Urgent health issue with our owl fledgling

[cindy]

Try pipettes too handfeed with too.... work great and you can keep several filled in a warm cup of water.

[a_gouldian]

Try pipettes too handfeed with too.... work great and you can keep several filled in a warm cup of water.

We were using this tool after I found it on Amazon because the toothpicks weren't working well as the chick got older. This is stainless steel and all the edges are smooth. The Owl Finch seemed to love this and would grab onto it and we didn't have to worry about injuring the back of the throat past the tongue. We used the end that is shaped like a very tiny narrow spoon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0061 ... UTF8&psc=1

[a_gouldian]

Oh, I am so sorry to hear this! I have gone through this with hand feds myself, losing them after weeks of bonding and feeding, and it is just heartbreaking. As others have said, it could be that there was some underlying issue with this baby, and he was actually doomed from the start. The fact that he did not want to wean makes me think there was something else going on that was out of your control.

As far as the other Owl eggs with the Societies, yes Owl babies do often beg with one wing raised up, but so do Strawberry babies, and I had two Societies who raised 4 Berry babies all the way to weaning. By the time they do the raised wing bit, the Societies will have been feeding them already, already committed to them. Just keep an eye on them.

If we ever encounter the situation were the Societies stop feeding after they fledge, we would use formula to hand feed, correct? And would they have a problem adapting to formula at that point after they have been fed seed, sprouted seed, egg food, and miracle meal by the Societies?

[Sally]

Often, it is next to impossible to hand feed a finch once it has fledged, if you haven't been feeding before fledging. For whatever reason, once they fledge and then need hand feeding, they will clamp those little beaks shut and refuse to open them. You usually have to force the beaks open, which isn't easy to do, but can be done by sliding an old plastic credit card in the side of the beak. It will slip in and the beak will open, but it is still an uphill battle to get them to eat. Because they are fighting it, it is easy to aspirate them too.

Yes, you would use formula, just a thicker consistency, like pudding. Remember that the Societies would have been feeding them regurgitated food.

[cindy]

I have had to step in feed out fledged babies... like Sally said it is not easy, once they realize the food is coming from you it get's easier. I have also soaked pellets, mashed and warmed a bit and it helps also.

[ac12]

Try pipettes too handfeed with too.... work great and you can keep several filled in a warm cup of water.

We were using this tool after I found it on Amazon because the toothpicks weren't working well as the chick got older. This is stainless steel and all the edges are smooth. The Owl Finch seemed to love this and would grab onto it and we didn't have to worry about injuring the back of the throat past the tongue. We used the end that is shaped like a very tiny narrow spoon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0061 ... UTF8&psc=1

This is similar to what I use.
https://www.birdsupplynh.com/catalog/pr ... 6d3a6ab938
The chick will latch onto the pipete and swallow it down its throat, so it is easy to get the food into the crop. The pipete completely covers the formula, so the formula does not get into their mouth, to possibly aspirate the chick. But you do have to be careful how much you feed. Too much and it will backup into the mouth and possibly aspirate the chick.

Because the pipete is plastic, it is more difficult to clean than the ss spoon/paddle that you used. And cleanliness is critical.

[cindy]

To clean you can draw up some water to clean out any formula and then set in a cup of bleach and water into the bulb or use virkon S...before using empty the pipette and flush by drawing up clean water into the bulb a few times

pipettes work great.... as Gary mentioned. Just do not squeeze too much into the crop to fast.

If feeding newly hatched babies one crop will only fill at first, eventually both will fill the next few feedings

[ac12]

To feed fledglings, I have used a feeding tube (cheap version of a crop needle). The tip of the tube is used to pry open the beak, and the tube then is guided down the the throat. So you can feed them even if they don't want to be fed by you. Like many things, it was SCARY to do the first few times, then I started to get the hang of it. I still had to be careful, but it wasn't so scary to do.

I may have to get a proper crop needle, but the feeding tube did OK for me, and was a LOT cheaper.

[cindy]

L&M Legband sells crop needles also...good to have on hand either a crop need or pipette if needing to medicate and feed a very ill sick adult bird too