Page 327 - Hand rearing birds second

316 Hand-Rearing Birds

feed their youngest chicks soft animal tissue rather than bone. Up to 30% bone may be included
after 4 weeks (Frey and Llopis 2015). There is limited information on chick rearing for the Palm-
nut Vulture, but it is likely that parents feed primarily digestible animal protein for optimal
growth. The following protocol may work well for Palm-nut Vultures, but additional informa-
tion should be sought.
For the first 72 hours, chicks are fed mouse pinks (newborn mouse pups), well minced and mois-
tened with distilled water. Typical amounts and feeding frequencies for California Condors are
shown in Table 19.2. Over the next 72 hours, the diet is converted from pinks to fuzzies (partly furred
mouse pups), and then from fuzzies to adult mice (skinned, with heads, tails, and feet removed), so
that by day 9, chicks are receiving 100% skinned mouse torsos (SMTs), chopped more coarsely. The
ratio of solids to liquids is 2 : 1 and the mixture is warmed to body temperature before feeding.
This initial diet, without supplementation of calcium or vitamin D, works well for these slow-
growing vultures, but might result in metabolic bone disease if used for true raptors and other
faster growing species. Accipitrid vulture and small Cathartid vulture chick diets have been sup-
plemented with a multivitamin product, such as Vita Hawk, and/or taken outdoors for exposure to
direct sunlight for 30 minutes per day to ensure adequate vitamin D metabolism.
By day 12, some fur is left on the mice, which will help chicks to cast properly. Chicks will not
cast every day, especially early on, and there is considerable variability in frequency, quantity, and
consistency. Casts will not be pelleted as with raptors, but should be moist and semi-formed. Some
will produce small balls of material or may pass indigestible material in the feces. Wet, pasty cast-
ings and those with a sour odor indicate that chicks are not receiving sufficient casting material to
cast as often as they should. At 2 weeks, chicks are often able to consume 100% furred mice,
chopped but including some of the heads, tails, and feet. By 4 weeks, condor chicks can usually
consume mice cut in quarters or halves and by 6 weeks may easily swallow whole mice. Although
parent-reared chicks would have little or no exposure to whole carcasses until fledging, hand-
reared chicks at this age will also begin to eat from rat carcasses that have been cut open for them
and presented when other food is not available. Encouraging this ability to self-feed makes food
preparation more efficient and less costly for the remainder of the rearing period and helps the
chick master feeding skills at an early age.
By 12 weeks, if chicks are feeding well on rats, leaving little but the skins and heads, mice can be
gradually eliminated from the diet and other adult items gradually introduced. During the nestling
period, this includes adult rabbits once per week and horsemeat (or beef), cut in strips and sup-
plemented with calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) at 6 g CaCO 3 per 1 kg of meat, also once per week. The
latter would be a poor diet alone, but in combination with whole prey items, it is economical and
ensures birds will eat this readily available product in case of interruption in the supply of rats or
rabbits. Ground meat bird of prey diets are avoided during the nestling phase due to the potential
for rapid spoilage and potential quality control issues.
By fledging, nestlings should be established on the adult diet. The diet for one California Condor
would include one rabbit one day per week, 600 g (1.25 lb) chunk horsemeat (unsupplemented) or
bird of prey diet one day per week, and four to five rats daily for 3–5 days per week. Adults feeding
chicks and recently fledged, hand-reared juveniles are fed daily until the youngest bird is
9–10 months old, when 1–2 fast days per week are implemented.
Protocols must be adapted to available materials and foods. At the breeding facilities for the criti-
cally endangered vultures in India, the only readily available meat is goat. Chicks are reared exclu-
sively on this food, supplemented with 6 g CaCO 3 per 1 kg of meat. They are limited to no more
than 10% of body weight per feeding to reduce the potential for crop stasis, metabolic bone disease,
and other problems. The growth rate is slower than chicks reared on the more varied diet with the