Unexpected hatching - help!

[Cryss]

There she is! We named her Tahi: The Firstborn. She's been here for 24 hours now and we're in the middle of setting up the brooder. Seems to be getting hungry slowly, she started picking at my fingers already. And she slept in my cupped hands just earlier. She even got my stern, unemotional flatmate wrapped around her claws, everyone loves her. We got some chicken mash that I'll mix with warm water and then feed her later. Does anyone know when I can start feeding her other food? For example, bread and vegetables and such? Based on chickens of course.

I'll take more pictures during the next days

Oh my doooooneeesssss! If that isn't just the cutest chickie baby ever!
If I'm reading this right they mostly eat soft swamp vegetation but chicks eat meat? I was googling pukeko nutritional needs to find this. Good info all around. Try googling it for more nutritional tips.

http://www.gopi.org.nz/education/pukeko/

 

[WVduckchick]

Very cute! Congrats!

I assume the baby will eat like chickens and ducks, on their own, but since I got pigeons last year, I learned that many birds are fed by the parents for the first few weeks of life. So just in case the Pukeko has trouble eating, I’d do some research on tube feeding and alternate methods. Just to be on the safe side.

I ended up having to hand-feed a couple of pigeon babies, when the parents stopped feeding them, they just weren’t getting full on their own.

 

[glassdragonfly]

Wow! How cute!

 

[WVduckchick]

Wow! How cute!

yea, so ugly they are cute, right?!

 

[glassdragonfly]

yea, so ugly they are cute, right?!

Yup! I love all the odd ones!

 

[Kiki]

There she is! We named her Tahi: The Firstborn. She's been here for 24 hours now and we're in the middle of setting up the brooder. Seems to be getting hungry slowly, she started picking at my fingers already. And she slept in my cupped hands just earlier. She even got my stern, unemotional flatmate wrapped around her claws, everyone loves her. We got some chicken mash that I'll mix with warm water and then feed her later. Does anyone know when I can start feeding her other food? For example, bread and vegetables and such? Based on chickens of course.

I'll take more pictures during the next days

I wouldn't feed her bread ever.


Do these type of birds have to be fed or is it eating on its own?

 

[Theblackpukeko]

Very cute! Congrats!

I assume the baby will eat like chickens and ducks, on their own, but since I got pigeons last year, I learned that many birds are fed by the parents for the first few weeks of life. So just in case the Pukeko has trouble eating, I’d do some research on tube feeding and alternate methods. Just to be on the safe side.

I ended up having to hand-feed a couple of pigeon babies, when the parents stopped feeding them, they just weren’t getting full on their own.

Thanks! That is so helpful!

Pukeko chicks are indeed fed by the parents for the first days/weeks of their life, and I've started to feed her some mash mixed with water yesterday. I do it with tweezers though, but it isn't perfect yet. I also caught a few moths in our bathroom and fed them to her, seeing that they normally eat meat as well. I found a very short, but helpful article on how to feed pukeko chicks, and it says that they bond with people very easily. I found that to be true as the chick is peeping nonstop unless I pick it up, then it's instantly quiet. I tried introducing her to water as well, but she's not interested. I'm gonna buy some insects today and see how it goes. She's a lot more active already!

 

[Kiki]

Thanks! That is so helpful!

Pukeko chicks are indeed fed by the parents for the first days/weeks of their life, and I've started to feed her some mash mixed with water yesterday. I do it with tweezers though, but it isn't perfect yet. I also caught a few moths in our bathroom and fed them to her, seeing that they normally eat meat as well. I found a very short, but helpful article on how to feed pukeko chicks, and it says that they bond with people very easily. I found that to be true as the chick is peeping nonstop unless I pick it up, then it's instantly quiet. I tried introducing her to water as well, but she's not interested. I'm gonna buy some insects today and see how it goes. She's a lot more active already!

@biophiliac Do you have any tips for feeding a baby bird?

 

[Redhead Rae]

@biophiliac Do you have any tips for feeding a baby bird?

I knew a lady who used to work at a bird rescue. My mom did her hair when I was a kid. I loved it when she brought baby birds with her. She would feed the birds out of wide tip syringes. The food was a paste-like, oatmeal consistency. Thin enough to be easily pushed out/sucked into the syringe but not so thin that it drips out of the syringe without pressure.

 

[Kiki]

I knew a lady who used to work at a bird rescue. My mom did her hair when I was a kid. I loved it when she brought baby birds with her. She would feed the birds out of wide tip syringes. The food was a paste-like, oatmeal consistency. Thin enough to be easily pushed out/sucked into the syringe but not so thin that it drips out of the syringe without pressure.

I believe @biophiliac makes a feeding contraption with a plastic glove that works fabulous.