HAND FEEDING  

Baby Greys are very lazy eaters.  Many more times than not, you will have to wake them up to feed.  If you use a small syringe they will fall asleep when you go to refill.  Feeding time is not my nurturing and play time with the chicks.  I get in and feed quickly and efficiently.  Once feeding is done, I spend my time wiping faces, cleaning the babies, and playing with them.  This is my nurturing time.  I, myself, cannot possibly feed 30-40 babies at once and play at the same time.  I would spend all my time waking them up, and trying to keep the food warm.  I am the most comfortable using a syringe to feed.  If quality-nurturing time is employed while raising chicks, whether you use a gavage, syringe, or a spoon to feed, the chicks will be the same.

African Greys prefer the air temperature cool and their food hot.  As soon as I bring them in, I try to keep the room temperature at 78 degrees.  I do not use brooders I use Tupperware tubs as their containers, with shredded newspaper as the bedding. 

I syringe feed and get as much food into them at one time, without stopping for refills.  They get bored and sleepy if you dilly-dally.  Keeping the food temperature at a constant 110 degrees seems to be a big advantage.  The minute a baby resists food I know it has cooled too much.  Resistance from a chick and very thin food, are the two main causes of aspiration.  When a chick resists food stop and check temperature.

Chicks go through developmental stages while being hand-fed.  Growth stages are sometimes interpreted by novices as problems.  They will be very active and not gain as much weight as the previous few days, then be very sleepy and put on weight for a few days. Unfortunately they don’t all do it the same day, so you may think you have a sick baby when, in actuality, it is going through a growth spurt. 

Stages in eating behaviors can be a problem.  Some throw up, others let formula run out of their mouths, some chew slapping their beaks together and with hard lips they end up splattering it all over, and some like to sling it.  They act like they are the ones doing you the favor by eating.  If they learn from the get-go they get all the food all at once, you will eliminate almost all of these problems.  Feeding time is a serious time, no fooling around.

You can produce and hand-feed quality pet birds on a large scale.  I can feed these babies in one half hour and then spend another quality hour playing and cuddling them.   

CONCLUSION

Nothing is written in stone.   There are many different directions that can be taken to reach the same goals.  Listen and talk and work with other aviculturists, and be open-minded.  As many years as we find ourselves doing this we learn something new each day.  Each breeder, hand-feeder has to know his/her own strengths and weaknesses, and be honest.  Know the strengths and weaknesses of the birds you care for.  Listen to your birds; hear what they are telling you.

                                            

        If you can't hear them with your ears, then maybe you should start listening with your heart!

                                                   Thank you, Mom, for giving me the soul to love nature the way I do.