CandoAviary wrote:Sorry for your loss especialy after the initial success. I have hand fed also and it is tough to know what goes wrong sometimes.
I agree with Tiffany, probably a combination of yeast and too cold of temperature. Nest time if there is one, when small feed smaller more often food. Make sure food stays warm and chicks stay warm. Some suggest adding applesauce to the formula to inhibit the yeast, though I have bnever done this.
If it is any consolation, I hand feed chicks the exact same way everytime. 90% survive but that 10% never do. Sometimes I wonder if those same individuals would of survived with thier bird parents. Sometimes things just aren't meant to be.
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Hi... I am sorry for your loss.
I have never hand fed finches but have done day old parrotlets and lovebirds. Before there was handfeeding formula I used to make my own (no I am not ancient) and it contained applesauce along with rice baby cereal, soaked softened monkey chow biscuits, unsweeten applesauce, honey, petamine (very young chicks only take the powdered part not the seeds) and wheat germ add to hot water and cool to the temp you need to feed at. I never use a syrine but a silver (metal) baby spoon bent to form a fine v out of the tip.
Feeding newborns is always tricky, some chicks handle formula fine others need it adjusted. I know several breeders of hookbills, including myself at one time that use applesauce even pumpkin puree as the chick gets a little bigger. (pumpkin puree is excellent to give to a chick that is ill, you add a little to the handfeeding formula) If you ever choose to use applesauce, use unsweeten plain, you can use the organic. Some of the breeders I know use it all the time right from the start, they say it keeps the crop from getting impacted.
I am also inclined to say what happened to your chicks sounds like a yeast problem. A friend of mine had me feed out some baby parrotlets for him, he had brought over an incubator for me. Things were going fine, the babies were thriving. Unfortunately we had a storm come through, we lost our power for hours and it shorted the incubator out during the night. Something made me get up early, I noticed we had no power. I checked the chicks (not fully feathered) they were cold.
The power outage must have happened shortly after the last nightly feeding since the crops looked full. I warmed them in my hands and a towel close to my chest as I boiled rice to fill plastic bags then wrapped the bags in faceclothes to act as a warmer.
Something odd happened the babies had a foam similiar to what you described coming from their mouth, they would stretch their necks out straight, as they lowered their necks they swayed their heads in a wavey motion then dropped the heads. They could not upright themselves. I called my friend and he said to try to feed warm water (temp used to feed at) with a little apple sauce diluted in it to try to make the food in the crop pass.
Two of the littlest ones passed away, the other 3 pulled through. My friend took the bodies to the vet and she confirmed yeast, the heater failing caused the babies to not be able empty their crops properly.
It is sad to loose such little ones. I hope you are ok.
My thoughts are with you.
:: <head
