A good thing to do is to invest in a book. One written by someone very knowledgable that you can use for reference. These sorts of books can be expensive, but worth the money.
Find yourself a mentor. Someone local who has experience that you can call and ask for help at any hours should any problems arise or you have concerns etc. They can teach you how to handfeed in advance so that you are prepared with the skill.
Have a vet available. Find yourself an out of hours clinic that you can visit in the event of emergencies.
Take into consideration your lifestyle. Will you be at home? With you be able to wake through the night every 2-3 hours should the little ones need handrearing from a young age? You would have to make sure that you have no vacations planned for the time you are expecting eggs to hatch and for the months afterwards factoring in that some birds take longer to wean. One of my chicks took 5.5 months to wean instead of the average less than 2, I had to cancel a lot of plans I had.
If you have a partner living with you, it is worth you both learning how to handfeed.
When researching, some of the info for breeding cockatiels and lovebirds is very similar to budgies, so you can read through articles for those birds, but just remember, growth rate and weights, feeding measurements and development stages will be different. But housing, temperatures, humidity, actual handfeeding, formula consistency and temp., weaning techniques will all be the same.
It´s a good idea to have the birds on the diet of your choice for a good few months before allowing breeding (seeds, pellets and veggies), and to have them fully flighted in a large cage. So you know who the parents are, house just one pair per cage (after they have paired up if you have multiple birds).
Start with allowing just one clutch first.
Attach the nestbox externally.
Equipment needed;
-Reference book
-Large cage with nestbox
-Shreddables/nesting material for parents
-Aspen shavings to line the box with (a good few inches - a bare box floor is not good)
-Brooder
-Heat pad
-Thermometer x2
-Hygrometer x2
-Pipettes
-Syringes/feeder spoon
-Small bowl or glass for mixing
-Formula
-ID Bands
-Small torch
-Calendar/diary to keep track of the chicks progress, weight, note temps, CC given, times etc
-Pedialyte
With these Links-I hope to bring You as Much information as I can to help anyone that finds them selves having to Hand feed A chick Lots of tips for Breeders-with links for Hand feeding etc http://www.parrotscanada.com/breeder...rbreeders.html A new way to Hand feed-With a Cup...
forums.avianavenue.com
Be sure to scroll down and read all the posts on that thread, there´s tonnes of info - handfeeding charts, the prep guides for lots of brands formulas, how to make a feeder spoon, using papaya to fix slow crop (with video tutorial), how to prep formula and loads of other stuff.
What is it? Spraddle leg, also known as splayed leg(s), is a condition where the legs of a chick are sticking outwards and the chick is not able to support it´s own body weight. A chicks legs should sit vertically under the body and not at an angle. What causes it? Insufficient bedding in the...
forums.avianavenue.com
What is a dummy egg? Dummy eggs are fake eggs, made to look identical to a real egg, same size, shape and weight. They are used for two very different reasons; for breeding and also to prevent breeding. They are also used to help chronic egg laying (commonly cockatiels) by giving the hen a full...
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