How to Hand Feed Baby Finches
Hand-feeding baby finches is a risky business due to their extreme fragility. It requires a large commitment of time and dedication, but is very rewarding when successful. If you can feed hatchling finches every few hours day and night for the first seven days, your success rate will increase exponentially. After a week the feedings should be reduced to just once a day.
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Things You'll Need
- Candy thermometer
- Hand-feeding formula
- Pedialyte
- Hot water
- Flat toothpicks
- Cotton swabs
- Sterile containers
Instructions
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1
Mix a hand-feeding formula with Pedialyte, and warm it to about 85 degrees. Hand-feeding formulas are commercially available. Use a candy thermometer to maintain a proper feeding temperature.
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2
Insert a flat toothpick into the formula mixture and pull out just enough for the bird to swallow.
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3
Touch the corner of the bird's beak with the toothpick and speak in low tones. The bird should beg for the formula immediately. If it doesn't stroke it gently on the back.
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4
Clean the bird's beak and skin with a moist cotton swab immediately after feeding. Any left over formula can quickly grow into a harmful bacteria.
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Tips & Warnings
Make the formula very thin for new hatchlings, and thicken it as they age.
Feed the toothpick-sized portions of formula until the bird's crop appears almost full. It bulges slightly at the bottom of the base of the neck, and appears yellowish in color.
Always use sterile equipment and containers when dealing with baby birds and never re-use formula.
Do not feed large amounts all at once as baby birds cannot breath while feeding.
Do not share equipment and utensils between birds, as this can spread deadly infection.
