Thanks to the following people for all your help:
Ilene Holdaway - my friend in Salt Lake City Debbie Pappas - my friend here in Price Sheila at Sundown Aviary Jennifer at L & M Bird Leg Bands Inc. This journal will be kept as a stringent record for the first 28 days which is a crutial time for the chick. Afterwards it will be maintained once a day. If you have questions or comments please email them to me here. Weights in bold italics are true weights with an empty crop. Please be aware that little Miracle died unexpectedly at 4:00 a.m on a Sunday morning at 41 days of age; right in front of me! I was absolutely devistated. I didn't go to work for nearly 3 weeks. I have added details of the necropsy report at the end of this record.
| DATE | WEIGHT | TIME | AMOUNT EATEN | COMMENTS & INFO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07/15/02 | N/A | 3:55 p.m. | 0.8cc | 1 Day Old Hatched precisely @ 11:00 a.m.; first feeding was very large. I have the brooder going at 98.5 degrees F and 50% humidity just in case I have to use it. I am allowing Kitty (hen) to keep the chick warm for now in hopes she will feed the chick. |
| N/A | 6:00 p.m. | 0.2cc | Not much eaten but the chick is energetic and a nice flesh color. | |
| N/A | 8:30 p.m. | 0.2cc | The chick is a little more red in color than what I would like but is doing fine. | |
| 17g | 11:25 p.m. | 0.2cc | Definately had to use the brooder. Kitty wasn't sitting on the chick so it was cold when I got it for this feeding. I figured I had better let it warm up in the brooder before I fed it to be on the safe side. It is not as active now as it has been earlier. I hope I'm doing things right by using my own judgement. It went 3 hours between the last feeding! It has had its first bowl movement since I braught it home and put it in the brooder. At least things are working correctly. Digital Picture Taken | |
| 07/16/02 | 15g | 1:30 a.m. | 1.0cc | The little tike was definately hungry this time. It hasn't eaten this much yet. Its skin was pretty red which means dehydration so that might have been the reason it ate so much. I am now mixing the Hagen formula with Pedialite only instead of water and making it very runny for moisture and to ensure proper electrolytes. It was very voiceterous for this feeding. |
| 16g | 3:30 a.m. | 1.2cc | It must have been starving and it had a STRONG feeding response. It had a very nice flesh tone to its skin! I'm so tired I about died and jumped out of my skin when the alarm went off! | |
| 18g | 5:30 a.m. | 0.5cc | Just a little hint of red to its skin, but not bad. I'm surprised it didn't eat more but it quickly lets me know when it has had enough. | |
| 18g | 7:30 a.m. | 1.0cc | It still had a little hint of red to the skin but it is a livable amount. Had a hardy appetite again. Had 3 bowl movements since the previous feeding. | |
| 18g | 9:30 a.m. | 0.6cc | Has a nice flesh color so its dehydration is gone for now. It is having several, rather large bowl movements in between feedings. Its funny; raising this chick is going to cost a small fortune in toilet paper and paper towels! | |
| 18g | 11:30 a.m. | 1.0cc | Still has good color and ate a lot again. Boy it poops a lot!!! I'm so tired I could die for a few days already. Oh well, it is worth it!!! | |
| 18g | 1:30 p.m. | 1.0cc | Still had good color and is eating well! I have that psychic feeling it is a male and if that is the case I'll name him Sir Poop-A-Lot! | |
| 18g | 3:30 p.m. | 1.0cc | A little bit red but not bad. Had a strong feeding response again. | |
| 19g | 5:30 p.m. | 0.9cc | Has its nice pink color back. It keeps going from pink to reddish and back to pink. Gained another gram but slightly decreased the amount of food. | |
| 19g | 7:30 p.m. | 1.75cc | Man, it was sure hungry this time! | |
| 21g | 9:30 p.m. | 1.25cc | If it keeps eating like this I may have to call it Fat Bastard; ha, ha, ha! | |
| 20g | 11:30 p.m. | 1.30cc | It lost a gram but it will make up for it with as much as it ate. For something so small they sure can eat a lot. Took a couple more pics of it. | |
| 07/17/02 | 21g | 1:30 a.m. | 1.5cc | 3 Days Old Still has a hardy appetite and a strong feeding response. |
| 22g | 3:30 a.m. | 1.6cc | Still has great color and had an even better feeding response this time. | |
| 22g | 5:30 a.m. | 1.2cc | Wasn't quite as hungry as previous feedings. | |
| 22g | 7:30 a.m. | 1.7cc | It was hungry and I'm exhausted........ | |
| 23g | 9:30 a.m. | 1.6cc | Everything is going good and it is now keeping the nice flesh color. I need sleep!!!! | |
| 24g | 11:30 a.m. | 1.7cc | I'm really surprised at its weight gain and how much it eats. Great feeding response. | |
| 24g | 1:30 p.m. | 1.7cc | Still doing great! | |
| 25g | 3:30 p.m. | 1.4cc | Wasn't as hungry for this feeding. | |
| 25g | 5:30 p.m. | 1.8cc | It made up for not eating as much at the last feeding. Still has a good feeding response and has kept the nice, pink color. | |
| 26g | 7:30 p.m. | 1.0cc | It wasn't very hungry this time but considering how much it ate last time I expected this. | |
| 26g | 9:30 p.m. | .85cc | I'm surprised it didn't eat very much this time. It
looks really funny with this huge belly, full, buldging crop full of food and a little head
with huge, black eyes.....almost reminds me of a funky looking alien. Picture Taken | |
| 26g | 11:30 p.m. | 1.4cc | I'm surprised that it isn't eating as much but it is still doing great and it is still retaining its nice, pink color so it is not getting dehydrated and it is obviously gaining weight steadily. | |
| 07/18/02 | 27g | 1:30 a.m. | 1.8cc | Whow! I was really concerned when I took it out of the brooder. It had not pooped at all. Its tummy was hard and disteneded but it was begging for food so I erred on the side of judgement. It ate a lot and had a very strong feeding response. Then, just as I was getting ready to put it back in the bowl and into the brooder, it began to wiggle its little bottom..........SQUIRT!!!! It really let go and I'm telling you it was one for the record book!! Now I feel better..... |
| 29g | 3:30 a.m. | 1.9cc | Everything stated directly above for the previous feeding applies to this feeding, except I am dead tired!!! | |
| 28g | 5:30 a.m. | 1.4cc | It made poopy before the feeding this time and it is really dumping a load. It is amazing! This is definately hard getting up and down all night. I am very tired but I'm also really hungry too but it isn't good to eat all night and all day. If I do I'll get as big as a house! | |
| 27g | 7:30 a.m. | 1.7cc | Hhhmmmm. I don't understand why it is loosing weight all of a sudden unless it is just burning off the calories faster for some reason. It is having very large, moist bowl movements; I'm talking big ones that could go into a record book. Its color is still a really nice fleshy, pink color. | |
| 26g | 9:30 a.m. | 1.9cc | I just don't understand why it is loosing weight; it just baffels me! Its still very active, has a nice pink color and had a really good feeding response. It is now begining to lift its head up about 1 hour after a feeding and starts to chirp really loud and then goes back to sleep. I'll be calling Ilene to make sure its weight loss is not a severe problem. | |
| 29g | 11:30 a.m. | 2.0cc | Well, how strange. I guess I won't call Ilene yet. Its weight shot right back up to where it was before and it ate like a little pig. It is kind of funny, I actually noticed that it has now developed its toe nails....and yes, being the concerned parent that I am, I counted all the toes and they are all there! LOL | |
| 30g | 1:30 p.m. | 2.0cc | It seems to be doing great now compared to the eariler feedings. | |
| 31g | 3:30 p.m. | 2.0cc | Gosh, it acts like it is starving. When I put it back into its padded bowl and into the brooder its beak hit the edge of the napkin and it started bobbing its head thinking it was being fed more. I don't want to distend or rupture the crop so I decided not to feed it anymore but on the next feeding I will be making an extra sryringe. | |
| 32g | 5:30 p.m. | 2.7cc | Its still going strong! Ate almost 3cc of food so I'm glad I made up another syringe. | |
| 32g | 7:30 p.m. | 3.0cc | Still eating good and he has not turned red at all for the last couple of days. I must be doing something right! | |
| 33g | 9:30 p.m. | 1.1cc | Didn't eat much but its crop was still full from the last feeding where it ate 3cc. I may actually be able to move to feeding it every 2.5 hours instead of every 2 hours. Instead of the next feeding being at 11:30 p.m. I am going to move it to Midnight as its crop still has a little bit of food in it. I talked to Ilene right after this feeding and she said I am doing a great job as the chick is in the "critical" stage for the first 3 days. That made me feel really good since this is the first Day 1'r I've ever raised. | |
| 33g | Midnight | 3.0cc | Yep, I'm definately going to try the 2.5 hour feeding schedule. It is eating a lot and take extra time to digest it and put over the crop. | |
| 07/19/02 | 33g | 2:30 a.m. | 3.0cc | 5 Days Old This is the second feeding at the 2.5 hour schedule and the chick is doing fine on it so far. Still ate the full 3cc and the flesh color is fine so thee is no dehydration. |
| 34g | 5:00 a.m. | 3.0cc | Its doing great on the new schedule so far. I hope it keeps it up.....once again I'm extremely tired. I don't know how I am able to do this??? | |
| 34g | 7:30 a.m. | 3.0cc | Everything is going great! | |
| 35g | 10:00 a.m. | 3.0cc | Its going great for the chick but I am so exhausted I can barely keep my eyes open. Everyone said it would hit me on the third day but mine hit today. | |
| 35cc | 12:30 p.m. | 3.0cc | Its feeding response was not as strong this time but it still ate fine and at the same speed as usual. I now see what everyone said about being tired and cranky. I'm ready to fall asleep and can barely keep my eyes open. It's a good thing I love these birds!!! | |
| 36g | 3:00 p.m. | 3.0cc | Had a very strong feeding response this time. | |
| 38g | 5:30 p.m. | 3.0cc | What a weight gain!!! I am beginning to think I am really good at raising a Day 1'r. {grin} | |
| 37g | 8:00 p.m. | 3.0cc | It is still doing really good on this schedule. It lost a gram but it made a great, big poopy that probably weighed near that one gram. I bet it feels better now. | |
| 39g | 10:30 p.m. | 3.0cc | It gained its one extra gram back and gained an
extra one which is good. Its feeding response was very strong again. Picture Taken | |
| 07/20/02 | 39g | 1:00 a.m. | 3.0cc | It is maintaining its weight compared to the last feeding. It keeps responding with the head bobbing after the 3rd syringe is finished so I will draw up a 4th syringe and see if it will eat a little bit from it on the next feeding. I really noticed today the the head has grown a lot, visibly more tonight than first thing this morning. The eyes are much larger also. Becasue there is still a great risk of losing the chick within a 2 week period, I am still using the Pedialite in the formula instead of water. |
| 40g | 3:30 a.m. | 3.5cc | I'm glad I made the extra syringe. It ate another 1/2 of a cc and then stopped the feeding response. I expect its weight to be at least 41 to 42 grams for the next feeding. I noticed some orangish-red spots on its tissue that lines its bowl. It had rubbed its little tail stump on the paper towel whic isn't quite as soft as the tissue and it gave it a small abrassion which bleed a little bit. I put some Neosporin on it with the tip of a Q-tip. | |
| 41g | 6:00 a.m. | 4.0cc | Whow, its eating like a football player!! I went ahead and gave it the full 4cc since it acted like it wanted it. I was right about its weight gain. Its feet are really developing. Since the last feeding you can now see the distinctive skin pattern and a hint of bluish-gray color. Its strange how such changes can occur in such a short amount of time. Its little abrassion looks nearly healed already but just for safety reason I put some more Neosporin. | |
| 42g | 8:30 a.m. | 4.0cc | Its really gaining some good weight. I'm surprised at how much weight it is gaining and how much it eats. You can barely see the spot where the abrassion was but one again I put some Neosporin on it. It would be horrible if it would get an infection right now. Something so minor could definately be lethal. | |
| 44g | 11:00 a.m. | 4.0cc | I absolutely cannot believe the weight gain. It is absolutely amazing. The poor little thing looks really funny at this stage. It has a huge, round body with this little head, wings and legs in comparison. Proportionately it looks like a tennis ball with a marble on it for the head, wooden match sticks for legs that would be double the thickness and small twigs for wings. It is so fat it can hardly stay in an upright position. But it sure can roll around! | |
| 45g | 1:30 p.m. | 4.0cc | Still going great. I think it would have eaten more if I had let it. Must be going through a tremendous growth spurt. | |
| 46g | 4:00 p.m. | 4.4cc | Its doing great and eat a little bit more. Just as a cautionary measure I put a little dab of Neosporin back on the tip of the tail as I could see a very small scab, almost unnoticable but better safe than sorry. | |
| 47g | 6:30 p.m. | 5.0cc | This little bird is just growing so fast and eating like a horse. Since I don't know the sex yet I've decided to name it Miracle. Miracle is a good unisex name and the bird is in fact a miracle to me! | |
| 49g | 9:30 p.m. | 6.0cc | I accidently forgot to feed it at 9:00 p.m. so it actually went 3 hours. It doesn't seem to have affected it and it kept its weight up and gained some. For the rest of the time I will be trying the feedings at every 3 hours just to see how it goes. If it doesn't work properly for the chick I'll drop back to the 2.5 hours. | |
| 07/21/02 1 Week | 49g | 12:30 a.m. | 6.0cc | 7 Days Old Well, so far so good with the 3 hour feeding schedule. I just noticed also that the ear canal openings are now open whereas they were previously closed. It has also doubled the amount of yellow down on its body. |
| 50g | 3:30 a.m. | 5.0cc | I withheld giving it the last cc as I want it to begin emptying its crop once every 24 hours. I estimated there to be 1cc left in the crop so at 6:30 a.m. I'll see how close I was. | |
| 51g | 6:30 a.m. | 6.0cc | I guessed correctly. The crop was empty; it was just this little sac that was hanging on the neck. It didn't want to eat at first but once it began it done very well. Really good feeding response! Strangely enough when it wiggles its bottom to go poop is has gotten a small amount of the tisue stuck up inside its rectum. I had to pull it out twice now. | |
| 52g | 9:30 a.m. | 6.4cc | Miracle is eating like a trooper. The crop was empty again so its it moving the food quickly so I let it eat an extra .4 of a cc. The ear openings are double their size compared to the 12:30 a.m. feeding. The feeding response this time was so strong that I kept smearing the formula on its head and crop. | |
| 52g | 12:30 p.m. | 6.0cc | I was surprised that it kept the same weight and it
didn't eat as much this time. As long as it doesn't lose that is fine with me. Pictures Taken by Judy | |
| 58g | 3:30 p.m. | 7.0cc | Oh, my God! I cannot believe how much this little bird gained. That weight jump was amazing. I only expected it to stay the same or maybe weigh 53 so it was quite a surprise. The crop was empty again so I decided to feed it 7cc this time and it took all of it with no problems. Good feeding response again. | |
| 58g | 6:30 p.m. | 8.0cc | Miricle is maintaining weight and even ate more this
time. It seems like the heavier the chick gets the less it wants to eat so I have to coax it
to get it to begin eating. Once it realizes what is going on the feeding response is real
good. The crop was empty again and it definately went through the chick. Its tissue inside
the bowl was saturated and really dirty. I may have to begin changing it between feedings. Pictures Taken by Eddie | |
| 61g | 9:30 p.m. | 5.0cc | There was still quite a bit of food in the crop so I only fed it 5cc. I want the crop to empty out more for the next feeding to help prevent a condition called sour crop. The feeding response was still very good even though it wasn't really that hungry. | |
| 07/22/02 | 60g | 12:30 a.m. | 7.0cc | Miricle lost a gram but that is OK as it was most likely the large amout of food that was in the crop from the last feeding. I fed the full amount this time and will cut back a bit at the 3:30 a.m. feeding so that I can make sure the contents of the crop full pass and empty for the 6:30 a.m. feeding. The ear openings are much larger now and the chick is now making several chirps when I pick it up and a bit during the feeding. |
| 62g | 3:30 a.m. | 6.0cc | It gained again but there was still a little bit of food in the crop. It probably would have eaten 7 to 8cc but I want the crop to empty by the next feeding. | |
| 62g | 6:30 a.m. | 4.0cc | The crop had not emptied so I only fed 4.0cc to make sure it it was empty for the next feeding. The feeding response was not as good as the chick was not really hungry. | |
| 62g | 9:30 a.m. | 8.0cc | The crop was empty for this feeding. The chick was very hungry and had a great feeding response. For as much weight it is gaining and as fast as it is developing I expect the eyes to open closer to the 10 day mark instead of the latter 15 days. | |
| 64g | 12:30 p.m. | 8.0cc | Everything is going great still. Miracle has a very strong feeding response when hungry. In fact it is so strong lately that I'm getting some of the formula on the beak and head and Miricle doesn't like being wiped down. | |
| 68g | 3:30 p.m. | 9.0cc | What a trooper. Talk about a weight gain and a hardy appetite. The feeding response was really strong again. | |
| 72g | 6:30 p.m. | 8.5cc | There was still some food in the crop so Miracle wasn't
as hungry as normal. Pictures Taken by Eddie | |
| 73g | 9:30 p.m. | 9.0cc | Feeding response was really good. The crop was almost empty and it ate real well. Is very active inside the brooder and outside when feeding. The eyelids are developing quickly and there is a prominent line for seperation in them. Every time I feed, the chick tips its head to the side and then a drop of formula runs out and goes down its neck. It kind of makes it difficult to feed in that position. I was so tired I went in to take a small nap and it ended up being 3.5 hours long. I'm totally exhausted! | |
| 07/23/02 | 75g | 12:30 a.m. | 6.0cc | 9 Days OldThere was still quite a bit of food left over in the crop this time. I expected it for as much as it is eating. I only fed 6cc of formula so I can ensure that later the crop will completely empty. |
| 74g | 3:30 a.m. | 4.0cc | There was still food in the crop so I only fed the 4cc. I hope it wasn't too much. Hopefully the crop will empty by the next feeding. | |
| 73g | 6:30 a.m. | 8.0cc | I must be damn good at measuring liquids. The crop was emptied out for this feeding. It is actually very hard to judge and I'm always afraid I will not get the right amount to ensure the emptying of the crop but so far so good. I am kind of expecting the bands and the book in the mail today, possibly tomorrow. | |
| 75g | 9:30 a.m. | 9.0cc | Lucky me! The crop was empty again which is good. I think it was taking so long becasue I was mixing the formula a little bit too thick. Miricle still has a great feeding response. The bands came today but the book didn't so it will be here tomorrow or the next day. I was disappointed in the bands for one reason; I forgot to have the state put on them and that was my fault. They are excellent bands and are still registed to me for people to trace if they ever get a bird of mine. Miricle's beak is beginning to fit more properly. Instead of there being a huge scoop shovel for the bottom, the top has now caught up and is larger and covering more of the lower mandible. I've seen many baby birds that were hand fed with corssed beaks due to feeding on only one side of the beak. I alternate the syringe on both sides during feeding to prevent this. | |
| 77g | 12:30 p.m. | 9.0cc | Still eating like a real trooper. The feeding response is very, very strong and the crop is emptying every time I feed. I will try giving 10cc on the next feeding and see how that works for the chick. The right eye is beginning to open. There is a large slit in the eyelids and it keeps lifiting its head up in the brooder and turning around so it can see out of the brooder. It is like a real kid in the fact that it does not like having its face wiped off when I get formula all over it! | |
| 80g | 3:30 p.m. | 10.0cc | The crop was empty again so I decided to go ahead an give the full 10cc this time. Miricle took all of it very well. I'll check the crop and weight for the 6:30 p.m. feeding and maybe with some luck I can move the feedings to every 3.5 hours soon. | |
| 85g | 6:30 p.m. | 11.0cc | Miricle ate like a football player again. The weight was up and the crop was partly full. The feeding response was amazingly strong again. The right eye is opened up more and now the left eye is beginning to open up. I think I'll try a 3.5 hour feeding schedule now if Miricle is going to eat that much and still have food in the crop. | |
| 85g | 10:30 p.m. | 11.0cc | Unfortunately I was an extra 30 minutes late for this feeding. I had to go get more pellets and hand feeding formula from my best friend Debbie. We hardly ever see or talk to each other so I'm usually there way too long. The chicks feeding response was as strong as usual and there was still about 1/2cc in the crop so I doubt if it caused any damage to Miricle. I'm going to try and do the 3.5 hour feeding schedule now. | |
| 07/24/02 | 85g | 2:00 a.m. | 9.0cc | I only gave the 9cc because there was still about 2cc left in the crop from the last feeding. I'm hoping that wasn't too much so the crop can empty out. I think it was, and if that is the case I'll have to cut back on the next feeding so the crop will be empty by the 9:00 a.m. feeding. |
| 85g | 5:30 a.m. | 11.0cc | Thankfully I guessed correctly for the last feeding. The crop was empty. Feeding response was as strong as usual. The chick kepts its eyes closed all the time for this feeding. I cannot wait until they are fully opened. | |
| 85g | 9:00 a.m. | 12.0cc | Everything is the same except Miracle ate 12cc this time instead of the usual 11cc. | |
| 90g | 12:30 p.m. | 12.0cc | Once again the crop was empty so I think I will move to a 20cc syringe for feeding now. I'm sure Miracle will start taking 13, 14 or 15cc from now on. The right eye is nearly open now and the left eye is catching up quickly. | |
| 93g | 4:00 p.m. | 12.0cc | I was really surprised that Miracle didn't eat more. I used the 20cc syrings but he still only ate 12cc. I expected him to eat 13 or more. | |
| 96g | 7:00 p.m. | 12.0cc | I decided to drop back the feedings to
every 3 hours instead of the 3.5 hours. The crop is emptying too quickly and the chick is
hungry when I feed. Pictures Taken by Eddie | |
| 98g | 10:00p.m. | 14.0cc | Feeding response was great and the crop still had about 2cc of food left in it. I think it was just too soon to take Miricle to the 3.5 hour feedings so we'll be on the 3 hour feeding for awhile. The right eye is nearly open. I expect it to be fully open late tomorrow night. | |
| 07/25/02 | 106g | 1:00 a.m. | 10.0cc | 10 Days Old. What a jump in weight! I decided to only give 10cc this time and I'll probably give even less at the next feeding so the crop can empty. I cannot believe how big this bird is getting! |
| 105g | 4:00 a.m. | 6.0cc | With this small amount of formula the crop should be empty by the next feeding. Very stronge feeding response. | |
| 104g | 7:00 a.m. | 10.0cc | For having an empty crop Miracle just wasn't very hungry. When he is done eating he just rolls his head under his body to go to sleep. | |
| 106g | 10:00 a.m. | 2.0cc | Oh My God!!! I just about asperated Miracle! While I was feeding I was pushing on the plunger with my thumb as usual and after the first 2cc the plunger just slipped down forcefully spraying 5cc of formula into the chicks mouth and all over the face. I honestly thought the worse possible. I thought I killed him. He is still acting a little bit funny and needless to say he will not eat now. I would guess there is only about 3 to 4cc of food in the crop but I'll wait until 11:00 a.m. and see if I can get him to eat! | |
| 103g | 11:30 a.m. | 15.0cc | Well, everything went well for this feeding. Thank God! Miracle was definately hungry. The crop was totally empty and this is the most he has eaten yet. I'm glad he is ok but I'm not out of the woods yet. I need to keep a close eye on him now to make sure he doesn't develop pheumonia or any other breathing problems in case some formula still got into the lungs. | |
| 111g | 2:30 p.m. | 11.0cc | Still going good for now. There was still quite a bit of food in the crop so he didn't eat as much. Feeding response was real strong again. I think he will be ok just by the way he is acting. I checked the legs and wings this time to make sure they are growing correctly and they are fine. The abdomen looks as if the chick is being parent reared instead of being hand reared. The keel is nice and fat and round. | |
| 114g | 5:30 p.m. | 11.0cc | He didn't want to eat as much as he was. I guess he is not going through a growth spurt at this time. The feeding response is still real strong and e is pretty active in the brooder when he isn't asleep. | |
| 120g | 8:30 p.m. | 12.0cc | Everything is going good! | |
| 119g | 11:30 p.m. | 10.0cc | I decided to only give the 10cc as there was still quite a bit of food left in the crop. I'll give less for the next two feedings to ensure emptying of the crop. The eyes are fully open but when I feed, Miracle closes them both and doesn't open them until back in the brooder. I've now began addind Lactobacillis acidophillis cultures to the formula for the extra active bacteria. Miracle pooped a phenominal amount this time. The book finally came this morning. It was a day late but considering everything is going well it wasn't important to have it any sooner. I've read part of it and it is a really informative book. Well worth the $49 including the shipping. | |
| 07/26/02 | 121g | 2:30 a.m. | 9.0cc | The crop was nearly empty so I gave 1cc less than the last feeding. I expect it to be empty by the next feeding. |
| 119g | 5:30 a.m. | 8.0cc | Almost empty. There was about 1/2 to 1cc left in the crop so this feeding should clear the crop for the next feeding. | |
| 120g | 8:30 a.m. | 13.0cc | The crop finally emptied and Miricle sure
was hungry. That is the most he has eaten for quite some time. Pictures Taken by Judy | |
| 123g | 11:30 a.m. | 13.0cc | This was a good feeding. Miracle gained weight and ate the same amount as last time. The feeding response was great to begin with but it was noticeably decreased this time as he got full. | |
| 126g | 2:30 p.m. | 13.5cc | Miracle was pretty hungry again. There was about 1.5 to 2cc of food left in his crop but sure didn't affect his appetite. I have now began to add a half testpoon of baby food into the formula. Because cockatoos are prone to Vitamin A deficiency I add some type of green vegetable to it like peas or greenbeans. Chloriphyl is important to the growth of the bird along with Betacarotien. Wheat germ and spirolina are also good additives. | |
| 130g | 5:30 p.m. | 13.0cc | Still going great! Miracle's toenails have doubled in length since yesterday. Their growth is amazing. The eyes are fully opened. There has been no signs of dehydration and the back and keel are full and round and the legs and feet are also fine. He holds his head backwards quite a bit, especially during feeding as if he is resting it on his back. | |
| 131g | 8:30 p.m. | 12.5cc | Miracle didn't seem to be as hungry as the last couple of times. The feeding response was still good in the beginning but he seems to get full really quick now. | |
| 132g | 11:30 p.m. | 16.0cc | Miracle was definatley hungry but ate too much. After he was done eating he began to regurgitate a little bit to get rid of the excess. When he would bring up some formula he would shake his head to rid himself of the excess. Even with doing that there would still be some in the lower mandible so I used a suction bulb used for ear wax removal to help him get it out. Unless it is the way he is always sitting, it looks as if his third toe on his left foot is a bit crooked. We'll see when he gets older. It would be a simple surgical procedure to correct if that is the case. | |
| 07/27/02 | 130g | 2:30 a.m. | 14.0cc | 12 Days Old. Miracle had a hardy appetite and his crop was empty. This kind of surprised me! Especially since it usually isn't emptied until the next feeding on the one after that. Imm so tired again I could barely get out of bed! |
| 134g | 5:30 a.m. | 14.0cc | I'm positive that Miracle would have kept eating and over done it again. I am stopping him at 14cc now so that he doesn't regurgitate any more. The crop was nearly empty. There was maybe .5 to 1cc of food in the crop. He doesn't open his eyes during the night time feedings but does during the day except for when I am actually feeding. That must be a protective mechanism so no food gets in the eyes. | |
| 134g | 8:30 a.m. | 14.0cc | Everything is great. Miracle has a hardy
appetite and his crop emptied again this time. That is twice in less than 8 hours. That is the
perfect sign that he is moving food freely and boy is he pooping a lot. He is saturating his
tissue and paper towels in his brooder. Strangely enough he kept his eyes open this time while
feeding. Pictures Taken by Eddie | |
| 134g | 11:30 a.m. | 15.0cc | Once again the crop was empty so I have increased his food to 15cc. He took all of it and didn't regurgitate any so I think it will be an appropriate amount for the time being. Again he kept his eyes open while he was being fed. I placed his band on his leg to try and judge how much longer I have until I can actually band him. I think I still have one to two weeks before it will not slip back off. | |
| 135g | 2:30 p.m. | 15.0cc | The crop was empty again but he seems to be doing ok with it emptying all the time. He dept his eyes closed during the feeding but when I pulled the syringe away for him to swallow he opened them. | |
| 143g | 5:30 p.m. | 16.0cc | Miracle seemed to be quite hungry so I cautiously gave him 16cc. He took it all and then fell asleep. There was about 1 to 2cc of food left in his crop so I was surprised that he ate so much. | |
| 143g | 8:30 p.m. | 16.0cc | Everything is the same as the last feeding. | |
| 147g | 11:30 p.m. | 13.0cc | I didn't want to give too much so I can ensure the crop empties again. He seemed to have a bit of a reddish hugh to his skin so I also gave 1cc of straight Pedialite to help with any dehydration that he may have. A few minutes after the feeding he regurgitated about 1/2cc of the formula and then seemed fine and went to sleep. | |
| 07/28/02 2 Weeks | 150g | 2:30 a.m. | 15.5cc | The crop was empty which kind of surprised me. I only expected it to have maybe .5 to 1cc of food in it but it was totally empty. He ate like a little trooper again but this time he did not regurgitate. For the last several feedings he has began to make chirping sounds in rythm with the feeding response which has been great! At the 2:30 p.m. feeding I am going to take some measurements of Miricle for future data and comparisons for age vs. sex to see if there is any corillation between the two. Measurements will be in mm (millimeters). |
| 151g | 5:30 a.m. | 13.5cc | I want the crop to empty again so I fed less this time. There also is no reason to totally stretch out the crop so this will also help with that matter. | |
| 153g | 8:30 a.m. | 16.0cc | The crop was empty and he ate like a trooper again. Still has a great feeding response. This time he would have one eye opened and the other closed while I was feeding. I thought he would turn into a little ball of yellow down before he got his pin feathers but the pin feathers are now coming through. He looks like a little white micro-pin cushion or a teenie-tiny white porcupine. He has no more yellow down now than when he hatched. | |
| 157g | 11:30 a.m. | 16.0cc | Amazingly enough the crop was empty again. Beginning on the next feeding I'll increase the formula to 17cc and see how that works. His tail look kind of funny right now. The pin feathers are going to be coming through soon so it looks like someone poked little holes in his tail. It almost reminds me of pressing my fingers into bread dough so it makes dimples in an even row. | |
| 160g | 2:30 p.m. | 18.0cc | Miracle sure was hungry. He ate the
full 18cc but once again he regurgitated a little bit. About .5cc again. I'll cut back to the
17cc on the next feeding to see if that makes a difference. I shot video of the hand feeding
procedure today for my friend Eldon who lives in Iowa along with footage of my breeding birds
and pets and how to use a special jess and leash set-up for hawks and falcons.
Third toe nail, right foot: 19mm Top mandible, length: 60mm Lower mandible, width: 78mm | |
| 165g | 5:30 p.m. | 17.0cc | Once again Miracle regurgitated about .5cc after eating. Other than that he done great. Still gaining weight and has a great feeding response. | |
| 166g | 8:30 p.m. | 16.0cc | I decided to cut back the amount this time to hopefully avoid his regurgitation. Feeding response is great and he is pretty active inside his bowl in the brooder. He's really active when on the scale and when he is on the towel for feeding. It seems as if he grew some compared to the last feeding. There is just a noticable size difference. The pin feathers are really coming through now. You can see his distinctive crest and you can also really see the primaries and secondaries of the wings. Also really prominent are the breast feathers. | |
| 172g | 11:30 p.m. | 17.0cc | Miracle ate the 17cc and seems to be doing fine. No regurgitating yet and usually if he's going to throw-up he does so by now. The pin feathers are really coming through. | |
| 07/29/02 | 175g | 2:30 a.m. | 15.0cc | 14 Days Old. I really had to cut back this feeding to make sure his crop empties. He has a bit of a reddish hue to his skin so I made the first syringe more juicy than the second just in case he is a bit dehydrated. I cannot tell if he is dehydrated or if he is that color from the warmth of the brooder. he is getting to that age where I'll have to turn down the heat soon so his body may be preparing for it in advance. |
| 175g | 5:30 a.m. | 17.0cc | Everything is going great! I'm totally exhausted and almost wasn't able to get out of bed. This hand feeding is kicking my ass! I just keep remembering there is only four months to go.....ha, ha, ha! I really tried to make that funny enough for myself to laugh but it just didn't happen. | |
| 177g | 8:30 a.m. | 18.0cc | Since Miracle is getting so big I figured
I would try giving more formula. So far so good! He did kind of regurgitate a little bit but he
didn't actually throw it up, instead he continued to swallow it. I tried putting on the band
again to see how much longer I have. Previously I figured an additional 1 to 2 weeks but that
is not going to be the case. I actually expect the band to be placed on to where it will not fall
off within a few more days. He is growing so fast it is amazing.
Pictures Taken by Eddie Pictures Taken by Judy | |
| 180g | 11:30 a.m. | 18.0cc | Miracle really is hungry lately and he is not regurgitating anymore. This time when I was done feeding he decided to play the tough guy and put his wings out, started rocking back and forth and hissed at me a couple of times. He thought he was "all that" and a "bag of chips" too. | |
| 181g | 2:30 p.m. | 18.0cc | Nothing has changed. He is still doing great. He sure does go to sleep really fast after he's done eating! | |
| 182g | 5:30 p.m. | 18.0cc | Still going good! He is eating quite a bit and I think I might be able to go to 19cc on the next feeding. It looks as if the crop is not quite as full as it used to be after feeding. | |
| 186g | 8:30 p.m. | 19.0cc | So far so good. I gave the extra cc of food this time and Miracle seems to be handling it very well. For a few seconds he was playing with me again thinking he was "King Tut" and then he just crashed and went to sleep. It's almost like I have a hypnotic spell on him...awake...asleep...awake...alseep! LOL. He began to preen his pin feathers today just before this feeding which shows it is a natural, built-in, instinct. It obviously is not learned as his mother is not taking care of him. | |
| 189g | 11:30 p.m. | 19.0cc | Miracle seems to be doing very well on
the larger amount of formula now. The pin feathers are really coming through. Gram's Stain performed by myself, results are as follows: Gram +: Present Gram -: Not present Bacteria: Present Yeast &/or Budding: Not present | |
| 07/30/02 | 196g | 2:30 a.m. | 19.0cc | This time I fed too much and it was my fault for not paying close attention. I was watching the formula going into his mouth instead of watching the amount on the syringe. I figure he still had nearly 2cc of food left in his crop so needless to say it over filled it and he regurgitated again. From now on when I see there is food in the crop I'll empty that approximate amount out of the syringe before feeding so that this mistake doesn't occur again. |
| 199g | 5:30 a.m. | 17.0cc | Hopefully I judge correctly again so the crop will empty. He obviously still seemed as if he was hungry but I think he forgets about it once we stop feeding and he falls asleep. | |
| 196g | 8:30 a.m. | 19.0cc | The crop was empty this time. Everything is going great. The pin feathers are really coming in quick. They are just beginning to peak through the skin on the tail. | |
| 197g | 11:30 a.m. | 19.0cc | I got another true weight again. Miracle is very active when I take him out of the brooder. He see's those syringes and knows its time to eat and he stretches out his neck, opens up that scoop shovel of a beak and waits for his food. | |
| 201g | 2:30 p.m. | 20.0cc | Miracle's weight keeps going up and the crop keeps emptying out so I decided to increase the amount of formula. So far he is doing fine and has not regurgitated any. | |
| 201g | 5:30 p.m. | 20.0cc | Miricle seems to be doing fine on the larger amount of food. No regurgitation at all. As soon as we're done feeding he steps off of the towel so his body is on the table and then rests his head on the towel as if it is a pillow and goes to sleep. I let him sleep there until he wakes up and then I put him back in the brooder. Doing this simulates the hen getting off of him and leaving the nest which makes him cool down which will help him acclimate to the "room" temperature later on. I added some milk fat yogurt to his formula this time so see if he tolerates dairy. If he tolerates it I'll add a little bit each time for the extra calcium for strong bones, beak and feathers. | |
| 203g | 8:30 p.m. | 20.0cc | Everything is the same as the last feeding. | |
| 209g | 11:30 p.m. | 22.0cc | Miracle is growing so fast that he is eating me out of
house and home. I increased his formula again and he seems to be doing ok with it. On this batch
I made it more liquified as I believe he is becoming a little bit dehydrated. He is always sitting
up really tall with his beak open and panting. I've been slowly decreasing the temperature in the
brooder to help with it. I have taken it from 93 degrees down to 86 degrees so far. Signs of
overheating are open beak, panting, red skin color and a fast moving crop. It's hard to believe
he is overheating since he does not have any down. He went from a chick with very little down to
getting his pin feathers. Banded Miricle with band number EBH 02 001 | |
| 07/31/02 | 220g | 2:30 a.m. | 20.0cc | 16 Days Old. Dropped back to the 20cc to ensure the crop will empty. The band has stayed on Miracle's leg which means it was a good time to band him. The band was relatively loose but was difficult to get over the hind toe. I expected it to fall off but it didn't. |
| 223g | 5:30 a.m. | 15.0cc | The crop was not empty yet so I really cut back on the formula this feeding. The band is still on the leg. | |
| 224g | 8:30 a.m. | 22.0cc | His crop finally emptied so I gave him
the full amount of formula. He seems to be doing fine with this amount so it will probably last
for a few days. When he gets excited he throws up his little pin feather crest, throws out his
wings, rocks back and forth and hisses. He's letting us know who the boss is. Pictures Taken by Eddie Pictures Taken by Judy | |
| 233g | 11:30 a.m. | 22.0cc | Everything is the same as the last feeding. | |
| 237g | 2:30 p.m. | 23.0cc | Miracle seemed to be overly hungry so I fed him more and I paid the price. He regurgitated about 1cc of the formula and then seemed to be fine. His pin feathers are really growing. The band is still on his leg so it was definately a good time to band him when I did. His feeding response is so strong that sometimes I can barely keep the syringe in his beak. | |
| 243g | 5:30 p.m. | 24.0cc | Everything is going fine. Strangely enough I fed him
some extra formula and he has done fine with it this time. | |
| 07/31/02 | 250g | 8:30 p.m. | 21.0cc | There was still at least 2cc of food in his crop so I decided not to feed him as much this time to help it pass through the crop. |
| 250g | 11:30 p.m. | 20.0cc | Again, there is still food in the crop so I lessened the amount again. I'll probably have to lessen it more on the next feeding and possibly even the one after that to ensure the crop will empty. He is not digesting it as fast again so I don't think he is going through a growth spurt. | |
| 08/01/02 | 248g | 2:30 a.m. | 15.0cc | I really dropped it down this time. There was
about 1cc left in his crop but I want to make sure it empties. After the next feeding I am going
to try and move the feedings to every 3.5 hours again and see how that goes. |
| 250g | 5:30 a.m. | 20.0cc | There was still about 1cc left in the crop but I fed him more anyway. As long as I get the crop to empty by 11:30 a.m. I'll be fine. I'm going to now move to every 3.5 ours for feedings and see if that will help. | |
| 247g | 9:00 a.m. | 25.0cc | Just as I figured, if I moved to a longer
time the crop would empty, and it did. Miracle's feeding response is almost that of the smaller
cockatiel which is the smallest cockatoo and the most difficult parrot to hand feed. It is so
strong I really have to support his head now so I don't spray the formula all over his face and
head. Pictures Taken by Eddie, #'s 1 & 2 | |
| 249g | 12:30 a.m. | 25.0cc | Feeding Miracle every 3.5 hours seems to be working out quite well. He is eating more and the crop is just emptying as I prepare the formula. | |
| 252g | 4:00 p.m. | 26.0cc | Since the crop is emptying every time I decided I would try a little bit extra formula and so far he is keeping it down. | |
| 254g | 7:30 p.m. | 26.0cc | Everything is going great. After he eats I leave him out for awhile and he seems to enjoy it. Whenever something makes a loud noise he jumps up and throws up his little crest, spreads his wings and rocks back and forth. It's really cute! | |
| 268g | 11:00 p.m. | 27.0cc | Miracle is really growing again. His weight just keeps going up and up and up and so does the amount of formula I have to feed him. This last weight gain was a huge one, 14 grams to be exact! He must be going through a growth spurt again. With all the pin feathers he is developing he's now beginning to actually look like an actual bird instead of some alien creature. | |
| 08/02/02 | 267g | 2:30 a.m. | 27.0cc | 18 Days Old. Considering that Miracle lost one gram of body weight he is still doing great. Losing one gram won't matter, especially since he gained so much all at once previously. Super strong feeding response again! |
| 275g | 6:00 a.m. | 26.0cc | I cut back a cc for this feeding as there was still about 4 or 5cc of food left in the crop. For as fast as it is going through him I expect it to be nearly empty for the next feeding even though it wouldn't be necessary this time. | |
| 281g | 9:30 a.m. | 28.0cc | Miracle is doing great still. There have been no problems so far and his health seems to be great also. It is amazing how much he is eating lately and how fast the crop is emptying out. His little body is really growing! Sometimes he leaves his eyes open during feeding, sometimes he keeps them closed and sometimes he has only one open. | |
| 284g | 1:00 p.m. | 29.0cc | Everything reguarding Miracle is the same as last time. | |
| 292g | 4:30 p.m. | 29.0cc | Miracle still had a little bit of food in his crop but that didn't affect his appetite in any way. He is moving his crop all the time now so I didn't find it to be a concern there was still some in it. | |
| 298g | 8:00 p.m. | 29.0cc | Once again his crop was empty and he ate lie a little pig. He's so cute when he sees the cup and syringes and he really knows he is going to get fed when I put him on the scale. That's when he really gets excited! | |
| 295g | 11:30 p.m. | 30.0cc | I can't believe how much he is eating. It is also amazing how much weight he is gaining each day. He seems to be doing great on the 3.5 hour feedings. It is myself that is having a hard time with it. I'm so tired when I have to wake up through the night I am now sleeping half the day to make up for it. | |
| 08/03/02 | 299g | 3:00 a.m. | 28.0cc | Miracle still had some food in his crop so I decided to give him less food this time. He is beginning to get quite voicterous and chirps real loud sometimes. Other times he makes loud sqwaks, especially when I pick him up. |
| 291g | 8:00 a.m. | 30.0cc | Oops, oops, oops! My alarm clock didn't
go off so Miricle's feeding is way late! I should have fed him at 6:30 a.m. Today is Saturday so
there wasn't anyone awake that early to check my record. If it would have been a weekday someone
could have came and woke me up. I keep a record of the time, wiehgt and amount eaten stuck to the
kitchen table when I do the hand feeding so everyone can see it just in case something like this
hapened! I'm hoping that losing those 8 grams doesn't affect him, especially with Stunted Parrot
Syndrome! Needless to say he was very, very hungry. I had a very difficult time keeping the
syringe in his mouth to feed him becasue he was bobbing his head so hard and fast! Pictures Taken by Eddie, #'s 3 & 4 | |
| 298g | 11:30 a.m. | 31.0cc | There was still a little bit of food in his crop but I decided to feed him a little extra since I screwed up earlier this morning when he went 5 hours without any food. I can't believe my alarm clock didn't go off! However, he seems to be doing fine at this point and seems to be very healthy so I really don't think it harmed him in any way. | |
| 305g | 3:00 p.m. | 31.0cc | Everything is still the same! | |
| 306g | 6:30 p.m. | 32.0cc | It's getting easier and easier to increase the amount of formula. Miracle is really growing fast. It seems like he has a growth spurt for a few days and then slows down for one or two and then has another growth spurt. With all of these I'm able to increase his food. You can see very minute feathers beginning to peak out of the sheaths of the pin feathers on his back near his "arm pits". | |
| 321g | 10:00 p.m. | 32.0cc | Same as usual! However I have notice one thing every time I feed Miracle. During the feeding and afterwards, he sneezes. This happens every time. Sometime he sneezes during the feeding and other times he sneezes when he is done eating. Pollen counts are still pretty high right now so maybe he has hay fever. | |
| 08/04/02 | 322g | 1:30 a.m. | 32.0cc | 20 Days Old. Everything is still great for Miracle but I have never been so exhausted in my life. I have stopped going to work and only go when I have an apointment. The rest of the day I sleep in between feedings. |
| 320g | 6:30 a.m. | 34.0cc | I cannot believe it! My alarm didn't go off again! Thankfully my mom happened to wake up earlier than usual and looked at my record to make sure Miracle got fed and she woke me up! I decided to give a couple extra cc of formula to help make up for his hunger! | |
| 328g | 10:00 a.m. | 32.0cc | I decided to drop back to the normal amount of formula. There's no sense in giving too much or he regurtitates it. He's begins to scoot across the towel when he see's me reaching for the syringe so I expect him to start walking towards it within the next 7 days. | |
| 331g | 1:30 p.m. | 32.0cc | Still doing great. His pin feathers are really growing. Each day you can see a difference in their length. | |
| 332g | 5:00 p.m. | 35.0cc | His crop is emptying every feeding so I decided to increase the amount again. He is spending a large part of his waking time preening his pin feathers and then he takes another nap. He still sleeps most of the time. | |
| 350g | 8:30 p.m. | 35.0cc | Everything is still fine. I have now started using air popped pop corn for bedding instead of using pine shavings with VIVA paper towels on top. Miracle is pooping so much that it was beginning to get messy and I don't want his poop caking into his feathers. I place a VIVA paper towel in the bottom of the container and then place the pop corn on top of that. Pop corn is relatively soft and if it is knawed on or eaten it will not impact the crop which makes it very safe to use compared to any type of wood shaving or paper products. | |
| 08/05/02 3 Weeks | 351g | 12:00 a.m. | 35.0cc | The crop was nearly empty. There was about 1cc left in it but I decided to give the full 35cc anyway. Miracle seems to be handling it very well and is not regurgitating any of it. He still sneezes every time I feed him. The pop corn seems to be doing its job. I was worried about his feathers getting caked with his poop and now it is rolling around when he moves which puts it on the bottom, out of his way. |
| 362g | 3:30 a.m. | 35.0cc | Everything is still fine. | |
| 362g | 7:00 a.m. | 32.0cc | I decided to give less to make sure the crop would
empty by the next feeding. Pictures Taken by Eddie; #'s 5 & 6 | |
| 360g | 10:30 a.m. | 36.0cc | The crop was empty so I decided to give some extra formula. Miracle seems to be doing great even though my alarm didn't go off a couple of times this week. I do not expect any adverse affects from those missed feedings. | |
| 364g | 2:00 p.m. | 36.0cc | Everything is still fine. | |
| 375g | 5:30 p.m. | 37.0cc | Same as usual except he seemed more
hungry than usual so I fed him 1cc extra. The feathers are beginning to emerge from the shafts
of the pin fethers on his belly. | |
| 375g | 9:00 p.m. | 38.0cc | The crop was empty again. Depending on the next feeding I may have to increase the amount of formula again. I don't want him going hungry. The little pin feathers down on his stomach look like little pom-poms on the ends of white sticks. | |
| 08/06/02 | 381g | 12:30 a.m. | 34.0cc | 22 Days Old. There was still a lot of food in his crop so I really cut back on this feeding. |
| 388g | 4:00 a.m. | 40.0cc | Since I didn't give as much last time I decided to really give him a good feeding. I may have cut back a couple cc too much so this time I'll make up for it. | |
| 388g | 7:30 a.m. | 40.0cc | The 40cc seems to be just right for Miracle. It is enough to fill up his crop and not so much that he regrugitates. | |
| 397g | 11:00 a.m. | 40.0cc | The 40cc is definately good for him right now. However he seems to be hungy after we are finished and the crop keeps emptying out for each feeding so maybe I'll try an extra cc or two for the next feeding and see how he handles it. His pin feathers have a more soft feeling to them instead of that strong, prickly feeling. He's really beginning to feather out and his little crest is really cute when he throws it up! | |
| 404g | 2:30 p.m. | 40.0cc | Everything is still doing well! | |
| 402g | 6:00 p.m. | 41.0cc | I was actually about 30 minutes late feeding Miracle so the actual time was 6:30 p.m. I gave an extra cc to compensate as the crop was totally empty again. I'm going to try to stay on schedule now that I'm home for the next feeding and will try giving more formula. I think now that he is so much bigger I can begin giving more which will also help stretch out the crop. | |
| 416g | 9:30 p.m. | 42.0cc | I gave an extra cc again and I actually think I can give more as the crop doesn't seem to be completely full. I've began putting him on top of a paper towel which is on top of the towel. He poops every single time I take him out to feed him. I'm talking on helatious poopy!!! This time I almost threw up!!! He went so much and it made the most horrible sound I started gagging and had to look away for a few minutes. My mother started laughing and said I didn't know the half of it since he is a bird. She said "wait until you have a human baby" and kept on laughing. | |
| 08/07/02 | 428g | 1:00 a.m. | 44.0cc | Still going very well. |
| 420g | 4:30 a.m. | 38.0cc | I really had to cut back on this feeding so that the crop would have enough time to empty out for the next feeding. He's eating so much it is now getting a little bit difficult to judge how much is still left in the crop. | |
| 426g | 8:00 a.m. | 40.0cc | I guessed correctly about the amount of
food left in his crop. It was empty. He didn't seem to have a strong feeding response when it
came to the second syringe. Every time I gave him some formula he would have a strong feeding
response and then when I pulled the syringe away he would start flipping the formula out of his
beak. He done this every time with the second syringe. Pictures Taken by Eddie; #'s 7 & 8 Third toe nail, right foot: 34mm Top mandible, length: 80mm Lower mandible, width: 86mm | |
| 432g | 11:30 a.m. | 37.0cc | Miracle didn't seem to want to eat very much this time. I actually had to coax the last 5cc down him and then he just started flipping his head around to avoid the syringe. It may have been due to some extra heat. I decided to take him for a ride in the truck and to go visit people that have wanted to see him since he hatched. | |
| 434g | 3:00 p.m. | 44.0cc | This time was better for eating. He must have not been hungry last time from the heat of the car ride. | |
| 435g | 6:30 p.m. | 46.0cc | He definately has his appetite back now. He really packed the formula away this time. Maybe too much but we'll see how he does with that much. He really hates having his face wiped off! | |
| 445g | 10:00 p.m. | 46.0cc | Miracle seems to be doing good on the 46cc of formula. He is panting a lot as if he is too hot but the temp is only 80 degrees F. I took him out of the brooder becasue I thought he was too hot in it and put him in a plastic pet carrier for small mammals, insects or hermit crabs and he still pants quite a lot. He is also still sneezing quite a bit; more than he has been so I think he may have allergies like hay fever. | |
| 08/08/02 | 451g | 1:30 a.m. | 40.0cc | 24 Days Old. Miracle didn't seem to be too hungry but there was still quite a bit of food in his crop. I made this formula a little more runny this time so help it digest quicker to help empty the crop. |
| 453g | 5:00 a.m. | 43.0cc | The crop was almost empty but he seemed to be rather hungry so I went a head an fed him more. I was actually a little concerned about Miracle for a few hours. He didn't poop for several hours and when he tried it was just a little, teeny, tiny bit compared to his usual 1/4 cup (exagerated but you get the idea). He was also making a lot of wining noises like he was in pain or really uncomfortable. A little bit after his last feeding he woke me up when he made this huge, loud screaming squak. I heard it cleal in my bed- room and it woke me up. I came running out but he seemed fine. Then while I was feeding him this time he took a phenominal dump on his paper towel. So, I think he may have been a little bit ill or constipated and making the last formula runny may have helped him "go to the bathroom". | |
| 450g | 8:30 a.m. | 47.0cc | Boy, he was really hungry again so I fed him real good. He seems to feel a lot better and is a lot more active. He even tried running over to the syringe when I grabbed it but his little legs just are not working correctly yet. He was able to kind of roll several inches to get closer to it with his little mouth wide open for his dinner. He didn't poop this time which is unusual as he usually does when I take him out of his container. | |
| 463g | Noon | 47.0cc | Everything is still going strong! | |
| 459g | 3:30 p.m. | 47.0cc | I kind of thought I had mixed the last formula a little bit thin and now I definately know it since Miracle's crop was empty and he lost a few grams. | |
| 464g | 7:00 p.m. | 48.0cc | The crop was empty again and it doesn't seem to be filling up as much so I decided to give an extra cc of formula and everything is fine. I came to a possible conclusion about Miracle's constant sneezing. It seemed to get really bad this last Monday when I got the new bottle of Lactobacillus Acidophilus cultures. I usually get cherry falvor but this time I got Papaya; so maybe he is allergic to it??? | |
| 467g | 10:30 p.m. | 48.0cc | Everything is still great. He must have been really hungry this time as he really ate fast. For all of this formula it probably only took about 7 or 8 minutes. He was a little piggy for this feeding. I hope the next feeding goes well. I am changing over to Pretty Bird hand feeding formula made specifically for the larger species like the cockatoos and macaws. | |
| 08/09/02 | 473g | 2:00 a.m. | 39.0cc | Well forget the Pretty Bird formula. Miracle obviously doesn't like it. He wouldn't eat much of it and he kept regurgitating it and flipping it all over the place. Unfortunately I have to give it to him for the night until I can get something different from Debbie. |
| 487g | 5:30 a.m. | 36.0cc | I'm having the hardest time geting him to swallow this disgusting Pretty Bird formula. I wouldn't eat it either. It smells horrible and looks like watered-down sand; it is real grainy in texture. I gag every time I smell it! | |
| 488g | 9:00 a.m. | 35.0cc | Well, the crop was empty but considering he isn't eating much that can only be expected. I just got done talking to Debbie and I have to go get some Lafeber's formula from her until my Hagen gets here. | |
| 498g | Noon | 48.0cc | I'm surprised he gained any weight but I
forced as much of that Pretty Bird down him that I could. Once again the crop is empty from
him not eating much. Miracle took the Lafeber's formula really well considering it was a
change again. Becasue he wasn't eating as much I fed him 1/2 hour early! Since he ate so much
I'll try to feed him on the normal scheduled time Pictures Taken by Eddie; #'s 9 & 10 | |
| 493g | 4:00 p.m. | 44.0cc | Miracle done pretty good with this feeding even though he didn't eat as much. The Lafeber's formula seems to thicken a lot more even after I wait about 10 minutes to draw the syringes so it feels him up quicker. | |
| 509g | 7:30 p.m. | 44.0cc | Everything is fine. | |
| 518g | 11:00 p.m. | 48.0cc | Everything is still fine. He just seemed to be amazingly hungry for this feeding. | |
| 08/10/02 | 521g | 2:30 a.m. | 44.0cc | Still going good! |
| 529g | 6:00 a.m. | 40.0cc | There was quite a bit of formula in his crop so I really cut back for this feeding so it will empty out. | |
| 538g | 9:30 a.m. | 45.0cc | The crop still isn't empty yet but he seems quite hungry so I let him eat. | |
| 528g | 1:00 p.m. | 48.0cc | His crop was empty this time and we really filled it up. Maybe too much actually becasue he started to regurgitate a little bit. | |
| 537g | 4:30 p.m. | 43.0cc | Everything is fine again. | |
| 548g | 8:00 p.m. | 45.0cc | His appetite is very stong again. I decided to let him eat and now I am paying the price for it. He is regurgitating a whole lot and it has been 30 minutes since his feeding. I'm going to stop using the Papaya flavored active cultures. Everything seems to have gotten worse since I began using it. I think he may be allergic to it! | |
| 546g | 11:30 p.m. | 45.0cc | Starting with this feeding I will no longer be feeding with the active cultures mixed into the formula to see if he is allergic to one of the ingredients. | |
| 08/11/02 | 549g | 3:00 a.m. | 44.0cc | Everything is fine. |
| 559g | 6:30 a.m. | 44.0cc | He doesn't seem to be very hungry for some reason. He has not been regurgitating. | |
| 564g | 10:00 a.m. | 45.0cc | He still doesn't seem to be as hungry as usual and he doesn't keep bobbing his head for food when I touch his beak. | |
| 566g | 1:30 p.m. | 37.0cc | I decided to add the active cultures this time to see what happens. He stopped eating real early and after the first 20cc he began regurgitating so I will no longer be putting the cultures in his formula. I'm using the GNC Natural Brand. The cherry flavor doesn't seem to affect him but this one is papaya flavor and has lactobacillus, acidophilus, bifidus and bulgaricus cultures with yucca shidgera in it. I do not recall the cherry having such ingredients. | |
| 566g | 5:00 p.m. | 40.0cc | I've decided to not feed him anymore. Once I hit the 38cc mark he began to regurgitate. It is really hot in the house. It turns out that one of my brothers friends turned off the water valve to the air conditioner! |
From this point on I will only be posting information once a day. I'll try to keep it concurrent with postings just prior to Midnight.
| DATE | WEIGHT | TIME | AMOUNT EATEN | COMMENTS & INFO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08/12/024 Weeks | 575g | Midnight | 47.0cc | Thankfully the Hagen formula came today and I was able to get Miracle back on it. It was initally worried that he might reject it since it was another change in his diet but he done great on it! Just to make it easy I ordered 22 pounds of the formula. |
| 08/13/02 | 583g | Midnight | 47.0cc | Miracle seems to be doing great on the 4 hour feedings. He is eating between 47cc and 49cc but actually took 52cc today at the 4:00 p.m. feeding. I try to stop before giving that much since he regurgitates some of it and flips it all over his container and the kitchen! |
| 08/14/02 | 608g | Midnight | 52.0cc | Miracle is doing great. He is eating on average 52cc each feeding and the crop is emptying for each feeding. He is still sneezing quite a bit and I wonder if it is from the air conditioner. My family members are sniffing and sneezing when it is on so maybe it is affecting Miracle too. I took him over to Debbie's for a 3 hour visit while we talked about new color mutations such as the albino (golden) macaws which came from a pair of blue & golds and the new blue eclectus. |
| 08/15/02 | 625g | Midnight | 55.0cc | He is doing great. His feeding response is amazing and sometimes difficult. He primarily ate 53cc today but I decided to try this larger amount and he seemed to take it very well. I took him to the store today to be around some strangers. I also took him over to the Looking Glass so Debbie and the other hair dressers could see him. |
| 08/16/02 | 633g | Midnight | 60.0cc | Most of Miracle's intake has been between 55cc and 57cc. However, the crop is totally empty when I feed and his feeding response is so strong that I figured I'd try a larger amount. The 60cc I gave him seemed to be good enough. He still regurgitates a little bit every time I feed him but he doesn't flip his head to expel the formula. He simply re-swallows it. He is becomming more active now that he has most of his feathering. He is not standing for a few minutes on his feet instead of his hawks and he is also exercising his little wings. He is also becomming voicterous with loud chirps and sqwaks. He seems to realize that when he wakes up from his inbetween-meal-naps that if he makes a faint chirping sound someone will come over and talk to him and pet him......then he falls asleep again. |
| 08/17/02 | 659g | Midnight | 63.0cc | He's really packing away the food today. He just seemed to be overly hungry every time I fed him but I didn't want to over-do it so I only gave him 60cc during the day. For his last feeding, now at midnight, I decided to try a few more and he took all ot if. I'm currently using 3 syringes that are 20cc each. To get the extra 3cc I pulled up an extra cc of formula and judged where it would be marked on the syringe. He had a real nice weight gain since last night at the same time! |
| 08/18/02 | 687g | Midnight | 67.0cc | Since the last update Miracle has ate from 63cc up to the current amount. He seems to be doing great but his crop is emptying rather quickly the last few feedings. Fortunately while I'm noticing it empty he quickly goes back to sleep so there doesn't seem to be any "hunger pains". |
| 08/19/02 5 Weeks | 691g | Midnight | 69.0cc | Miracle consumed
a steady amount of 68 to 69cc of formula at each feeding. Since he still has a hard time standing
straight up while feeding I am now putting him in a small plastic bowl with a paper towel in it
which helps keep his feet together. The regular towels I'm using are really soft so it makes his
feet slide apart when he tries to stand. The bowl has worked very well so he doesn't slide around
and do the splits while feeding. Pictures Taken by Eddie; #'s 3,4,5 |
| 08/20/02 | 714g | Midnight | 71.0cc | His usual feedings were 71cc but he took 72cc at the 8:00 p.m. feeding tonight. His feathers are really developing and he only has a few bare spots on him; mostly his abdomen and back. His feeding response is as strong as ever. I took him to the store today to visit the public and he doesn't seem to mind anyone being around him or petting him. |
| 08/21/02 | 751g | Midnight | 73.0cc | The first part of the early morning thru the late afternoon Miracle was eating 72cc of formula but I decided to try and increase it to 73cc and he accepted it just fine. |
| 08/22/02 | 755g | Midnight | 74.0cc | Most of the day Miracle took a full 75cc of formula but one 74cc at this last feeding. I was at first surprised that he didn't gain a lot of weight today but I can attribute that to stress. I had an emergency with one of my female slender-bill conures and had to rush off to the vets office in Payson. Along with Miracle I also took Kiwi, my blue and gold macaw for a check-up. It was a hot day and a long trip so I'm sure the stress is the factor for not gaining as much weight. Kiwi's check-up went fine but my slender-bill died before I got to the vets. She had an infection in her upper respiratory tract (in the neck) from a puncture which was most likely caused from her getting her nail stuck in her nare which punctured the nasal track. |
| 08/23/02 | 755g | Midnight | 75.0cc | Miracle stayed at the same weight and is now eating one cc more than yesterday. I always add a little bit of apple flavored pedialyte into the formula and I ran out so I just used bottled water. Miracle didn't like it!! I had some apple juice and orange juice so I added some orange juice to the formula and he ate like a champ. |
| 08/24/02 | 788g | Midnight | 75.0cc | Miracle really gained the weight this time. He's been eating like a little pig. He has taken a full 75cc of formula at each feeding. I think I will cut back a few cc's now as he seems to not have as strong of an appetite for some reason. Probably becasue he is not going through a growth spurt at the moment. I'm sure it will pick up in a few days. |
| 08/25/02 | No weight | 4:15 a.m. | No Food | The worse has happened. Miracle is dead. I woke up at 4:00 a.m. to feed and when I came into the kitchen he didn't raise up his head so I figured he was still sleeping but he was still breathing so he was OK. I finished putting the mug of water in the microwave and went to the sink and drew up the syringes. I got the mug, put the syringes in it to warm up and when I put the cup on the table he didn't move. That is when I just stared at him and noticed that he was not breathing. I grabbed him and started bawling. I about had a nervous breakdown for about 15-20 minutes. After I composed myself I put him in a bag in the fridge and called Dr. Ipsen to arange to meet him for a necropsy. Details of the necropsy follow: |
Questions or comments? Email me here. Personal Notes: Brooder Temps: 98.5 for first 3 hours 97.5 for next 5 days 95.0 for the next 5 to 7 days 93.0 afterwards until chick has sufficient down (approx. 2 weeks) Humidity: 50% constant The chick: First 3 days is considered CRITICAL Next 2 weeks is considered VERY IMPORTANT and the chick can die for unknown causes. Skin color should be flesh tone with a slight, whitish hugh Down is yellow in cockatoos, white in other hookbills Typical weight for newly hatched umbrella is 10 to 14 grams Chick will open its eyes between 10 and 14 days Should be eating 10% to 15% of its current body weight Use pedialite in formula instead of water No need to use active cultures until the chick is older I ordered a stainless steel band for the chick today (7/15); size #16 Formula: From Day 1 to present I am mixing the formula with pedalite only. No active cultures or vitamins are being added at this time. The crop must empty out once every 24 hours to prevent sour crop. Preparation: 1 leveled iced tea spoon of formula to 10cc liquid makes 12cc of prepared formula. Other: Parrot Handfeeding and Nursery Management by Voren, Howard; and Rick Jordon $45Questions or comments? Email me here.