Hey guys,
I'm bee to this site is this topic may have already been discussed, but,
I have a 6 week old IRN called Zeus. He has never been hand fed and as a result is extremely hard to feed, and I'm terrified of him starving!!
He won't eat from a bent spoon and I have to carefully "force feed" him. I don't want to traumatise him by force feeding him but I don't want him to starve!!
Please help!!!
HELP!! Hand rearing/feeding
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Re: HELP!! Hand rearing/feeding
Haha what's wrong with that??
Re: HELP!! Hand rearing/feeding
1) Because the parents died from a bacterial infection in the crop (heaven knows how the chick survived).molossus wrote:why in heaven would you want to feed a parent reared 6 week old bird?
2) Because there is an extremely dominant sibling starting to kill and/or starve the other chicks just prior to fledging.
3) ?
Not common, but it has happened to us over the years.
To answer the original question, you will have best results using a crop needle. Most people are not fond of them, however. Throw a towel over the wild baby bird, wrap it up like a new born human baby with just the face sticking out, and use the needle.
Re: HELP!! Hand rearing/feeding
Thank you for all the replies.
I have him just because my friends mum breed them as aviary birds and when she said there were babies in the nest I asked if I could have one and rear him. The parents are both alive and well, as are the siblings.
I have had success with a tube on the end of a syringe (indented for crop tubing) and let him play with the moving tip, as he put it in his mouth I just give him little bits at a time until he finishes his food
I have him just because my friends mum breed them as aviary birds and when she said there were babies in the nest I asked if I could have one and rear him. The parents are both alive and well, as are the siblings.
I have had success with a tube on the end of a syringe (indented for crop tubing) and let him play with the moving tip, as he put it in his mouth I just give him little bits at a time until he finishes his food