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156 Hand-Rearing Birds

Fish are best offered live, as chicks instinctively chase and peck moving objects. But fish may
need to be stunned and offered via forceps to very young chicks. Dead fish can be offered; however,
this increases the chance of fish oil contamination in the water which may possibly compromise
waterproofing. It may also limit the time spent learning to hunt and compromise the overall nutri-
tion of the fish. Fish that is individually flash frozen and then thawed can be fed but care must be
taken to hand‐feed or place the fish on the haul‐out or pool’s edge, so as not to overly contaminate
the water. Fish that have been fed thawed include capelin, silversides, rainbow trout, or lake smelt.
Even if using live fish, it is impossible to replicate the chick’s natural diet. The authors recom-
®
mend a daily multivitamin supplement that contains thiamin, such as Sea‐Tabs (Pacific Research
Labs, Inc.), and others have used ThiaminE Paste (Mazuri® Exotic Animal Nutrition).

Storage­of Live­Fish
Minnows are best stored in a refrigerator or an industrial cooler. Multiple air bubble stones are
necessary to keep minnows alive. For a 10‐gal tank, two to three bubblers are needed depending on
how many minnows are housed. A simple fish tank filter works well and should be cleaned as
needed. If tap water contains chlorine, a dechlorinator must be used to treat the water before live
fish are added. This includes the fish tank, water dishes, and pools for the loon or the live fish will
die quickly.

Feeding Procedures

In the wild, chicks rely on parents for food exclusively for the first 8 weeks of life and start transi-
tioning to self‐feeding after that. Parents often continue to offer some fish up to and after 14 weeks
of age. However, many chicks will catch and eat fish when offered hourly. A fish consumption
chart can be filled out every hour to record how many fish or the mass of the fish the chick is con-
suming (Table 9.1). Before hand‐feeding, offer small fish in a dish or shallow pool; if the chick
successfully eats fish on its own, hand‐feeding may be unnecessary. Reducing hand‐feeding may
reduce habituation and unnecessary stress.
Keep offering fish until the chick is satiated. Daily weights will help decide whether hand‐
feeding is needed. The number of fish offered each feeding will depend on the size of the fish, the
size of the chick, the chick’s stress level, and if the chick is self‐feeding.

How­to Hand-feed
Hand‐feedings should be done in a pool as adult loons only feed chicks while the chicks are swim-
ming. This will also prompt them to practice shallow dives, preen, and drink. If a hatchling is not
drinking water on its own, then water should be offered each feeding. This can be done by dipping
a hemostat into the pool and dripping water on the chick’s beak. The chick should swallow the
water droplets (Barr 1996). Adults feed chicks by holding fish crosswise in their beak and present
the fish within reach of chick. The chick then grabs the fish and with some movements of the beak
and head manipulate the fish to swallow it head first. Mimic this behavior by presenting a small
fish crosswise in forceps; if the chick does not take it, wave the fish in front of its face side to side
to entice. If the chick is still reluctant, drop the fish into the pool and repeat the offering. It can take
several attempts to get a chick to take the offering (Barr 1996; Kenow et al. 2014). Take a break if
the chick begins to get too stressed.