Tube feeding

[Pikle]

Hello everyone first time posting. I had a racoon attack a week ago. One of my 4 month old rooster got injured very bad and he has part of his skull coming out of the head. He doesn't eat on his own and I tube feed with baby parrot formula every 6 hours. He's getting better and walks (in circles) on his own but he keeps loosing weight. My question is what can I do for weight gain? He currently is 418g

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

Do you have photos of your cockerel?

Baby parrot formula is probably the best you can do, it's usually around 20+% protein.

Is he getting enough food daily? How much and how often are you tubing him?

""When crop feeding a bird, calculate the volume to be fed at 3ml per 100gms up to every six hours for adults. Juveniles are fed 10 percent of their body weight several times a day. Always check the crop first for food contents or decreased crop motility before feeding. Weighing the bird at the beginning of every day will help determine if it is receiving the appropriate amount of calories""
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/crop-feeding.75454/

 

[Kiki]

Hello everyone first time posting. I had a racoon attack a week ago. One of my 4 month old rooster got injured very bad and he has part of his skull coming out of the head. He doesn't eat on his own and I tube feed with baby parrot formula every 6 hours. He's getting better and walks (in circles) on his own but he keeps loosing weight. My question is what can I do for weight gain? He currently is 418g

How much are you feeding each time you feed?

 

[Pikle]

Welcome To BYC

Do you have photos of your cockerel?

Baby parrot formula is probably the best you can do, it's usually around 20+% protein.

Is he getting enough food daily? How much and how often are you tubing him?

""When crop feeding a bird, calculate the volume to be fed at 3ml per 100gms up to every six hours for adults. Juveniles are fed 10 percent of their body weight several times a day. Always check the crop first for food contents or decreased crop motility before feeding. Weighing the bird at the beginning of every day will help determine if it is receiving the appropriate amount of calories""
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/crop-feeding.75454/

How much are you feeding each time you feed?

I give 13ml + 5ml of plain water every 6 hours

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How much does he weigh?

What you are giving may not be enough.

 

[Pikle]

How much does he weigh?

What you are giving may not be enough.

He is 418g

 

[Wyorp Rock]

OK.
I don't want to mess this up, so let's tag in a couple of tube feeding Gurus.

@Overo Mare @HeatherKellyB

4month old cockerel weighing 418g, how much to tube and how many times a day?

Eeek! My mind is mush today.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I give 13ml + 5ml of plain water every 6 hours

Just to make sure I'm understanding correctly (long day and little sleep ) are you mixing this at 13ml of dry baby bird formula to 5ml of water? Or is this 13ml of mixed water/baby bird formula and then tubing 5ml of plain water (after giving the 13ml of formula)?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

More questions, is his crop functioning properly? How does his poop look? How much did he weigh when you started tube feeding? For his weight and age, I suspect he's not getting enough nutrients. Unlike an adult bird, his body is still using up a lot of nutrients to grow, and now heal. How is his crop feeling after what I suspect is 18ml total of tubed contents. If his crop feels fairly full, instead of giving him 5ml of water after tubing 13ml of formula+water, I would give him 18ml of mixed bird formula. If he was my little guy, I'd try to fit in a couple more feedings on top of what you've been doing every 24 hours. Just check his crop to make sure everything is moving and is empty/nearly empty before proceeding.
It's a good practice to weigh him first thing every morning with an empty crop, before he's had anything tubed. You don't want to see this number drop.
Another thing that crossed my mind was his wounds. Are you giving him an antibiotic? With exposed bone, I'm sure you're worried.
Poor little guy. It sounds like you're doing a great job taking care of him I'm cheering for him to make a full recovery!

 

[Painted Calls]

18 mls isn't much. I'd be doing probably closer to 25 every 3 hours. Let his crop tell you when he's had enough. Fill him up to about here, the turquoise area:

As long as he's hydrated, he doesn't need water in addition to the formula.

Start each morning by getting a proper weight on him with an empty crop. Write it down with the date. Make your formula and feed him until he is full but not too full. About where I marked on the diagram. Record the time and amount that you fed. Check crop throughout the day. When it's getting empty, do another feeding. I personally would not feed past 7:30 p.m. that way he has plenty of time for his crop to clear overnight for his morning weight check.