As you see I am making myself crazy with worrying over these little guys. Everything has to be just right...not too cold...not too hot. What if I do something wrong and one of these babies suffer? OMG I am worse than when I brought my son home from the hospital 16 years ago!!!

Jill managed to raise 3 of her babies. I pulled the oldest 2 on Sat. The oldest was 2 wks. old the next almost 2 weeks. I let the baby stay with Jill for a few more days. The older 2 are green and the baby is blue. They are so precious. If I can figure out how to post a pict. I will. My friend explained to us how to feed and then she feed one and my hubby and I feed the other. I am reading everything I can get my hands on and have been for the last 6 months. There is so many conflicting things out there to read. My breeder said the formula in the syringe should be no hotter than 105 no colder than 102. I have read from 110 being ok to 100 being ok. What is right?

Next question how do you keep your formula in the syringe at the right temp? I am mixing it up with water about the right temp. Then placing the syringes in a thermal mug with about 106 water in it. I noticed last night when we got ready to feed that the formula was chilled. It took forever to get it to the right temp. It would kill my heart if I burned one of my babies or their formula soured in their crop. How do you do it?

They are in a aquairum glass tank with a heating pad under 1/2 on med. We tested this for 3 days before we pulled them to make sure the heat stayed the same temp. After, I moved them to the living room it is staying a little cooler. Around 85 to 92 in the warm side around 77 in the colder side. Today when I got home from work they had moved over to the colder side. They were hungry and pecking the glass. It is so cool to see them starting to walk.

Another question, how much should babies at 2 1/2 weeks eat at a time? How thick should their formula be? They eat all of it and act like they are still starving. The older 2 are taking about 9 cc. The younger took about 8 cc this afternoon. What should their crop feel or look like? Believe me I have read all of this but as I said everything is conflicting and I trust you guys with my babies.

Sorry so long....Can't figure out how to post a pict. When I do I will post.

Ruffles Worried Momma
Cathy

Cathy,
I haven't raised babies, but I did hand feed Gabby for a couple of months after she came to live with us. I used a spoon to feed her....I am sure more experienced people will be on soon, but I just wanted to say that I think you are supposed to be feeding them several times in 24 hours, around the clock..like 5-6 times..If they are going all day while you are at work, they may not be getting enough food. Gabby was 12 weeks old when we brought her home (CAG) and I was feeding her 2-3 times per day, so I am sure you are supposed to be feeding these babies around the clock every 3-4 hours.. You definately don't want to give them too much at this age, per feeding...I think it is so many CC's per gm of body weight. But 9cc sounds like a lot for a 2 week old baby..of course, I am not 100% sure about this...
Too hot and it will burn their crop and too cold and it will sour. do you have an avian vet that you can call in case of emergency? They can also give your some guidelines on feeding...

Rebecca

i dont know anything about any of that... BUT
i cant wait to see the babies!!!

They should be getting fed at least 4 times a day at 2-3 weeks old I imagine 10 cc is just about right. As long as you keep the food between 100 and 110 105 is ideal....and I try to stay no higher than 108. Keeping the food warm is tricky but once you get the hang of feeding them you can just squirt the whole syringe down in one or two shots. But they do need at least 4 feedings a day Or watch and when their crop is empty then its time to feed them again. If they still act hungry after you've given them 10cc and the crop looks well rounded and full its ok. They'll tend to beg whether they're really hungry or not.

PM Andie Wan Kenobi and she can give you more specifics on quantities than I can...

Sometimes to keep the food warm I have a bowl of hotter water that I set the cup of baby food in and I keep the thermometer in it to make sure it doesn't get too hot. But if you can keep it at 100-105 that's fine.

As far as consistency it should be about like pancake batter.

Hey,

I guess I didn't mention that we are feeding them 4 times a day. That is the reason that hubby learned to feed also. We both feed about 6 am. Hubby feeds about 11am. I feed about 4:30pm. Then we both again before bedtime. Thank you all for your encouragement.

aww good luck with the feedings, and post some pics of those babies soon if you can I'm sure they are super cute!

sounds like you got some great advice. I know nothing about feeding babies. I fed Kiwi by a spoon when I brought him home because he wasn't eating. I can't wait until you post pictures of the little ones.

Can't wait , to see pictures, of the babies. Are you going to keep them all ?

Isn't there something about which side of the beak to feed them on?
I would be scared to squirt it too fast...they can aspirate...of course, I'm no expert...
Andie will be able to tell you better....

Rebecca