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Vultures 319

protocol above. At 60 days of age, Indian Vultures have reached 35% of adult body weight and
White-rumped Vultures have reached 40% (J. Parry-Jones and N. Prakash, pers. comm.). California
Condors and Cape Vultures reach 55–70% at the same age, even though their nestling period is
longer. The Asian species do eventually achieve normal adult size.

Feeding Procedures
To elicit feeding by the parent, the chick will reach upward toward the parent’s beak, wing begging
by pumping its wings rapidly up and down. The parent then regurgitates partially digested food,
which is very liquid for a new chick but more solid later on, and the chick may reach part-way into
the parent’s mouth to feed. For hand-reared chicks, this feeding response can be elicited by placing
the thumb and forefinger alongside the beak. Initial feedings are best delivered using a small,
flexible plastic spoon to slowly slide the diet into the chick’s mouth. It is important to get all the
fluid into the chick to ensure good hydration. Most new chicks will stop feeding and turn away if
they bite down on anything hard, such as the spoon or a bone fragment, so care should be taken to
avoid this. Some prefer using their fingers to using a spoon, but it is difficult to get all the liquid into
the chick by this method. Coordination of this process with an eager but uncoordinated chick
takes practice. Chicks may eat so fast that they expel fluid from their nares, which should be
promptly blotted away. As long as the chick is feeding voluntarily, aspiration of fluids into the
lungs is rare, but the chick should be monitored for a few minutes to ensure this has not occurred.
Chicks can learn to self-feed from a small cup as early as the first day, but most will take 2–3 days
to master this. It is essential that chicks are able to do this by about 72 hours of age in order to
implement an effective isolation rearing protocol at this stage. A shallow, light-colored, plastic
measuring cup of 50–75 ml (¼–⅓ cup) capacity works well. Chicks are naturally attracted to the
red color of the food and will quickly reach for it when the cup is held at just the right angle
(Figure 19.1). This takes practice for both chick and feeder. Ensure the fluids are consumed, using
the spoon at the end of the feeding if necessary.
Amounts fed are not limited to a prescribed amount or percentage of body weight since excessive
weight gain has not been a problem with these species. Records from healthy chicks provide a
guide for expected intake. The chick’s crop should empty to no more than 5–10% fullness between
feedings and should empty completely overnight. If this does not occur, the scheduled feeding

Figure 19.1 Feeding a 36-hour-old California Condor chick with a puppet. Source: photo by Mike Wallace,
courtesy of the Los Angeles Zoo.