Page 466 - Hand rearing birds second

460 Hand-Rearing Birds

Hand-feeding­Diet­for Green­and Purple­Turacos
The following is a recommended diet for hand-feeding green and purple turacos:

2 parts commercial hand-feeding formula for parrots, such as Kaytee Exact Hand Feeding
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Formula, mixed with warm water to reconstitute as directed on package
1 part strained fruit human baby food, such as Gerber’s pear, apple, papaya, or banana (Gerber
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Products Company)
Formula should be warm, but not hot, and should be made fresh for each meal. As the chick
develops, the formula should be made with less water for a thicker pancake-batter consistency.
Mashed watersoaked softbill pellets, such as Kaytee Exact Mynah, can be substituted for the hand-
feeding formula in emergencies. As the chick grows, small chunks of fruit and water-soaked pel-
lets should be fed and the amount of formula decreased.

Suggested­Feeding­Schedule
Larger species such as Lady Ross can take slightly larger feedings (see Table 28.1). Feeding size
gradually increases throughout the day; for example, the day 2 first feeding may be 0.3 ml but by
the last feeding it is 0.5 ml. Weight gain will tell the hand-feeder whether the meals are the right
size. Increase the amount of fruit and pellet pieces while reducing the amount of formula so that
by day 10 or 11 the chick is eating only solid food.

Alternate­Hand-feeding­Diet
The following list summarizes an alternate hand-feeding diet (See Table 28.2 for feeding
schedule):
2 parts soaked Mazuri Parrot Breeder Pellets
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1 part fruit: applesauce, papaya, or both
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1 part greens: kale or endive
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®
Add enough Pedialyte (Abbott) or other pediatric electrolyte solution to moisten to a consist-
ency that is from runny oatmeal to chunky peanut butter. The solid foods offered first are usually
grape, papaya, banana, or soaked parrot pellets (see Table 28.1).
For Great Blue Turacos, the Houston Zoo includes additional vegetable or fruit baby food in the
above gruel and increases the amount of greens in the mixture. For gray species, Mazuri Leaf-eater
Primate Pellets and Mazuri Parrot Pellets are included. Chicks may seem insatiable, and no prob-
lems have been seen with allowing them to eat larger amounts than other turaco species. These
diets are constantly under revision, because the ideal diets for these species have not as yet been

Table­28.1­ Turaco feeding schedule.

Age­(days) Meal­Size­(ml) Frequency­(min)

2 0.3–0.5 30
3 0.6–0.8 30–60
4 1.0–1.2 60
5–6 1.3–2.5 with pieces of fruit, such as pear, 75
papaya, melon, apple, and soaked pellets