FEATURE
1 Day Old Chick
1 Day Old Chicks
2 Day Old Chick
8 Day Old Chick
the chicks, soaked pellets developed for hornbills and larger fruit eaters (NutriBird H16 from Versele Laga) were offered too, which were accepted by the birds very well. As expected with this species, the hand-reared chicks turned out to be very calm and only some soft begging sounds were perceived. In nature, during their first 10 days, chicks are mainly fed with insects and more and more with fruits as the chicks grow up. Parents might bring back very big pieces of food while raising their offspring but luckily chicks have very large and flexible throats, which enables them to swallow the fruit of a wild avocado tree in one piece. Corresponding to their growth, the chicks’ weight increased strongly during
10 Day Old Chick
their first days. Weighing only 13 g when hatching, they already weighed 25 g by day 4. By day 10, they doubled this with a weight of 50 g, and by day 12 the balance showed no less than 78 g! Shortly after hatching, the birds were put into an artificial nest made out of a stainless steel bowl. These bowls were lined with paper towels for support, and an anti-slip mat was put in that so they could grab it with their feet. In the beginning, the chicks were kept in an incubator at 37.2 °C. Every day the temperature was adjusted and decreased, taking the wellbeing and growth of the small birds into account. From day 22, the chicks were placed in their nests in an open brooder with a dark emitter as heat
BIRD SCENE 11
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