One person tube feeding.

[casportpony]

How much does she weigh?

 

[Shadrach]

How much does she weigh?

I'm not sure tbh. The scales I have are hanging style fisherman's scales and not very accurate.
Under a kilo I think.

 

[Shadrach]

I'll be back.

 

[casportpony]

o. I'm only trying to get 8 centiliters of water into her!

I am hoping this is a typo and you mean 8 ml or 8 cc's, 'cause 8 centiliters = 80 ml, which is a lot of fluid for a small bird.

 

[Shadrach]

Nope, not a typo. It was an estimate of crop volume when full.
I got 50 centiliters into her but not with the tube. You're right, the tube is just to short now and there is not enough slack when she jerks her head. I'll need to look for more tube and I'll need a larger diameter for feeding rather than water. She was a lot calmer tonight and sat quietly on my lap until I tried to put the tube in.
I did it direct with a syringe bit by bit. It took a while but her crop is full and she was much better behaved with the massage. She has two poops, small but the right consistency so stuff is going through okay.
I've put her back on her perch with the rest of her tribe for the night and I'll check her poop and crop in the morning. At the moment there isn't much else I can do. I'm hoping that by flooding her crop the bits that feel like small stones will get washed into her gizzard.
I have a feeling that they may not actually be stones because they felt like they were floating in her crop when I massaged her.

 

[casportpony]

Okay. The max crop volume number I go by is 5% of their body weight, but I usually start with 2-3%, so 2-3 ml per 100 grams of body weight, then increase to 5% (5 ml per 100 grams).

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I put the bird on the floor on a towel and then knelt over it so my thighs are just behind where neck meets body. Crossing your ankles blocks the bird backing put, squeeze just enough to pin firmly but no more, lower your body so you arent sitting on the bird, but upward motion is blocked. One hand now can hold/position head while the other inserts tube....use first hand to hold once in place while still also holding head....second hand is freed up to dispense formula through tube. It took longer to type this out than it does to do this from start to fed bird, took about two feedings to have it be like second nature

 

[Shadrach]

Okay. The max crop volume number I go by is 5% of their body weight, but I usually start with 2-3%, so 2-3 ml per 100 grams of body weight, then increase to 5% (5 ml per 100 grams).

That's very scientific. I just guesstimated.
You can feel when the crop is fullish and that's what I've gone for.
She's getting on a bit and I'm very fond of her, even if she isn't overly struck on me.

 

[Shadrach]

I put the bird on the floor on a towel and then knelt over it so my thighs are just behind where neck meets body. Crossing your ankles blocks the bird backing put, squeeze just enough to pin firmly but no more, lower your body so you arent sitting on the bird, but upward motion is blocked. One hand now can hold/position head while the other inserts tube....use first hand to hold once in place while still also holding head....second hand is freed up to dispense formula through tube. It took longer to type this out than it does to do this from start to fed bird, took about two feedings to have it be like second nature

Thanks, I did it like that with a rooster but this hen is tiny and I worry about crushing her.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Thanks, I did it like that with a rooster but this hen is tiny and I worry about crushing her.

Understand. I did recently have to tube a 5 week old pullet chick, and for that 1 I modified my approach by sitting in a chair and wedging her between my thighs so that I could apply that same sort of pressure and keep her under control and then used both hands in the same way.