Handfeeding a new IRN

Rico's Mom · Post by **Rico's Mom** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:56 pm

Help please, today I purchased a 10 week old IRN , this i my first time ever handfeeding, the breeder said handfeeed her/him 2 times a day , ok so i fed her/him at 7:30 pm tonight and he or she would only take 1 teaspoon of food from me , she has started eating other food like Roudybush and a few other things, but I'am not real sure if she / he has been eating today, I have been in and out of the house alot today, the breeder told me she/he might not eat much from me because Iam new to her/him,actually she /he was going to be my neighbors bird but she cant keep her because of family problems so I purchased her today and went to pic her up, is this common since she/he doesnt know me? I was told 2 handfeedings 1 morning and 1 evening for a week then 1 feeding starting next friday, does this sound right? she/he was born march 17th all comments welcome here

Donna · Post by **Donna** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 8:48 pm

Sounds to me like she is almost weaned. I would offer her the other foods and keep an eye on what she is actually eating and do the hand feeding once a day you can always feed her more if she acts like she's begging for it. At this age though they normally just do the comfort feedings.

Donna

Jay · Post by **Jay** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 10:16 pm

Donna's right. She should wean anytime soon as I have a clutch born on 3/14 and they just fully-weaned yesterday.

At this age, feed only once (at 10PM before bedtime). Make lots of weaning food available for the baby to eat. In addition to the Roudybush pellets, chopped apples, broccolli blossoms, spray millets, and the circular cereals (Cheerios) works well with my clutches. Feel the crop regularly to make sure the chick is actually eating. The crop doesn't have to be very full. IRNs don't really need to eat that much to survive.

Don't forget to replace the water at least twice daily.

Post by **kyria** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 6:26 am

I also found my babies liked peas and corn that were softened by putting them in hot water, start him/her off by grabbing a kernel and pushing/squashing the soft center out into his/her beak, soon enough s/he will get the idea.

Rico's Mom · Post by **Rico's Mom** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 6:15 pm

ty both, I just fed her/he tonite ands she/he ate quite a bit more then she did the 6am feeding , sooooooooooo I'am cutting out the morning feedings and going with the nite feeding for 4 or 5 days and see what happens, she is on the Roudybush pellets , but I cant actually say I have seen her eat any , she/ he is eating millet and she ate alot of fresh apple out of my hand today almost half the apple so he or she did good there , her crop felt full so I didnt want to over fill her tonite, this is all new to me but I'am learning

my Quaker was already on solid food when i recieved her thank god lol, I dont think I would make a very good breeder lol, accept for playing with the babies, that I could do

ty for your good advice

Iam getting her or him DNA tested next friday and I'am praying for a boy , lol, I already have a girl :wink:

Donna · Post by **Donna** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 7:11 pm

Keep up the good work

Do you have a set of scales to weigh the baby before the hand feeding? It's good for any bird keeper to have a scale to monitor your birds weight any time.

Donna

Jay · Post by **Jay** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 10:02 pm

I'm not sure of your expertise in handfeeding but breeders should not sell unweaned birds to inexperienced handfeeders. In California, it is against the law to do so. The bird is lucky to have been bought by someone as conscientious and resourceful as you.

Anyway, try to feed the formula at around 105 deg F. If it is too hot, you'll burn the crop. Too cold, crop stasis (sour crop) or regurgitation of food. Observe proper hygiene. Wash the utensils after feeding and follow the formula instructions to the letter.

Most IRNs at this age will not care who is handfeeding them. All they care about is to eat, socialize, sleep and play.

What size of Roudybush pellets do you feed? I feed MINI size and my handfed babies the same age as yours munch on the pellets ravenously.
Cutting out the AM feeding will ensure they are hungry enough at the start of the day to try the weaning foods.

By the way, if your baby IRN is of a sex-linked mutation and her mother is not, then she is obviously a female. No DNA necessary. What color is she/he?

Rico's Mom · Post by **Rico's Mom** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 5:58 pm

she or he is a blue IRN and i have cut out the morning feedings all together, I fed her about 2 to 2 and a half teaspoons according to the measurements tonite at 7:30 pm , she really wasnt to interseted in it but she did eat that much, so u think she is a girl? I have no idea what color mom and dad was I only seen her and another baby, the breeder said she already sold her parents and she was going out of business, she only has her sister or brother she was keeping , her sister or brother was a green IRN and I didnt see any more birds in her house

I need to find out what there weight is suppose to be , I weighed her tonite and she weighed 142 , everything I have been reading says they are suppose to weigh between 100 and 130, is she to fat or just a big baby, I weighed my Quaker to make sure the scales were right and she weighed in 105 which is right for her, o and i weighed her before i fed her 7:30 pm feeding, advice pleaseeeeeeeeeee

Rico's Mom · Post by **Rico's Mom** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 6:26 pm

o shoot i forgot to ask does handfeeding formula make there more like urine then birdie poop? :?:

Donna · Post by **Donna** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 6:52 pm

The weight is good she will lose some when she is ready to fledge (learning how to fly) so don't panic she will probably lose up to about 5 to 6 gram before this happens.

Donna

Rico's Mom · Post by **Rico's Mom** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 6:58 pm

ummm her wings are clipped, the breeder slipped them the day I went to get her, Donna go to your private messages please I left a note for u and I would really like to talk to u in person if u dont mind

Donna · Post by **Donna** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 7:08 pm

I didn't get your pm for some reason but I left you one

Donna

Rico's Mom · Post by **Rico's Mom** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 7:26 pm

call me if u can or I can call u , u can leave me your number on my yahoo , my yahoo is xxshedevilxx2004@yahoo.com leave me a message there ok , what is your yahoo email?

Donna · Post by **Donna** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 7:35 pm

OK sent you an e-mail let me know if you got it.

Donna

Jay · Post by **Jay** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 9:16 am

Rico's Mom wrote:she or he is a blue IRN

A Blue IRN can be any gender regardless what the parents are. So much for that.

But in the future if you do acquire more IRNs, Cinnamons, Opalines, Pallids (Lacewings), Lutinos, Creaminos, and Albinos are the sex-linked mutations and depending on who they are partnered with, gender can be determined on the nestlings.

IndianRingNeck.com