Chicks will usually be very excited to eat and will quickly gobble up any food that you give them, but, not all birds will do this.
This article looks into everything you need to know when it comes to force-feeding chicks
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How to force-feed a baby chick:
A bird that refuses to eat will waste away and will die, so, making sure that your baby birds eat is a must.
Here is what you need to know about force-feeding chicks:
To force feed or not to force feed:
While it is advised that you quickly take action if your baby bird isn’t eating, it isn’t recommended that you try to force-feed the bird.
Force-feeding your chick can make it fearful of you, can injure the bird, or, cause the bird to aspirate.
If you do want to encourage the bird to eat, because it isn’t eating food on its own, then give the bird a liquid diet using a dropper, a syringe, or a spoon.
Dropping tiny amounts of liquid food into the bird’s mouth, or, dipping the bird’s beak into a spoon full of liquid feed, should encourage the bird to want to start to eat.
Do not try to force-feed your chick as this could cause the bird to aspirate or vomit.
What to feed the bird:
Feeding your chick sugar water, raw egg yolk, small amounts of cooked eggs, cottage cheese, finely chopped greens, or honey water will give the bird energy until it can eat its regular feed.
You can also mix up some chick crumb with some water and give this to the bird, this may be easier for the bird to eat.
Why the bird is not eating:
If your bird is not eating then this may be happening for a variety of reasons like the bird being too cold, the bird being in distress after shipping, a sickness that causes the bird to not want to eat, stress causing the bird to lose its appetite, the bird could not be eating because it doesn’t know how to eat and the bird may not eat because it has eaten, and is full of, its bedding.
It is advised that you rule out the above causes before you try to force-feed your bird.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why Does My Chick Look Like It’s Gasping For Air?, What To Do If A Chick Is Gasping For Air, 2 Day Old Chick Gasping, Chick Gasping And Chirping, Chick Gasping After Drinking, Baby Chick Vomiting, Baby Chick Leaning To One Side, Signs Of Intestinal Blockage In Chickens, Chicken Keeps Opening Mouth Like Gagging
