,Feeder fish at our Petco is just goldfish. Is that what you suggest? And are you saying to feed it while it is in the incubator? How does it get water?
I am worried about it hatching late as it is already almost 6 pm!
Also, I am really thankful for you getting me this far along with this little guy! So thank you thank you thank you for all of your advice!
Petco should also have guppies and rosy reds, I fed mine a mixture of these, when they got bigger as well as mealworms and crickets. I mashed up the fish and insects (in the blender) and the babies did great, the only thing similar I had rehabbed was a 12 week old heron that had been hit by a car, so raising neonate egrets was new.
EDIT! I do agree that live feeders probably aren't best for new babies(we breed our own at the rehab, so I didn't even consider that pet store ones may have parasites), and frozen silversides are a great choice!
When mine hatched I fed them while they were still in the incubator as they were begging for food, I gave them their first couple of feeds while they were still in the incubator. Egret chicks are semi altricial, meaning they are downy and have open eyes, but still remain in the nest for 10-12 weeks. They are very fragile babies, so I left them in the incubator for 24 hours before moving them to a baby bird/parrot brooder.
They are fine without water in the incubator as their food gives them all the moisture they need.
If a grocery store near you has small, fresh fish (NEVER FEED ANYTHING CANNED! IT IS HIGHLY SALTY AND WILL LEAD TO KIDNEY FAILIURE!) you can remove all bones and feed those.
Good luck with the little one! When you drop him to the rehabber make sure to ask for updates!
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