Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 5:45 am Post subject: Handrearing - weight gain
Hi all,
We are handrearing a 4 weeks old kakariki. We tried feeding him with a syringe, but he prefers a spoon. He weighs around 90gram. I read somewere that he should gain 10 to 13% of is bodyweight every day. But is this still true when he's 4 weeks old? He asks for his food and eats till he has enough (when he turns is head and loses interest) Is this a bad way? We do not exactly know how much he eats, but it's around 10grams. (we weigh him before and after he eats) A grown-up kakariki weighs around 100 grams, I heard, so I don't think he can gain that much.
PS The proportion and temperature of the mixture are right.
We read that from day 25, he only needs 3 dinners a day. We did not change from 4 feedings to 3 feedings a day, because after 4-5 hours he starts begging for food. Should we ignore that?
as far as I know parrots should be weaned in abundance, meaning that you should feed them as much as they ask.
I think you should only remove takes when you have a feeling he is already eating enough on his own. Start removing the mid-day meal, then remove breakfast, and lastly the night-meal. But only when he is eating enough on his own.
I have only handfed kakariki once, and they loose interest very quickly after a few sips of baby formula and they fly away. You know... there's a lot of stuff to investigate, they can't waste time eating LOL
Nevertheless kakariki are very awake birds and they wean quickly. As they investigate everything any food items you make available to them they try them out quickly.
I'd suggest you feed them bits of veggies, soaked pulses, sweet corn, etc... soft stuff so that he is able to eat it.
Hope this helps!
Cheers / Pablo _________________ AD ASTRA PER ASPERA
Thanks for the reply. They are very curious indeed. He eats apple and eggfood. But only little. He picks on his "millet" (don't know if that is the right translation) but I don't know if he really eats it. The same with the normal seeds. We'll try some corn tomorrow.
that avatar is one of the chicks that I handreared, cutest thing ever
it's normal that in the beginning they only "crack" the seed but they don't eat the kernel yet, but they learn quickly, just keep some soft-foods available to them, they play with it and eventually learn to eat it, also the hard-seeds
keep us updated with their progress and don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have
very few guys here handrear but a lot of stuff is applicable, that's why I always suggest people to watch 1-2 parent-raised clutches before they attempt hand-rearing, you learn a lot by watching the parents
a good buddy of mine, also Spanish, what she does is leaving the chicks with the parents and feeds them a syringe everyday, and they are as tame and as sticky as if they were fully-handreared, but with a lot less work
and other guys like Steps just handles them in the nest once in a while and they are all over him (check pics in the gallery)
I also handle them in the nest and they readily come to mess with my shoes and shoelaces, even perch on my shoulder _________________ AD ASTRA PER ASPERA
other guys like Steps just handles them in the nest once in a while
WE Dont even bother with that now, over the yrs have found far easier to tame avairy breed parrots if they havnt been handled at all. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
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