Try to avoid tube-feeding, but if the need arises, get a big 60ml syringe... (A chicken crop holds around 100ml). You'll want to make a slurry of her feed in a blender and fill that syringe. You can add any extra vitamins etc to the mix.
If you are medicating, I would recommend doing this before tube feeding or pre- loading it onto the tip of the tube.
For the tube, silicone tubing wide enough to fit snugly over the end of the syringe. Potable water ones are best and come in a variety of widths, so getting a snug fit shouldn't be hard.
Cut about 2-3" long and melt the edges on one end till they are smooth, so as not to cut the throat on the way down.
Pull up your slurry, add the tube, squeeze out till there is no air in the tube, only food/medicine at the end of you choose, and cover the tube in olive oil so it's slick.
It's best if you have someone to hold them, but you can do it yourself with them tucked between your legs. - they will likely try to back up or flap to break your hold. Best to make sure they can't back up and to have their wings pinned by holding them down from the shoulders. If you are wrapping them in a towel, fold it under their wings before wrapping around their body and they are less likely to flap free. A 'holder' should keep their bodies horizontal.
Pull their head up to straighten out the throat. You should be holding behind the head near the ears - there are natural depressions in the skull there and us a good place to get head control on any bird no matter how big and vicious.
Open the mouth and have a look. The hole at the base of the tongue is for breathing (you can see them breathing through it) so make sure you get past that. Best way to do this is to go in at an angle and also aim for the side of their mouth.
Once the tube starts to go down, you should be able to feel it through their neck. Try not to force the tube too far down as it could scratch or damage the crop. You want to be at least half way down their neck though, then you can start plunging the syringe. The recommendation is to 'pulse', so 10ml or so at a time till it's empty. Bend the tube in half (unless it's too thick) before removing or remove slowly as this makes them less likely to regurgitate.
** Always check that the crop is empty before feeding
** Stop immediately if the food starts coming up the throat.
If you just need to get water down, try to get a smaller syringe and a tube from the vet. I got ahold of a kitten/puppy feeding tube that's mean to go all the way down to the stomach and cut it to size. It works great for just giving water/electrolytes. I can even get thinned polyaid down with it and it's much less intrusive than the silicone one. I use it with a little 12ml plunger.
Oh, and if the tube does 'not' fit snugly or your slurry is super thick, hold it in place while you plunge so it does not 'explode'.
As I help out with Birdcare Aotearoa in NZ, I've had plenty of experience with tube feeding, particularly with Kereru, which are pretty much bantam-size. They tend to go off their food and we end up tube-feeding prolly 3/4 of what comes in... And since they like to get drunk on fermented berries and smash into windows, we always have a few in.
If you are medicating, I would recommend doing this before tube feeding or pre- loading it onto the tip of the tube.
For the tube, silicone tubing wide enough to fit snugly over the end of the syringe. Potable water ones are best and come in a variety of widths, so getting a snug fit shouldn't be hard.
Cut about 2-3" long and melt the edges on one end till they are smooth, so as not to cut the throat on the way down.
Pull up your slurry, add the tube, squeeze out till there is no air in the tube, only food/medicine at the end of you choose, and cover the tube in olive oil so it's slick.
It's best if you have someone to hold them, but you can do it yourself with them tucked between your legs. - they will likely try to back up or flap to break your hold. Best to make sure they can't back up and to have their wings pinned by holding them down from the shoulders. If you are wrapping them in a towel, fold it under their wings before wrapping around their body and they are less likely to flap free. A 'holder' should keep their bodies horizontal.
Pull their head up to straighten out the throat. You should be holding behind the head near the ears - there are natural depressions in the skull there and us a good place to get head control on any bird no matter how big and vicious.
Open the mouth and have a look. The hole at the base of the tongue is for breathing (you can see them breathing through it) so make sure you get past that. Best way to do this is to go in at an angle and also aim for the side of their mouth.
Once the tube starts to go down, you should be able to feel it through their neck. Try not to force the tube too far down as it could scratch or damage the crop. You want to be at least half way down their neck though, then you can start plunging the syringe. The recommendation is to 'pulse', so 10ml or so at a time till it's empty. Bend the tube in half (unless it's too thick) before removing or remove slowly as this makes them less likely to regurgitate.
** Always check that the crop is empty before feeding
** Stop immediately if the food starts coming up the throat.
If you just need to get water down, try to get a smaller syringe and a tube from the vet. I got ahold of a kitten/puppy feeding tube that's mean to go all the way down to the stomach and cut it to size. It works great for just giving water/electrolytes. I can even get thinned polyaid down with it and it's much less intrusive than the silicone one. I use it with a little 12ml plunger.
Oh, and if the tube does 'not' fit snugly or your slurry is super thick, hold it in place while you plunge so it does not 'explode'.
As I help out with Birdcare Aotearoa in NZ, I've had plenty of experience with tube feeding, particularly with Kereru, which are pretty much bantam-size. They tend to go off their food and we end up tube-feeding prolly 3/4 of what comes in... And since they like to get drunk on fermented berries and smash into windows, we always have a few in.
what's it looking like?
