Hand-Raising and Hand-Feeding Baby Birds

April Romagnano, PhD, DVM,

Diplomate ABVP (Avian) Animal Health Clinic Jupiter, Florida

The process of hand-raising and hand-feeding baby psittacine birds is discussed in detail below. Incubation, hatching, commercial diets, and weaning will also be briefly reviewed.
Incubation
Eggs collected from nest boxes for artificial incubation are placed in incubators as soon as possible. Breeding birds can safely clutch up to three times per year. After the third clutch, boxes should be closed down. The temperature and humidity for the incubation of the recovered eggs varies for different species but ranges from 98.9°F to 99.3°F and 30% to 45% humidity. Digital hygrometers work best to monitor humidity. Eggs should be candled to monitor development. Once drawdown occurs (when the internal membrane pulls away from the shell and creates an air cell), eggs should be moved to the bottom of their respective incubators and no longer turned. At this time, internal pipping occurs. Incubators should be cultured for bacteria and fungi four times a year and DNA probe tested for Polyomavirus and psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) twice a year. The incubators should be cleaned and formalin gas sterilized yearly.
Hatching
Once the internal pip is completed (when the embryo punctures the inner shell membrane and enters the air cell), the eggs should be moved into the hatchers, kept at 99.5°F and 60% to 70% humidity. The hatchers
should also be cultured for bacteria and fungi four times a year and DNA probe tested for Polyomavirus and PBFD twice a year, as well as cleaned and formalin gas sterilized yearly.
Nursery
Once hatched, neonatal chicks should be housed in incubators in a closed psittacine nursery of any size. In large organized psittacine nurseries, chicks gradually progress in individual buckets of increasing size and are moved through rooms of decreasing temperatures withbirds of similar size. They are eventually put into cages in cooler weaning rooms or adjacent outdoor aviaries.In the author's opinion, commercial formula makes a significant difference in the neonatal and juvenile development of psittacine chicks. In the author's experience, commercially fed chicks grow faster and have fewer bacterial infections than those fed homemade formulas. These chicks also have fewer problems with crop stasis, septicemia, stunting, hypoalbuminemia, and gout. Commercial formula feeding also greatly simplifies husbandry and the general management of any nursery, regardless of size. In general, chicks develop more quickly on commercial diets, are plumper, and wean earlier and with fewer complications.
Psittacine chicks should be fed and cared for from 5:00 AM to 10:00 PM. They should be weighed and their weights recorded first thing in the morning, when their crops are completely empty. Any weight loss, lack of weight gain, or crop stasis should be addressed immediately. Nursery staff should practice a strict, closed-nursery policy. Veterinary diagnostics, treatments, and surgeries are performed on a case-by-case basis and, when possible, within the nursery.
Feeding Neonates and Juveniles
All neonates should be started on a dilute commercial formula for their first 3 days of life. This dilute formula (35 cc bottled water and 1 tbsp formula should be given every 2 hours on the first and second day, except during the night, when crops are allowed to empty completely. All hand-fed baby bird crops should be completely empty by morning without exception.
On day 2, neonates should receive Bird Bene-Bac (PetAg), 0.1 cc, at their first feed. The third-day feedings should occur every 3 hours. By day 4, neonates should be started on an undiluted formula mixture. The schedule of formula feedings after day 3 goes from five times a day (small birds) or four times a day (birds sun-conure size and up) to three times, to two times, to one time, and eventually to weaning.

Table 1.
General Feeding Guide

Three times a day

Age range 25-45 days (species dependent)

25-30 days: Sun conures, caiques, African greys, eclectus parrots, Amazons, golden conures,rose- breasted cockatoos

30-35 days: Small cockatoos, small
macaws

40—45 days: Large cockatoos, medium
and larger macaws

Two times a day
Age range 35-70 days (species dependent)

35—40 days: Sun conures, caiques

40—45 days: African greys, eclectus parrots, Amazons, golden conures, small cockatoos, small macaws

50 days: Large cockatoos

50-55 days: Palm cockatoos, red-fronted macaws

55-65 days: Blue-throated macaws

60-65 days: Larger macaws

65-70 days: Hyacinths

Once a day

Age range 50-100 days (species dependent)

50—60 days: Sun conures, caiques

55-60 days: Amazons, small macaws

60-70 days: African greys, eclectus
parrots, golden conures, small
cockatoos

70-80 days: Red-fronted macaws, large
cockatoos

90-100 days: Blue-throated macaws,
larger macaws (including hyacinths)

Weoned
Age range 75-170 days (species dependent)

75-85 days: Sun conures, caiques, Amazons

80-90 days: Small macaws, golden conures

85-95 days: Eclectus parrots, small cockatoos

90-100 days: African greys

95-105 days: Large cockatoos

100-120 days: Large sulfur-crested and moluccan cockatoos

110-120 days: Red-fronted and blue-throated macaws

120-130 days: Large macaws

120-150 days: Aterimus palm cockatoos

130-140 days: Red-tailed black cockatoos

135-160 days: Largest macaws

150-170 days: Goliath palm cockatoos

Birds are gradually moved down in the amounts fed per day based on their species and individual size. The amounts fed are based on body weight (BW) early on and later by species (Table 1). Therefore, on day 4, a cockatoo-safe hand-feeding formula should be fed to all white and pink/salmon-colored cockatoos. These cockatoos are fed at 10% of BW until they reach their three-times-a-day feeding, when they are switched to 8% of BW. Black cockatoos (palms and red-tailed cockatoos), gang-gang cockatoos, thick-billed parrots, hyacinth macaws, green-winged macaws, golden conures, and slender-billed cockatoos should be fed a special diet originally formulated for the palm cockatoo. It is higher in both fat and fiber (see Reference 1). Hyacinths should be fed the same formula at 12% of BW, and green-winged macaws at 11%; all other birds in this group are fed at 10% of BW. The rest of the macaw species, caiques, sun conures, eclectus parrots, African greys, and hawk-headed parrots do best on a formula formulated for macaws (i.e., a macaw-safe formula). All of these birds should be fed at 10% of BW except for the Buffon's macaw, which should be fed at 12% of BW. Once the birds reach their twice-a-day feeding they are no longer fed based on BW alone but are gradually increased to a predetermined maximum for their species. For example, the maximum volume for sun conures is 20 cc, smaller cockatoos 35 cc, African greys 50 cc, larger cockatoos 60 cc, mid-sized macaws 110 cc, and the hyacinth, Buffon's, and green-winged macaws are given 140 cc at each feeding.
At two feedings a day, the juvenile birds should be offered solid foods, such as weaning puffs or pellets, large colored juvenile or adult pellets, fruits and vegetables, and treat items such as pine nuts and almonds. Water bowls should be introduced when the birds are at one feeding a day. Once birds are drinking and eating on their own they can be moved into larger cages or outdoor flights as space and weather permit. Fledgling birds should always be allowed to flap and fly before their first wing clip. Once the birds have mastered drinking from a bowl they should be trained to use a water-drinking device so they have the skill before leaving the nursery to be sold. Water bowls should always be present during the training period.
Birds should always be weighed and monitored closely during the weaning process. A weight loss of up to 15% is perfectly normal for the weaning psittacine bird. Some birds lose nothing; others lose a lot. Birds should never be force weaned. Instead, each should be treated as individuals and weaned at their own pace.
Conclusion
A neonate that gets off to a good nutritional start has the best chance at becoming a thriving juvenile, so hand-feeding properly and effectively from the very beginning is very important. The majority of pediatric problems are associated with poor husbandry and hand-feeding practices, thus nursery management is very important in the production of healthy baby birds.
Acknowledgment
The author would like to thank Ms. Kerry Giersher and Ms. Rita Rodriguez for their expert advice on hand-feeding techniques.
Reference
1. Romagnano A: Alleviation of maldigestion, hypoproteinemia in palm cockatoo neonates achieved through enhanced diet. AAV Newsletter and Clinical Forum:'), Dec 1997—Feb 1998.