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Ibis 293

Allow chicks to walk around their housing as soon as they are old enough to do so. Adequate
space to exercise is needed for normal bone growth and feather development. Simply changing
perching and substrate might be enough to correct crooked toes; however, toes can be taped into
correct position if the problem is caught early and will straighten as they grow. If wings begin to
turn outwards when the primary wing feathers are emerging, a figure-of-eight wrap may be used
to correct the position by keeping the primary flight feathers folded underneath the secondaries.
Be careful to apply any wraps so as to not disturb the growth of flight feathers. Check the wrap
daily, and remove it every day or two to check whether or not the wrap is still needed. Consult with
a veterinarian if growth abnormalities are noted.

Imprinting­and Habituation

Ibis imprint on humans and habituate to human presence easily, particularly when reared as sin-
gle chicks. This should be stringently avoided if chicks are intended for wild release or captive
breeding. Puppet-rearing and ghost-rearing (where the human form is disguised) minimize
imprinting, and puppet-rearing is recommended for single chicks. Recordings of nature or wetland
sounds help disguise ambient noise in the environment. Take care not to talk to or around chicks
during the rearing process. Offering food without interacting with the chicks is recommended.
Imprinting may not be recognized until the chick is nearly fledged and can be difficult to reverse;
the best solution for imprinting is prevention. See Chapter 15 for more information on avoiding
imprinting and habituation.

Diets

In zoological situations, most ibis are fed dog food or an extruded feed, plus live insects, fresh fro-
zen crustaceans and fish, and/or rodents and meat. Choose the protein source by researching the
natural history of the species. Aquatic species should receive a higher proportion of fish or crusta-
ceans and terrestrial ibis should receive animal protein such as neonate mice or geckos in addition
to insect protein. Only offer items that are small enough to be easily swallowed whole.
Good nutrition begins with proper sanitation, food handling, and storage. Inspect all food upon
receipt. Do not use any food items that appear freezer burnt, rotten, have peculiar odors, or that
have not stayed within food handling guidelines. The freezing process breaks down tissues and
makes fish and meat products more susceptible to bacterial growth after thawing. Do not air-thaw
potentially hazardous foods. Thawing under running water can leach out soluble nutrients, hence
this is a less desirable method. Once thawed, meat must be used within the next 24 hours. Discard
all thawed and unused meat and fish products at the end of each day as thawed meat products are
known to rapidly grow pathogenic bacteria (Crissey et al. 2001). Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus
aureus, Clostridium perfringens, Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridium botulinum, Listeria monocy-
togenes, Escherichia coli, and Yersinia enterocolitica are pathogens that can be transmitted during
food handling (Richter and al-Sheddy 1990). Thorough handwashing also reduces the risk of food
contamination with other pathogens (Rehe 1990).
USDA cites a refrigerator temperature of less than 40–43 °F (4–6 °C) as optimal. Maintain meat
stored for prolonged periods (up to 1 year) in a freezer with temperatures at −10 °F (−23 °C) or
lower (Crissey et al. 2001). Separate all meat and fish products from fruit diets if in a shared refrig-
erator. Cover and date all food containers. Chick gruel can be made in large batches and stored in
the freezer. Track all temperatures on a log sheet daily. Clean and disinfect food handling room and