Page 333 - Hand rearing birds second

322 Hand-Rearing Birds

them. A digital thermometer or remote sensing probe should be placed as close to the chick as is
possible and safe. AICU brooders run at temperatures over 86 °F (30 °C) will maintain more con-
sistent and stable temperatures if a folded bath towel is placed on top for insulation and multiple
layers of towel substrate are used under the chick.
Larger, more vigorous chicks may require slightly lower initial temperatures, while small or
compromised chicks tend to need a higher temperature. Chicks that are too hot will be sprawled or
listless, may develop white salt accumulation around their nares (Cathartid species), and may
become dehydrated. Cold chicks will huddle tightly, have grayish mouth and skin color, and may
even shiver or feel cool to the touch. Their appetite and digestion will slow, potentially resulting in
crop stasis and/or sour crop.
The brooder is bedded thickly with white terrycloth towels, with the top layer thoroughly rum-
pled in small, snug folds to prevent the chick from slipping and splaying its legs. Initially, towels
may be sterilized by autoclaving and the chick placed on a square of sterile gauze as a precaution
against umbilical infection. Care must be taken to remove all loose threads from towels to prevent
injury due to entanglement of the chick’s extremities. Towels should be changed as soon as they
become soiled.
Brooder temperature is reduced approximately 1.0 °F (0.5 °C) daily, adjusting as indicated by the
individual chick. By 3 weeks, the brooder temperature will be about 75 °F (24 °C) and the chick can
be moved to an open, deep-sided tub. At this age, the brooder becomes too small and difficult to
clean for a chick that may now weigh 1 kg (2.2 lb). The tub may be the bottom half of a plastic animal
shipping crate, such as Vari Kennel (Pet Mate), modified by covering the door opening with ply-
wood or mesh, a large, plastic storage tub, or a deep, rubber feeding tub (Fortex). The tub may be
lined only with towels or may have a 3–4 in. (8–10 cm) layer of substrate such as decomposed granite
or sand lightly covered with towels. If a substrate is used, it must be changed at least weekly to pre-
vent the buildup of ammonia from urates. This is most easily done by having duplicate tubs to swap
out. Chicks should be monitored to ensure that they do not drag food through the substrate and
ingest it. Accipitrid vultures are reared in stick nests in the wild, so a stable arrangement of sturdy
sticks under older hand-reared chicks may help with foot development. Chicks from this stage
onwards spend a lot of time manipulating objects in their immediate environment. Clean, molted
feathers from adult birds and rocks or sturdy sticks too big to swallow make good nest “toys.”
It is also possible to house chicks in open tubs a few days earlier if a contact heat source is pro-
vided. Towels should be the only substrate for these younger chicks. A heating pad set under half
of the tub allows chicks that are able to move around to self-regulate their need for warmth.
Heating pads should never be placed directly inside the chick’s enclosure due to the risk of burns
or of electrocution should the wiring become exposed. Chicks under 2 weeks of age are not mobile
enough to self-regulate their temperature needs and should be kept in a forced-air brooder.
At 6–8 weeks of age, chicks may be transferred to an outdoor rearing chamber that allows them
to see and hear adult birds, weather permitting. This may be an enclosure designed especially for
this purpose or an unused nest box. Nest boxes for condors are usually 6 × 6 × 6 ft. (2 × 2 × 2 m) high,
while dedicated rearing chambers may be only 2/3 this width, or smaller for King Vultures.
Chambers should be large enough to allow chicks to vigorously exercise their wings. Enclosure
materials are plywood, plastic, or fiberglass on all sides with a sturdy wire mesh covered opening,
1.5–3 ft. (0.5–1 m) square, on the side adjacent to the flight enclosure. The bottom of this opening
is about 2 ft. (0.6 m) above the floor with a sturdy shelf perch just underneath that allows the chick
to directly view the adult enclosure at will when it is old enough to jump up on the shelf. As with
nest boxes for condors and King Vultures, the chamber floor should be covered with clean
sand 4–6 in. (10–15 cm) deep. When chicks are first transferred from the indoor tub to the outdoor