Hand Feeding Help | Avian Help Guide

General Hand-feeding Information for Pet Birds

Purchasing a Baby Bird

A baby bird is born with no immune system - they receive this from their mothers. This is one reason for the advice that follows. If you purchase babies any younger than advised, their systems are much more delicate and you are more likely to have problems. Purchase age depends on the species, if you are purchasing one of the smaller birds, four weeks old and above should be fine. The smaller species are easier to feed and wean faster. Most of them are weaned by ten weeks. See chart below. If you are purchasing one of the larger species - Macaws - Cockatoos - Amazons - Grays and have no experience you should purchase your baby when he is on two feedings and eating well on his own. Any younger and you open yourself up for problems. Keep in mind you cant find a good avian vet open at night if you have a problem. At this stage the baby is well on its way and the risk is minimal.

Approximate Growth Chart Species Approximate Weaning Time Large Macaws 12-16 weeks Cockatoos 12-16 weeks Amazons 10-12 weeks African Greys 12-15 weeks Large Conures 10-12 weeks Small Conures 8-10 weeks Love Birds & Cockatiels 6-8 weeks

This is only a guide. The baby will wean at his own pace. (And dont be surprised if your Moluccan Cockatoo wants to continue being handfeed until hes 18 years of age! Cockatoos are, after all, desperate for every morsel of attention they can get!) This pamphlet is meant to assist you in handfeeding and raising your new baby. This is meant only as a guideline.

Bird Feed

Here are some rules to follow:

Food should be the consistency of heavy cream to apple sauce. Temperature should be between 101 to 105 degrees. This is very important do not use your wrist, get a digital baby thermometer. Crop burn is not a pretty site and can kill your baby. Food too cold will not digest and cause infection. Keep unused bag of unmixed formula in the freezer. Throw out all unused mixed food. Clean feeding instruments with soap and water rinse thoroughly and soak in Novalsan and water. Never reuse already mixed formula - throw it out.

See maximum crop capacity chart below. Keep in mind that the crop will stretch to max capacity but as your baby gets closer to weaning the crop starts to shrink. Please discuss this with your breeder. If possible feed the baby at the breeders yourself. Do not let them show you how without letting you do it. You could get your bird home and find he will not eat for you even though the breeder had no trouble. Get complete feeding instructions from your breeder, IE: how much, how often, when to cut back, and what to expect while weaning. The ideal situation is to get to know your baby before you bring him home. In other words, get a young baby, visit him often and feed several time him before you take him home. This makes for a very low stress move on everyones part. FOOD ADDITIVES For Your Benefit

Baby Food Baby Juice Baby Cereal

For the Bird Babies Benefit

Plain Yogurt Crushed Papaya tablet (contains natural enzyme for digestion) Kyoloc Garlic No Yeast (Natural Antibiotic) Spiralina Small amount of Prune Juice once a week.

Approximate Feeding Capacities Species Max Crop Capacity Large Macaws 120-140 ml Small Macaws 40-60 ml Large Cockatoos 50-80 ml Small Cockatoos 50-70 ml Large Amazons 60-70 ml Small Amazons 45-55 ml African Greys 50-60 ml Medium Conures 20-25 ml Small Conures &Cockatiels 12-15 ml Love Birds 5-10 ml