# Feeding a six day old Humming Bird



## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi all, 

A friend of mine had stopped over last February when I was about to feed a Baby Humming Bird, and he made a little Video with his digital Camera.

This Humming Bird Baby was about six days old I think, when the Video was made.

His Body was about the size of a Coffee Bean, and he could S-T-R-E-T-C-H that tiny neck UP like you would not believe...his Head was about the size of a Milo seed, and his Beak was of course very tiny.

Usually we did the chow-time pretty elegantly, but in this instance it took me a minute to get things lined up right, so he had to do a few of his tiny Jack-in-the-Box neck stretches trying to get the 'tube'...

When it was done right, I'd lower the Tube and he'd just pop "up" around it and I would dispense the tiny drop of food into his Crop. At this age their eye lids are still forming prior to being able to open and they are totally naked...still pretty much an embryo really, but quite aware and sensitive of course.

I could talk to him in various ways, and if I said "Hey Bub, it's chow time!" He'd pop "up"...so, he learned the drill fast, and HE would do the alignment with the tube as long as I managed to start off close to right...and all I had to worry about was having the depth to where I was holding it, to have that part correct so when he did his pop 'up' around the tube, I would not hurt the bottom of his Crop.

He was the most wonderful little Creature you could ever hope to see...very much like some tiny tiny 'Dragon'...

Feed-times were every ten to fifteen minutes, eighteen hours-a-day.

I kept him going pretty well for fourteen days ( I got him and a sibling - lost the sibling on the second day) when they were one day old - they had been badly chilled and rained on prior to being brought to me as wilty blobs, ) and then lost him, on day 14, I believe from some bacteria in a new food ingredient I unwisely used ( strained purree of Meal Worm...) but till I did that, he had grown steadily, was sprouting incipient Feather spikes, and been vigorous and happy and LOVED to eat.


Anyway, hard to see much of him in the video, but if you look closely, you can see his tiny Head and Beak and Throat as he lurches 'up' to get the feeding tube into his Crop. 

Syringe was fitted with a collar on the plunger to ensure I could only dispense the correct amount for his tiny Crop. And the correct amount was one very very small 'droplet' of special formula, filtered to pass through that tiny tube.


Tube was about .025 of an inch OD and quite small ID...and blunt on the end..made from one hollow strand of very small Electrical wire insulation, minus the Wire.

Anyway...

I got so involved with this tiny Bird Baby, feeding him all those hundreds of times and worrying constantly, monitoring him constantly, being so happy he was making it, and growing and starting to sprout those tiny spiked of incipient Feathers...when I finally lost him I just wept for days. 

My finger tips seemed like the ends of 55 Gallon Barrels next to him...even stretched out he was not as tall as one of my fingter tips is wide. He was so tiny, and he was such a good sport about it all.


Love, 

Phil
Las Vegas


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hi Phil,

I'm so sorry you lost the baby and especially after having been successful for so long. I know that had to really hurt. I also know that such tiny, tiny beings are very difficult to raise. You sure gave it a good try. I'm not real up on my baby hummingbird diet information, so I really don't know what one should feed them. 

Where is the link to the video?

Terry


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Terry, 


Ooops! I forgot to include the very link itself...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfjT4mKJzc4&mode=related&search

Anyway, my friend made the little MPEG way back when, but I never saw it till yesterday when out of the blue, he sent the link to me in an e-mail.

Some of what was so profound with this little one, was how alert and cogent he was...and how he really did everything he could to make it easier for me to feed him.

He and his sibling were brought to me in their Nest, and the diameter of the Nest was such that a 25 Cent piece covered it all but for a hint of the rim. It was a marvelous deep little Nest, all made of Cob-Webs, tiny Lichen, the tiniest of Humming Bird Feathers, bits of thistle Down or similar...and the Nest soon dried out perfectly from the Rain soaking it and they had had.

Earlier formula mixes he did not like, and he acted like it too, there was no ambiguity...it was as if he was saying "Yuck!" then he'd literally turn away...and when I abandonded the formula some experts had given me, and made up my own, he really cheered up and you could tell instantly he really liked the new chow.

My mistake was in changing that formula because some other expert got really mad at me on the phone when I told them what I was feeding the little one, so, I compromised and did what they suggested and then that over-night he died...but till then he was doing really well...so...we learn the hard way sometimes...but we can learn, somehow.

The tiniest feets and Wings I have ever seen...tiniest everything...

You got to hand it to Mother Humming Birds, they really have to work harder than anyone to raise their Babys...

This wore me out something terrible too. It is impossible to get anything done when you have to feed someone every ten to fifteen minutes! and all the constant worry and so on and checking on him and the feeding proceedure being so delicate and precise and so on. Me having to gauge hus Crop before each feed to make sure it had the room for the tiny 'drop', so as not to over-fill him where he might aspirate the liquid, and I did accidently over-fill him a few times but he managed allright anyway, he just sort of threw up the extra, then snuggled into his Nest and slept till the next round...

Anyway, for all the stress of it, it was one of the most marvelous experiences I have ever had.


Phil
Las Vegas


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Phil, what an experience!!! Amazing video! Thanks for capturing that one on film.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Wow, Phil! Such a tiny one. I've had a couple of adult hummers and some baby Bushtits .. also very, very small. They are tough but do react as you have found .. if you will try, so will they .. at least the babies. 

To all on this list .. raising something that starts out the size of your little fingernail is tough to say the least .. not something trivial to undertake .. the bigger babies are hard enough .. these little bumblebee sized beings are just almost impossible. Best find a rehabber who is experienced with them .. I know in Phil's case that wasn't possible .. we've been there and done that a bunch .. 

Kudos to you Phil for doing as well as you did!

Terry


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

How incredible, Phil! I can't begin to imagine feeding something that small!

I'm so sorry you lost him - what a shame after all that time!

Still sending belated COMFORTING HUGS!


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Phil, I know you felt bad to lose this baby but you are to be congratulated for at least trying. When we used to rehab songbirds, the smallest we got in was about the size of my thumb - we used to call them UFO's because usually you couldn't tell what they were. I know our rehabber friend, who has probably raised a thousand or more birds, really hated to get the teenies in because they were so hard to care for. My husband wouldn't even touch them but, I guess, because my hands are so small, it was easier for me to feed them.

I was amazed, watching the film, at how much he moved his head trying to be fed. That made it 10 times harder for you.


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Oye...

Yahhhh, in the Video he comes up and is really trying for me to get the tiny tube lined up and in. He was pretty strong there.

Initially he and his sibling were so feeble, even after being warmed up after their hypothermia and wetness, they could just barely do a partial attempt then would be too fatigued and would slump down and snooze some more...which of course was a vicious circle, since they really needed to eat.

Anyway, most of the time we had it together for an elegant alignment instantly, and mostly this was a matter of me having things lined up right for how he'd 'pop' up...before he popped up.

I spent a lot of time trying to find people to help me on that...closest rehabber who would take them was in San Diego, and I had no way to get there, my old Van at the time would be too risky for that distance and I did not have the dough to rent a Car for it, so...


San Diego was some world renowned Humming Bird expert, and she claimed to have a really good formula but would not share it with me.

The formula she did share was about the same as others I had gotten, and I was not satisfied with it and neither were the Babys...so...

I figured out my own formula then, and it seemed to be be well accepted by the little ones...you can tell instantly with these if they like the chow or not, there is no mystery about it.

Otherwise, I figured once I had him far enough, I would find a way to get to San Diego for her to take over from there and let him have experiences in their Arboretum and so on with Flower sipping and tiny Bug catching.

I think I have some pictures in a floppy...if I can find them I will post them.

Sure was a heck of a deal...a COLD, rainy February here, and these two tiny ones in their rain sodden Nest get 'rescued' by a fellow who had been watching them through his window...long story, but overall it seemed too doubtful to try putting them back, and according to him he never saw the mom again since the day before he realized the Babys and Nest were hanging sideways in the rain on a lowish Palm frond with no momma to be seen...so...

Golly...

Phil
Las Vegas


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## jazaroo (Jan 1, 2006)

Hi Phil,

I read this thread the day you posted it and was at a loss just what to say to you, I could only imagine the truly deep sorrow you where feeling then for their loss, I am sure still feel.

Although the video was not originally available for some reason, I have thought about you and those wee babies everyday since. I did view the video the other day and it's pretty much how I imagined it.

Last night a commercial came on the television that featured a hummingbird and my first thought went to you and those little forces of life and the realization came to me that I would probably not see a hummingbird again without a vision of you feeding those tiniest of beings coming to my mind.

This is actually a good thing, as it will remind me of the unsung good people do that mostly goes unrecognized, thanks for trying so hard for them.

Ron


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

What an amazing video and an amazing thing you did! And to think in the past I've complained about bottle-feeding kittens every four hours! I can't imagine every ten or fifteen minutes. You dedicated literally two weeks of your life to that little guy, and then to lose him must have just been so awful. It's worse when you were doing just fine and someone intervened and you, thinking they are the expert and must know best, follow their advice only to lose the little guy, how frustrating and sad. Thanks for sharing the video with us and for all you do!


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

Phil, I'm so sorry you lost him after going through all that. I'm sure the success rate for feeding tiny hummers is pretty small, but that doesn't make it hurt any less. Bless you for trying.


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Phil, 

I remember reading your thread when first posted but never did see the video (until now) & because I lost track of this thread. 

That is amazing to see just how tiny this little baby was next to your hands! It's hard to comprehend it's even a bird! In some species the adults are only like large bumblebees, so the babies must be so incredibly tiny. It makes you wonder how anyone would even find a nest with eggs or babies. I'm sure people overlook them all the time in backyards and gardens because they are so small, fading into obscurity. If a nest were ever to be knocked to the ground in the grass, it's highly unlikely anyone would ever recognize a quarter sized bundle of spider webs and moss for what it was.
Similarly, I doubt anyone would see a chick in the grass or laying in foliage.

Thanks for sharing this story, the remarkable video and I'm sorry this ending wasn't a good one. I really wouldn't think the odds are very great for even the most experienced of hummingbird rescuers.


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