oh your sweet baby!
I've had to hand feed a critically sick quaker with chlamydiaosis.
Here is what worked for us. ( yes she pulled through!)
I weighed her every morning as her true weight.
Then I weighed before and after feeding.
My formula I made thicker but well stirred and kept warm. My formula weighed made up , 1ml weighed 1 gram.
She could take 1ml ( at sick est) to 10ml but average 7-8 ml per feeding.
Depending on how sick and where she is and how much she can take right now.
Mine was at deaths door when I started. So she could take 1-3ml at first, I fed her every 2 hours during daytime. Let her sleep and recover at her normal bedtime.
After a couple of days she could take about 5ml every 2 hours. I did at least 4 feeding a day.
Then I let her guide me. She started taking 10mls but then stabilized and started eating some of her food on own and averaged 6ml-8ml and I did twice daily.
It took a long time to recover and my vet had me keep offering an evening feeding of 6-8 for over a month msybe even 2 months.
Important, adult birds crops don't stretch like babies.
You will know you are getting it right if they slowly start gaining weight back. She would gain 1-2 grams back every day or every other day at first true weight .
I weighed before each new feeding and after. she would go up in weight by the number if ml i fed, in 2 hrs by next feeding she would drop back down by 2-5 . But her weight would be higher than first morning weight. By tge end of tge day her weight would be 10grsm higher. The next morning her first true weight would be same or show a slight gain.
Fir example at the start 96 grams skinny for her. First feeding after she weigh 101, before next feeding 98, after feeding 104, in 2 hours before next feeding 100, after 108. Kinda like that.
First weight the next day 97 grams. Slowly gained back steady tho not every day . Till she reached her healthy first weight of 110 grams. Then maintained with only end of day feeding till after forever I was able to stop all feeding.
I hope thst is not to confusing?
Cliff notes don't stretch the crop, crop should empty some before next feeding . If super sick and not drinking and dehydrated at first make formula runnier for all of first day feeding. Feed on average 5ml -12ml really don't go higher, spread between 3-4 feeding daily. If stool has way more liquid than normal formula to wet, if stool is dry and small formula to think, or you are not getting enough food in her during the day. Adults seem to prefer thicker formula like yogurt thickness but can draw up and give without getting stuck in syringe. You should start seeing weight gain if she needs to gain back, or stable weight if you are just supportive and supplementing. You do not want to see wright loss. Then either you aren't getting enough into her daily, or her antibiotics need to be changed either dose or new type.
To prevent yeast overgrowth from antibiotics I fed 3ml daily or every other day of Greek yogurt with live cultures acidophilus being one, no artificial sweetners. Till antibiotics finished. You may hear people for or against yogurt. I 100% swear by it, saw benefits, and vet said would not hurt her.
Because we had a few relapses and had to restart antibiotics, one time I didn't give the yogurt. She ended up with a crop yeast infection and we had to add nystatin( to treat yeast) so I will Always give yogurt when on antibiotics.
Keeping your burd warm is extra extra important for sick birds. I used a radiant heat panel called the Sweeter heater as sold on Amazon smallest size and hang on outside of cage or set back as needed fir ideal warmth. Do not use a heat lamp. You can also use K and H cage warmer panel they snuggle up to it. I don't think its powerful enough, but it will help.
