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- #41
Thank you. I'll put her in our bathroom with the heater on when we're ready, I'm not sure how hot it gets but our house is only in the 70s. I'll get pedialyte too, we already have to go out to get the feeding formula so I'll just make another stop and grab some. I'll keep updates, she goes to the vet tomorrow as well.Okay, you should start by tubing just fluids, and I recommend Pedialyte. Can you get some of that?
Step 1:
Bring the bird inside and place in a warm room, 80-85 degrees is ideal (watch for signs of over-heating).
Step 2:
Weigh the bird
Step 3:
Once warmed, correct hydration, and this should not be done until the bird is warmed up. Tube warmed (102 degrees) Pedialyte or Gatorade at 14 ml per pound of body weight, wait 60-90 minutes and repeat. If no poop is produced by 3 hours after first tubing, repeat once more.
Step 4:
Once the bird is pooping you can start tubing warmed Kaytee Exact baby bird food or a non-lay crumble (lay crumble has too much calcium). Start by tubing 14 ml per pound of body weight and increase a little at each feeding. Do not exceed 23 ml per pound of body weight. Sick birds are tube fed 2-4 times a day.
"Tube feeding, also known as gavage feeding, is an essential part of avian supportive care. Sick birds are often presented with a history of anorexia, and glycogen stores may be depleted within hours in the granivore (including psitacine, passerine and galliform species) secondary to a relatively high metabolic rate. Another important indication for gavage feeding is a documented drop in body weight of 5% to 10%."
Source: https://lafeber.com/vet/tube-feeding-birds/