# Night feedings?



## Vasp (Jul 25, 2006)

Is it best to feed squabs during the night, or does it not matter?


Just wanted to know.

Thanks.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

I believe the parents feed the babies all through the night as long as they are on crop milk. But, once the babies start getting fed seeds, obviously, the parents are not going in the dark and eating and coming back and feeding the youngsters, so...........yes, when they are tiny, say the first 6 or 7 days, but after that, it's not necessary to feed them during the night.


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## Vasp (Jul 25, 2006)

Okay, great. I love staying up late anyway! ...Or all night, even.

It sounds sort of stupid, but can _anyone_ here offer a helping hand?
I'm going to be hand feeding newly hatched squabs in less than a week, from what I can tell, at least. There have been so many people helped through every step of the way on here with their squabs, but I worry that if I'm not given some sort of assistance and have a place to come to when I encounter a problem or have a question, that I risk losing them... They're unborn as of now.


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Vasp, 


Well for the tiniest of them, of course it is tiny meals off and on...

My rule of thumb, is whatever hours I keep, is the hours in which they will get fed...

So, I feed them when I first get started in the morning, and however many times through out the day, with one last feed before I go to bed...


So, you are getting Babys who have JUST pipped?

You know, if you can do so, you would be much MUCH better off getting them after they are a week old or so, so the parents will have had some days there to nourish and nurture them and give them the antibodys and enzymes and so on.

True neonates are very delicate, and especially stressful if one has not done them before, or even if one has...so, it would be much better for you, and for them if you can wait somewhat.

So, if you possibly can, let them be cared for by their parents for their first six or seven or eight days...


Phil
Las Vegas


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## Vasp (Jul 25, 2006)

They have no parents... And I have no fosters. I'm 100% willing to take on the task of raising these babies. I have handled many neonates before..I know how delicate they are... I have hand raised parrots and song birds and even some pigeons, but I just feel as if, due to my recent losses, I am better off having advice right on hand. I have an avian vet, but she is often very busy. In fact, she's away now doing a serious operation on a Macaw.


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Ahhhhhh...

Well, you likely know...the Eggs need to have the right humidity, all along, and also toward their time for the impending neonate to pip...the Eggs must not be allowed to dessicate or the Shell, for one thing, will be to 'hard' for the feotus to pip out...

Their warm there-after, similarly, needs to be humid...

Oye...

I have never raised any so young as the ones you are facing.

I have fed some that age, and I used the 5/8ths of an inch 'end' of a conventinal people-baby-bottle-nipple, because that was all I had on hand...

"Roudybush", if I recall, asserts that their powder formula mix is well suited to just-hatched Pigeons and Doves...but I do not have any on hand to re-acquaint myself with the ingredients...


If you read the technical analysis of Pigeon Milk, of course ostensibly, it has so much 'fat' and so much 'protean' and so much this or that mineral or vitamine and so on...but of course it is not that simple, and is worth thinking about as for just what one should use.

I did think about all this a lot at one time, then forgot most of whatever I figured out...


At least the 'MacMilk' seems to have good reports to favor it...

But by day seven or so, I think I would shift things to eliminate the animal meat aspect and look for desireable vegetative fat and protean sources.


Ayway...just rambleing...

When are they due to pip?



Phil
Las Vegas


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hi Vasp,

It isn't necessary for you to stay up all night to feed the newly hatched babies. As Phil has posted, it will be sufficient to do regular feedings during the hours in which you are usually awake. When I have hatchlings, I do the first feeding around 6:30-7:00 AM then throughout the day and evening with the last feeding around 10:00 PM.

Terry


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Normally, our last feeding of newborns is like Terry and Phil said, last thing before we go to bed. However, this spring when we had so many newborns to feed there were two that were so "iffy" we did set the clock for around 2 am and fed them for a few nights. They did just fine. The main thing is not to overfeed for the first week or so - just regular small amounts.


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## Vasp (Jul 25, 2006)

Yeah, I know about the humidity. I have the eggs in an incubator, with a thermostat. Everything's regulated. It's a commercial incubator and it's 100% accurate. They're sitting in proper humidity and temperature, being turned almost every hour, if possible. Near the internal pip, the humidity has to be increased, and the most crucial part the humidity plays is making sure, during the external pip and ctual hatching event, that the neonate doesn't get stuck to its shell. A few times, I have had to help babies out of their shells, but it's usually good. Some embryos just aren't strong enough to make it out themselves. Unlike in nature, it's all fair game for me. They're still living beings, and I will go to almost any length to save them. I have raised a few babies from hatch, and believe it or not, they are very strong little guys. They can drag themselves around almost immediately. I just make sure to give them lots of good nutrients and warmth. ...And even though I do have some experience, I would rest much more assured if I had a helping hand, or five. Thank you everyone.


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