Doing it wrong?

[Gwv]

Morning,
We have an Indian ringneck pair who have raised chicks previously very well.
This year however we had construction work going on during her nesting period, though stopped by the time she layed 4 eggs.
Two hatched but on day two they have been thrown from the nest together with the egg shells. We kinda hoped it was a rookie mistake as she kept the shells last year until we removed them.
So I placed them back and they were happily feeding and accepted again.
Another day past and we found one on the floor and another in dad's mouth.
We stepped in and took the steep curve of hand feeding. Every two hours. On the clock, formula between 100 - 110f each time, have a makeshift brooder on the correct temperature.
Hard work to say the least, the next day another baby hatched and she threw it out straight away, so three chicks now.
Fast forward two weeks, they are slowly gaining weight but unfortunately chick 3 barely gained a gram a day, despite being alert and willing to feed every two hours (crop being empty too) it seemed to convulse at times for no apparent reason (maybe due to the fall or the reason why it was rejected straight away) Unfortunately it passed away.
Anyway, two chicks left, they will be 4 weeks come this Thursday. They are starting to show little black dots at their backsides which I assume is the start of the pin feathers.
I just feel like their progress is so so slow, can this happen with handfeeding, slower development?
Google really does not help, it's very hard to find a week by week development without seeing the same pictures over and over again.
Anyway, some days I feel like its a ticking clock before they die too and that's why they've been rejected, I'm quite sleep deprived thanks to the night feeds so apologies for the rambling.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

How sad but how exciting, too! Post pics of your chicks and wlth their weights.
A slow start doesn't mean all is lost with your surviving chicks. I've hand raised budgies from hatching. By start of week four (22 days for so) the chicks should have lots of pin feathers. Keep feeding a quality formula every 3 to 4 hours except midnight to 6am and make sure their crop is full after feeding. Kaytee Exact is good, so is Higgins Ensure or Harrisons.

Make sure the formula is thick enough. If it's too runny they won't get enough nutrition. Thick pudding is a good consistency. It should be thick enough to form a pile on a spoon, not a puddle (I never syringe feed- I use a human baby sized spoon. Its much safer than syringe feeding. Temp of the well mixed formula should be 100 to 105 degrees F. Using a spoon, you can add tiny pellets to the formula to get them used to eating more solid food and get more nutrients. Harrisons high potency ultra fine pellets are perfect.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Are they gaining weight? If so, just keep it up with details I wrote above. Are they covered in down?

If you ever have to do this again you ought to get a thermostatically controlled incubator/brooder. I have two I bought on Amazon, Janoel-12. Auto turns eggs and doubles as a brooder. I've had great success using it for hatching and brooding. "Makeshift" can be really risky with temp which is very important when chicks are naked and tiny.

 

[Gwv]

I'm hoping not to do this again, the stress but I am getting a brooder just in case. Currently our makeshift brooder and heat mat works.
This is what I mean, they are still naked and weigh very little. They only seem to gain a gram a day, despite feeding well, emptying sacks, pooping fine, being alert and making noise, head bobbing when feeding etc
They are being fed on Harrison tropican but I think it's time for a switch. All I can do is try, maybe something has been wrong from the outset and that's why she rejected them. But I'll keep going whilst they are alert and happily feeding.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Are you feeding formula? Tropican/hagen has a formula.

They are not doing well. Can you bring them to an avian vet? Something is very wrong with them.

What is the brooder temp? With no feathers it should be about 95F. At this age they should be downy with tons of pin feathers and able to maintain their body temperature almost by themselves.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Take a photo the the mixed formula you're feeding them. If it's too thin they won't grow.

 

[Gwv]

Yes, feeding formula. I've noticed they're both starting to have fluff poking out today. The brooder is on 95 at all times, they have not been panting or shaking.
I've been following the feeding guidelines on the back and think I've been feeding too thinly as it was thick but still puddled (the guilt is unreal) I've thickened it up on all feeds. Because of their weight I've been feeding every two to three hours (also through the night, depending the state of their crop)
We have an appointment at the end of the week, we don't have an avain vet near so takes a bit of organising.
The formulas mentioned above I can't seem to get here but have found another highly praised one that should arrive in 48 hours.