Superb Parrot - Nswfmpa.org

Animal Care Studies - Western Sydney Institute of TAFE, Richmond11.7 Brooder TemperaturesThe following are temperature guidelines for the brooding of parrot chicks:Newly hatched36.6°C5-12 days old 35° - 31.6°C12 days – pin-feather 31° - 28°COnce feathers begin tocover most of the body 26.5°C(Digney 1998)11.8 Diet and Feeding RoutineHand-rearing diet for day one to seven-day-old chicks: It has been indicated thatcurrently the best results when rearing day one to seven-day-old chicks is gained by theuse of commercially prepared diets such as Lakes Hand-rearing Formula or Wombaroo“granivore”.As soon as chicks are started on a hand-rearing food it is advisable to introduce digestionassistingbacteria into their crop. This process can be achieved by adding one of the manyproducts available for human use containing Lactobacillus acidophilus. Enough of theproduct to cover the head of a match in a level teaspoon of rearing food in each feed fortwo days is sufficient to introduce the desired bacteria.Hand-rearing diet for chicks over seven days: The following hand-rearing recipe hasprovided optimum growth rates for Polytelis species:1 cup ground chicken starter crumbles approximately 20% protein1 cup egg and biscuit canary rearing food or preferably ¼ cup of whole egg powder1 cup of sunflower meal1 cup Farex Baby Cereal or Heinz High Protein Baby Cereal1 level teaspoon of multi-vitamin and mineral powder1 level teaspoon of calcium carbonate powderThe dry mix is best stored in an airtight container and kept in a cool place. To prepare themix for feeding add hot, not boiling, water and allow cooling to a suitable temperature ofabout 40°C so as not to burn the chicks. A few drops of a liquid vitamin supplement suchas Penta-vite or Avi Drops are added to one feed each day.Feeding routine: Feeding should commence about two hours after hatching and continueat two hour intervals until 10-00 p.m. approximately, during the night feed at 2-00 a.m.and then commence the two hourly feeding at 6-00 a.m.During the first few hours or until the chick passes its first motion, feed only hydratingfluids, such as Gastrolyte, mixed with Lakes Hand-rearing formula mixed into a runnyconsistency. This fluid mixture should be fed for the first three days while graduallyKeith Naylor 28/3/2005 Version 3 69