Hand feeding tool

[cindy]

Evening everbody,

I used to hand feed all kinds of birds but finches. I did not syrine feed, I spoon feed using a silver spoon bent to form a "v". I preferred spoon feeding since it was more natural for the bird, allowing the baby's feeding reflex action to help the food to move into it's crop.

I fed day old, newborn parrotlets. I used to foster a friend's baby parrotlets when we had 4 hurricane threats come through and they lost power.

One trick I learned with many mouths to feed was using a bent plastic spoon.

Here's how you do it:

Using the thinnest, smallest plastic spoons you can find (usually sold in a large box of 50 to 100.)

Boil some water, as soon as it reaches a rolling boil dip the spoon in the water (not the handle) for about 10 seconds (this varies on the thickeness of the spoon, increase time by 5 seconds until plyable)

Take the spoon out of the hot water and push the side of the spoon on the counter until it bends. It may take a few times of dipping it and bending it until you get the shape you want, once that side is done do the other side.

I would make them in quanity to have on hand. Trust me I broke a few because the spoon cooled causing it to crack if pressed on to hard.

Just a thought, I don't know if this "tool" will work for finches.

[Sally]

It might work for the larger species, but not for the smaller ones. The banding tool is almost too big for 1-2 day old hatchlings as it is, especially waxbills, so then you can use a fine artist's brush and let the baby suck the formula off that.

[atarasi]

Yup, Sally is right. The aluminum banding tool is a bit too big at first for a newborn, but then works perfectly once they are at least 5 days old. I've used a blade of Bermuda grass to feed newborns.

Cindy, think small if not tiny. Newborn finches are incredibly tiny compared to a hookbill.

[cindy]

I thought it might be to big but I figured I would post it. Maybe somone hand feeding out a little bit larger bird like parrotlets or parakeets could use this.