Question about formula for hand feeding

[columna1]

I'm having to hand feed a 3 day old white face cockatiel and after doing a bunch of googling I read that they should take 1-2cc per feeding.
Reading the formula container it says to use about 10-12% of the chick's weight per feeding. My chick weighs about 5.6 grams.
To me, It's crop seems to be full around .5-.6mil why do so many sources say 1-2mil? am I underfeeding my chick?
Also when I put it back into the brooder sometimes it will continue to do the fast chirps for a couple mins like it's trying to swallow while being fed. is that normal?

 

[Matto]

How much weight has it been gaining per day? How many feedings per day are you doing and how are they spaced out?

 

[columna1]

How much weight has it been gaining per day? How many feedings per day are you doing and how are they spaced out?

I've been feeding about every two hours, 24/7 planning to stop overnight after the 4th day. so roughly 11-12 feedings a day.
The formula bottle says crop should be empty or nearly empty so once or twice the feedings were delayed by maybe a half an hour.
I didn't get a weight on day one but Yesterday morning, eve of day 2 it was at 4.1g . This morning (about 14 hours ago) it was at 5.1 grams and now its around 5.5-5.6 as of the last feeding
measurements were taken before feeding and after it poops in my hand

 

[Laurie]

I've been feeding about every two hours, 24/7 planning to stop overnight after the 4th day. so roughly 11-12 feedings a day.
The formula bottle says crop should be empty or nearly empty so once or twice the feedings were delayed by maybe a half an hour.
I didn't get a weight on day one but Yesterday morning, eve of day 2 it was at 4.1g . This morning (about 14 hours ago) it was at 5.1 grams and now its around 5.5-5.6 as of the last feeding
measurements were taken before feeding and after it poops in my hand

I haven't fed cockatiels in particular but it's best to use the feed when empty and feed about 10-12 percent body weight formula, rather than a schedule or an age-based recommendation. It sounds like your weight gain is good. I would keep it up. Make sure you are brooding him appropriately and just keep plugging away.

I know it's a lot but you can do it. I feel ya. I have been feeding baby caiques for the last week and a half (every 3-4 hours). Literally, my alarm just went off to go feed them again. As the baby grows and eats more the crop will take longer to empty and you can space out the feedings more. They grow quickly so as long as they are gaining weight you are doing good. Also be aware of the formula consistency, day 1-5 is usually a little thinner and also contributes to the need to feed more often. At day 5 the formula can usually be slowly thickened to a normal consistency. Be sure to watch for slow crop or any other problems if you make changes, go slow with changes and keep an eye on what is working. On day 1-5 I like for the formula to melt back into itself a drop is dropped back into the mix. At day 6 and up I like to be able to see the drop sit on top for just a second as it slowly melts back into the mix.

We'd love to see some pictures too

 

[Matto]

I've been feeding about every two hours, 24/7 planning to stop overnight after the 4th day. so roughly 11-12 feedings a day.
The formula bottle says crop should be empty or nearly empty so once or twice the feedings were delayed by maybe a half an hour.
I didn't get a weight on day one but Yesterday morning, eve of day 2 it was at 4.1g . This morning (about 14 hours ago) it was at 5.1 grams and now its around 5.5-5.6 as of the last feeding
measurements were taken before feeding and after it poops in my hand

Sounds like you're doing good. Make sure the brooder temperature is consistent and that the formula isn't too hot (105 Fahrenheit maximum). Other than that, keep doing what you're doing.

 

[columna1]

...We'd love to see some pictures too

Thanks, that makes me feel better. Having not had any kids I'm thinking this is activating some primal parenting function in me and causing me a ton of anxiety.

Now, for the fun show and tell:
Being a tech guy I have built my own brooder with a cooler poked with a ton of holes, zigbee temp/humidity sensor for monitoring which will send an alarm to my phone if something is wrong, 3d printed the guard for the humidity bowl, used a PC fan and some ni-chrome wire with a 3d printed guard for the heater. using a PID controller in a 3d printed enclosure calibrated with every thermometer I had.
Still not all that sure about what temp I should be keeping it at. Everyone seems to have a different opinion.
Although everything is sitting out in between feedings it's sterilized with boiling water before every use.
It's kinda hard to get good pics, the chick wiggles around quite a bit.
Let me know if you see anything worrying or if you have improvements you think I should make.

 

[columna1]

Sounds like you're doing good. Make sure the brooder temperature is consistent and that the formula isn't too hot (105 Fahrenheit maximum). Other than that, keep doing what you're doing.

Thanks, I tend to overthink things. Here's a graph of the temp of the brooder over the time the bird has been in it.

 

[Laurie]

I love that you are tracking everything, that is important. You'll want to get the humidity up to at least 50%. 50% is usually pretty comfy for most critters. I am not sure about cockatiels in particular. You might want to verify, the requirement could be higher. Low humidity can cause dehydration in a roundabout way. Try hanging a wet cloth in such a way that the fan blows across it.

The brooder is pretty cool. The only other thing I would mention is to make sure that your heat source can't melt anything.

We have built several brooders (I still use two of them for travel and my older babies).

Most brooders, even purchased ones leave a lot to the owner to be creative with getting the humidity right.

A couple years ago I started monitoring the temp and humidity with a sensor that sends alerts if it is out of range. It gives me so much piece of mind.

That little bird looks super stuffed. Just make sure not to fill him up so much that it goes all the way up his neck. Still with 10-15% of his weight and you should be good. Make sure to keep him very clean, wipe off any spilled formula with a damp tissue (I find a kleenex is easiest because it is thin and make it easy to wipe small faces and such).

The babies are cute in a funny sort of way. I'll post some pics of mine. Does yours have a name yet?

 

[Laurie]

Also, if you are interested here is a video that I made in cooperation with the Association of Avian Veterinarians. It has info about older babies but mostly applies to the little ones too.

 

[Laurie]

 

[IQ's Human]

Thanks, that makes me feel better. Having not had any kids I'm thinking this is activating some primal parenting function in me and causing me a ton of anxiety.

Now, for the fun show and tell:
Being a tech guy I have built my own brooder with a cooler poked with a ton of holes, zigbee temp/humidity sensor for monitoring which will send an alarm to my phone if something is wrong, 3d printed the guard for the humidity bowl, used a PC fan and some ni-chrome wire with a 3d printed guard for the heater. using a PID controller in a 3d printed enclosure calibrated with every thermometer I had.
Still not all that sure about what temp I should be keeping it at. Everyone seems to have a different opinion.
Although everything is sitting out in between feedings it's sterilized with boiling water before every use.
It's kinda hard to get good pics, the chick wiggles around quite a bit.
Let me know if you see anything worrying or if you have improvements you think I should make.

I love the ingenuity of building your own brooder...Bravo! As a former auto mechanic (many,many moons ago) and the "cool" grandparent who helps my 17 yr old grandson with gaming code, I'm always fascinated by DIY tech. So thanks for sharing that.

As for your newest almost feathery family member.... Welcome to the world! May yours be a long, happy, healthy life.

 

[columna1]

I love that you are tracking everything, that is important. You'll want to get the humidity up to at least 50%. 50% is usually pretty comfy for most critters. I am not sure about cockatiels in particular. You might want to verify, the requirement could be higher. Low humidity can cause dehydration in a roundabout way. Try hanging a wet cloth in such a way that the fan blows across it.

The brooder is pretty cool. The only other thing I would mention is to make sure that your heat source can't melt anything.

We have built several brooders (I still use two of them for travel and my older babies).

Most brooders, even purchased ones leave a lot to the owner to be creative with getting the humidity right.

A couple years ago I started monitoring the temp and humidity with a sensor that sends alerts if it is out of range. It gives me so much piece of mind.

That little bird looks super stuffed. Just make sure not to fill him up so much that it goes all the way up his neck. Still with 10-15% of his weight and you should be good. Make sure to keep him very clean, wipe off any spilled formula with a damp tissue (I find a kleenex is easiest because it is thin and make it easy to wipe small faces and such).

The babies are cute in a funny sort of way. I'll post some pics of mine. Does yours have a name yet?

Thanks for the tips, noted, and implemented
The heat source melting was something I was worried about so I used a relatively low voltage and a specced the wire out to use a reasonable amount of power (40w at 20v) as to be safe to handle and such. It's wired up in such a way that the fan will never be off if the coil has the chance of being powered which I found to be quite safe. max temp I could achieve (without any holes in the cooler) was about 120F
I've been real careful about how much I feed. I watch the neck and crop very carefully. I do believe at this point it could eat a bit more but I keep it around 10-12% per feeding I do agree the picture did make the crop looked stuffed and while it did look mostly full it wasn't stretched like in the pic when he wasn't laying on it. Thanks for the video, it's very informative.
As for the name, I am horrible with names. my coworkers seem to like hugo or something. I'll confer with them some more.

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Perfect! This is almost exactly how I settled on holding the bird while feeding. I'll take notes on the bedding. thanks

I love the ingenuity of building your own brooder...Bravo! As a former auto mechanic (many,many moons ago) and the "cool" grandparent who helps my 17 yr old grandson with gaming code, I'm always fascinated by DIY tech. So thanks for sharing that.

As for your newest almost feathery family member.... Welcome to the world! May yours be a long, happy, healthy life.

Awesome, thanks for the compliments! I'm glad people liked seeing it. I found programming to be an amazingly rewarding hobby. I love that you are helping out the grandson with it. Keep up the amazing work! wish my grandparents were as cool as you. My grand parents are cool, just not as cool.

Thanks again for all your tips and words of encouragement. We'll keep trying our best and try to keep you all updated. The chick is about 6.24 grams this morning and still as wiggly as ever!

 

[columna1]

Day 16 after hatch update!
Sent in the egg shell for genetic sexing and it's a boy!
Pin feathers are coming in full force and he's real energetic and demanding. Weight and food intake seem healthy from what I've read. This morning he weighed 66.7g. It's crazy how much they gain. some 5-6 g/day at this point.
He has been real messy when he eats these past few days but we make do. Polled coworkers. There was a tie between the names of Sol and Hugo. Sol because our other pet's names are Luna, Eve, and Stella. I think we are leaning towards Hugo at the moment.
I want to thank you again Laurie, I remember your advice about the consistency of the formula every time I mix it up.
I'll try and update at least once more at a later date. Cheers!
Here are some pictures:

 

[IQ's Human]

He looks amazing, and so very handsome.

Not that you asked, but Hugo would get my vote. I had a neighbor with that name when I was a kid, and he was the bravest man in my 7 year o!d eyes. Our cat at the time had gotten herself up in a 30+ ft dead tree in the woods behind the house. It was on a steep slope, no branches left to speak of, and Hugo, who was surviving on dialysis, insisted on being the one to go up and get her. His reason was he knew his days were far fewer than my fathers, and obviously he felt it would be better if something were to go wrong that a young family not lose their father.It was an extraordinary act of bravery and kindness that I will never forget.

I'm back living in my childhood home, and in my minds eye I can still see Hugo, sitting across the street on the stone wall...petting the cat whose life he saved...