Hello all,
Unfortunately I had to pull some eggs since my female was inconsistent with her brooding and letting them get cold. The majority of the clutch already went dark by the time I decided to intervene. Two of the little ones hatched 10/27 and today (10/30) and I feel they are doing okay but I would like to double-check my research and gets some tips from people with experience. Also a more urgent concern, I can WFM most days but there are roughly 2-3 days of the week where I have to go in. Since I work at a hospital there is no way to take them with me. I realize it is not ideal, but could they tolerate a 6-8 hour break in their feeding schedule for those days?
Their current care regimen:
Unfortunately I had to pull some eggs since my female was inconsistent with her brooding and letting them get cold. The majority of the clutch already went dark by the time I decided to intervene. Two of the little ones hatched 10/27 and today (10/30) and I feel they are doing okay but I would like to double-check my research and gets some tips from people with experience. Also a more urgent concern, I can WFM most days but there are roughly 2-3 days of the week where I have to go in. Since I work at a hospital there is no way to take them with me. I realize it is not ideal, but could they tolerate a 6-8 hour break in their feeding schedule for those days?
Their current care regimen:
- Brooder: I leave them in the incubator at 99.5 degF and roughly 40% humidity. I will transition them into a tank with a heatpad + thermostat below it as they grow up.
- Feedings: I withheld food for about 12 hours after hatching to allow time to digest the egg yolk. Kaytee Exact Hand Feeding Formula: For the first two days I’ve been following instructions on the packaging and mixing 1pt formula to 6pt water, fed at 108 degF. I remove bubbles from the syringe (with a magic tip) to minimize air going into the crop. Starting Day 3 I will be mixing 1pt formula to 3pt water. So far he has gotten about 6-7 feedings per day at roughly 2-3 hour intervals (I’m trying! They literally hatched before a giant deadline, but I’m working hard to manage time)
- Growth: The first chick hatched at 3g and weighed in at 4g on Day 2. He is active and alert, begs for food, holds his head up and can even flip himself back on his feet if he topples over. I feel like he’s not gaining as much weight as he should be, is this because 1:6 is too watery to start with?
- Is there a probiotic I can add to the regimen to help kickstart their digestive system? I’ve read about people adding yogurt, etc.
- I heard a strange clicking sound when he chirps this afternoon, but it went away after a couple hours. I only feed a tiny bit (left to right) and give time in-between. The magic tip is actually really nice at controlling the amount and there’s never a mess, but I’m kind of worried that he managed to aspirate somehow? Is this normal?
- Is there any chance mom will take them? She only has the eggs that I left with her (darkened ones) and she isn’t really brooding anymore.