A pink booger, a black spot

[MisterGribs]

Here's a picture of him! A link, since I don't know how to post pictures and get them to just appear.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5ufocss1hpwom ... r.jpg?dl=0

It's hard to catch him holding still, any time I come near him he senses a disturbance in the force (No idea how he can sense me approaching) and starts doing backflips trying to beg for more food. He's always hungry, even when he's NOT. I can hardly wait till he starts screaming...



Last night was rough, lol

[MisterGribs]

Babs

I generally try to leave him in the brooder with the lid closed unless it's feeding time. When it is, I have him in the little easter egg capsule which lays on top of the heat source and holds the warmth in for the duration of the feeding and he usually has a blanket too.

I'm always worried I'm gonna drop him, contaminate him, or accidentally inhale him on top of him getting cold, haha

Thanks for your help and advice, he seems to be doing great. He doesn't seem to pass much, if any uric acid.. he just seems to pass straight water. He isn't dehydrated though, so I guess this is normal??

[Babs _Owner]

MisterGribs

You're feeding him a watery mixture, so watery poops are normal. You may want to thicken it up just a little bit.

By day 3 I will give them more of a feed. Which means I will give enough food to stretch the crop out a bit so they can hold more food. Thats something thats hard to describe. You have to be able to do it in a way that doesnt aspirate the chick. By now you should know your chick's reflexes.

If the chick pulls back you have to immediately cease the flow of food. If the crop is still only holding a drop of food , let him latch on again and feed until the crop holds about 3 times that amount.

[lovezebs]

MisterGribs

Good morning,

How is the tiny tater tot doing?

Love his little picture, all curled up like a tiny macaroni noodle, having a nap

How old is he today?

Regarding posting pictures...
The only method that works for me:

Once you post your message,
Click PREVIEW
Click CHOOSE FILE
Go into DOCUMENTS
Click GALLERY (or picture files, or images)
Click on DESIRED PICTURE
Click PREVIEW again, and your picture should appear right beneath your post.

Good luck.

[MisterGribs]

Babs Right now his crop, when full and only has a few wrinkles left, is half the size of his head, or two eyeballs' worth. I just feed until the crop is snugly filled but not tight. On day 3, I should feed more than this???

[MisterGribs]

lovezebs He's 54 hours old now! Almost to the minute. .He's doing well, really energetic compared to the last quitter. He has literally done a backflip in front of me when I opened the brooder.

A finch is the smallest bird, and the youngest, I have ever had to handfeed and it's scarier than I thought, lol.

Thanks for the picture advice!!

[MisterGribs]

Here's another from this morning

[lovezebs]

MisterGribs

Feed a bit more my friend.
He needs more food in him.

[MisterGribs]

lovezebs Will do! I'm very afraid of aspirating.. But I could try to give him a bit more, since the pros are suggesting it.

He has a lot of air bubbles in his crop. I'm also afraid of trying to burp him, as he's so small.

[MisterGribs]

I tried giving him more food, but now I'm worried I've aspirated him! Is there some way I can tell?

[lovezebs]

MisterGribs

Don't attempt burping.
Air bubbles are normal, not to worry about them.

I hope you didn't aspirate him, don't even think it!

What are you using to feed him with?

[Ricardo Ronsini]

MisterGribs

With a chick that small, if he had aspirated the food, he would die almost immediately.

Sadly it happened to me and to a friend of mine, both the chicks died within minutes, so, i doubt he had aspirateded.

[MisterGribs]

lovezebs a really tiny syringe! And since the bubbles appeared, a paintbrush.

His whole crop almost is a bubble, it's more bubble than food! I've sterilized and made fresh food for each feeding, so it couldn't be yeast?

[MisterGribs]

Ricardo Ronsini whew, good to know. He is still alive in the brooder, now

[lovezebs]

MisterGribs

The air in there is just that 'air'. He's swallowing air in his enthusiasm to get the food in.

Not sure how much food you can get into him with a paint brush.

At this stage, the food should not be liquid anymore, it should be a bit thicker (sort of like thin pudding)

If you are not comfortable with the syringe, you can take a strand of spaghetti and flatten it a bit in some hot water and pick up tiny bits of food and place it inside his mouth to his right side.