A Delemia! Mousebird babies... Input needed.

[srtiels]

what a big mouth

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Yes it is. I just got done feeding them. I tried some small chunks of papaya and banana with the BN. The tongue is like a frogs tongue and actually is maneuverable and it tried to curl it under the fruit to bring it back in the mouth to help the food down it's throat. Rather strange to see. And it will hold it's tongue off to the side so that the formula goes down the right side. This is so different than the WB chicks.

 

[Thugluvgrl187]

Glad that all turned out ok and I have to say that is one BIG mouth lol.

 

[srtiels]

No Valentines chick. It hatched and got killed (found the little body) I'm starting to realize that they want to only raise 1 chick at a time, so I'm going to have to work around that in the future.

But the fostered baby is doing great, nice and plump and grwing well. it will be 3 days old the PM.

 

[srtiels]

The fostered BN chick is doing great and growing. It is now the size of the little brat I am handfeeding, when I switched it from the nest. Poor Chubs still gets stuck chick-sitting when the parents go down to feed.

 

[waterfaller1]

Aww..hope this one's the girl!

 

[srtiels]

I think that the one I'm handfeeding might be a girl. It is more petite than Chubs, and a little more agile and smarter. I noticed with the WB there was a slight variation to body size between sexes when young so I'm hoping the same holds true for the BN.

Hopefully next week I can send out feathers to have these little ones sexed.

 

[srtiels]

The little fostered chick is 10 days old. I just pulled the little one for handfeeding. At this age Chubbs was 23 grams, and this one is 24 grams. I'm suspecting it might be a little male.

 

[waterfaller1]

AWwwwww!! Such a cutie. You have to train my new one to not be spoiled.

 

[srtiels]

I'm suspecting with the BN, especially the males, like to be pampered. I'll go by the cue of the little ones bowing their heads that they are done eating. And as I start to wean them and they are starting to eat on their own not also try to offer finger fed foods. Gryphon wouldn't eat when I first got him, and he wouldn't hang so I started holding food for him...which makes me think he has now totally relapsed to being a baby again. Once I moved him in with the adult BN then he was fine.

 

[waterfaller1]

Gryphon wouldn't eat when I first got him, and he wouldn't hang so I started holding food for him...which makes me think he has now totally relapsed to being a baby again. Once I moved him in with the adult BN then he was fine.

Ahah!! So there is a reason. Why that little stinker. No wonder he got so excited last evening when he heard your voice. Not only does he miss you, he thought you were going to feed him through that funny looking black plastic thing with the holes and numbers on it...

 

[waterfaller1]

Bump for Francois.

 

[CaptainHowdy]

Can I ask why they all die around 3 days old if handreared? I am currently in a situation with my Speckled where I may be forced to handrear from day 1 - 3eggs currently in incubator as the parents abandoned them.
I have handreared Pekin Robins before and did have a similar problem where they all died at the 5 day mark but we managed to resolve this by changing their diet.

 

[waterfaller1]

Talk to Susanne. We have been discussing this and she presently has a new hatch from the incubator just today. She believes it's too much fiber, and is going to try other foods/formulas.