiels "watch me grow" page at http://justcockatiels.weebly.com/watch-me-grow.html Notice how the quill is still visible in the tail feathers when the chick is 20 days old. Kiki's baby doesn't have any quill showing and might have a longer tail than srtiels' 22 day old picture, which suggests that Kiki's baby is older than 22 days.

Kiki's baby also seems to be standing upright very well in all the photos, which suggests that he's close to fledging age. Younger chicks spend a lot of time resting on their bellies.

There are individual differences in growth rates of course. The other "tiel development" sites that I found didn't show the tail clearly, but it looks like srtiels' baby is developing at a very typical rate and maybe faster than some. The other sites:
http://www.avianweb.com/cockatielchickdevelopment.html
http://www.acstiels.com/articles/breeding/Cockatieldevelopment.htm

Bea's pictures of Snickers from http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=5855 His development was slowed a bit because of a bacterial infection in the parents:

mitch2006 · Jul 14, 2011

if the chick is 3 weeks old...

first you will have to rehydrate this chick....when his skin color returns to normal color
the skin should look this color of these chicks heads ..you will know hes properly rehydrated

then you can reduce the feedings to 3 times a day ,6hours apart from each other
with a 12hr complete crop emptying overnight...no feeds overnight til 1st am feeding time

so an example of a 3-4 week old feedings is 830am,230pm,830pm
with seeds/pellets/millitte being offered all day inside cage on a saucer..
and veggies and fruit being offered mid-day for a half hour period only then remove it after half hour is up.

srtiels also has a thread called "hand feeding chart" its a sticky thread
which gives details on how to wean a 3-4 week old to smaller feedings amounts gradually
to prepare for switch over seeds/pellets when old enough to do so
check it out also
great info ive used it many times with great success

also check out "aspiration scare" by nwoodrow also a sticky thread
also great info to know and advice

hope this helps you out

Kiki · Jul 14, 2011

I mixed grinded pellets with the cerelac formula and fed the baby

I'm so happy that he had some ! he had like 9 ml ! I grabbed him and my mum was opening his mouth to push the food from the left side of the beak to the right side, step by step, like a push and we were stopping until he swallows it properly and breathes normally then we kept on going ! that was quite difficult and takes time but I hope he gets used to it soon

! DO u think its gonna take longer than 2 days to get used to it ? coz he is proper refusing it !! he keeps running away !

Here I posted some of his photos again after being a happy baby

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0404.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0405.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0406.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0407.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0408.jpg

I'll feed him again in 4 hours until he gets his normal color back as u said !

I'm not sure about the age, the owner didn't know either !! I don't know what kind of a guy he was ... the mother was plucking the baby right in front of his eyes n he was like smoking saying " ok I can't do anything about it " !! ;/ pathetic mind .

I showed his tail in two pix ! would u figure out the age and gender

? coz I donno if it's a he or a she I'm just guessing it's a he

.. and yes is quite strong to stand up properly and move around !

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0409.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0410.jpg

one more thing ! Do I have to keep him in the nest box ? I actually put his nest box in his cage ! but I remove the cover of the nest box so he doesn't feel too hot ..
at this age should I just put him in the cage on the ground ?

MeanneyFids · Jul 14, 2011

thing with older chicks... they dont see that as food after being fed by the parents for so many weeks.

mitch2006 · Jul 14, 2011

he sure looks fuller and happier

i found this pictures of me feeding mine

the babies after a bath

and final picture with babies with bibs

mitch2006 · Jul 14, 2011

update us in morning

Kiki · Jul 14, 2011

Awww ur tiels are so cute

! and I like what u did to keep them clean

..

I fed him again :clap: .. Now he is full

! But Wow it takes too long to feed a baby <_< , it took like 50 minutes for me ! so I'm lost now about my timings !

I fed him at
9:00 am __ 9 ml
1:00 pm __ 9 ml

and the next coming will be like this
5:00 pm __ 6-7 ml
8:00pm __ 8-10 ml
12:00 pm __ 8-10 ml

I'm going to feed him like that today cause I want to arrange the chart to be like 8:00am , 12:00am , 4:00pm , 8:00pm , 12:00pm
I will feed him like that until he finds his way .. then when I see he gets his color back and be quite healthy again I'll feed him every 6 hours with fruits availability in cage as u said

.

I only need him to learn that I'm feeding him and that syringe is his mum's beak ! he HATES it ! that's why it takes too long for me to feed him ..

By the way I noticed something weird in his crop , right at the bottom side of the crop there is a little red spot, I can assume it's because of the parents plucking to him ! but I just wanna show it to u, and if there is something has to be done about it or not, if it's dangerous or not, P.s. the bird is acting normal ! probably it's not a big deal

Photo of the crop if it's clear
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0416.jpg

Kiki · Jul 14, 2011

The drops of the baby were green yesterday , today are brown , is that ok ?

Kiki · Jul 14, 2011

I read an article telling that brown or choco colored poops are caused by liver disease or lead poisoning , internal bleeding !

I don't know now I'm TOO MUCH WORRIED AND CONFUSED !

Do u think it's because of the formula color ? or new environment ?

srtiels · Jul 14, 2011

Your pix does not show up.

From looking at the size of the baby he should be fed three times a day.

Do you have a vet you can go to to have the vet check out the bird (it looks a little thin/skinny) And also a local breeder that can show you how to handfeed so that it is not taking you so long.

Kiki · Jul 14, 2011

Do you have a vet you can go to to have the vet check out the bird (it looks a little thin/skinny)

We don't have vets here , and the couple of available ones know only about chickens and roosters.

Do you have a vet you can go to to have the vet check out the bird (it looks a little thin/skinny) And also a local breeder that can show you how to hand feed so that it is not taking you so long.

I know how to hand feed him now ! I fed him two times today and for the third time he came to the syringe himself

and he started liking it ! though I'm still TOO CAREFUL !!

and yes he is too skinny ! and still looks dehydrated even though I'm proper feeding him like 8-10 ml every 4 hours ! so I donno when is he gona get his color back ! I'm feeding him cerelac mixed up with grind pellets ... I'll change it tonight .. what do u advice me ? No we don't have special baby formula !

Local breeder says give him cerelac it's the best food for him ! that's how he hand fed Kiki my first tiel ...

What about the poop ? I'm worried about that part !

lperry82 · Jul 14, 2011

Change of foods will cause the color to change

tielfan · Jul 14, 2011

Looking at the length of the tail and how well the baby stands on your finger, it seems likely that he(?) has already fledged. Newly fledged chicks will be clumsy at first, but if he moves around reasonably well you can keep him in a cage instead of a box. Provide some millet spray, leafy greens, and other weaning foods - hanging up or on the floor is easier for babies than putting it in a bowl. He won't be able to feed himself effectively but he might manage to eat a little bit, and his eating skills will gradually improve.

Kiki · Jul 14, 2011

He is now doing great !! eating from spoon and syringe as well! ! only showing it is enough to make him come and beg for it ! I feel so relieved now !

Another thing !!

I cleaned him after feeding with a fabric soaked with warm water ! n i started wiping it on the parts where the food was stuck on , as well as his neck ! when I was taking him back to the cage I noticed a little spot of blood on the right side of the neck ! probably the food was stuck on there n when I cleaned it it pulled the feather out ! this is what I think !! or there would be no other reason !

what should I do about it ? I wiped it gently and now it's not bleeding , it's just a tiny spot of blood ! like when the parents pluck babies !

mitch2006 · Jul 14, 2011

you might have tugged at a pinfeather/blood feather causing a little blood to surface on feathers...no worries if its a drop or 2.

qtips dipped in warm water are great for face and throat clean ups too for handfed babies
then pat dry with a kleenex/paper towel/makeup pad etc...rubbing can cause bleeding to occur

Kiki · Jul 14, 2011

no worries if its a drop or 2.

So Happy

Thanks a lot Mitch

! and poop color is almost back to normal !

tielfan · Jul 14, 2011

Some of the redness and sensitivity of the skin might be irritation from being plucked by the mother. Now that he's eating well he can start recovering from this and start growing new feathers.

mitch2006 · Jul 14, 2011

yes poop changes with every changes in their diets

glad to hear his/you doing a little better a handfeeding today

with him being 3 weeks to a little older his aspiraton risks lower a bit compared to a younger chick...

once he is used to handfeeding it should only take 4-5 min to feed him

First Time Hand Feeding ! HELP

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