• Contains healthy, all-natural sources of essential fats such as coconut oil and macadamia nut meal.
• Enhanced with vitamins, minerals and amino acids.
• Added DHA omega-3 and -6 fatty acids contribute valuable antioxidants.
• Rice based and contains no artificial preservatives or flavors and no corn.
• Delicious natural mango and banana flavors encourage your growing macaw’s healthy appetite.

Your young macaw has high energy needs, and Higgins inTune Hand Feeding Hi-Energy Bird Food is designed to meet them! Rice based and free of corn, artificial colors and preservatives, it delivers healthy nutritional fats from ingredients like coconut oil and macadamia nut meal. It’s also enriched with important additional vitamins, minerals and amino acids, as well as antioxidants in the form of docosahexaenoic (DHA) omega-3 and -6 fatty acids. With its delicious natural mango and banana flavors, you’ll have your little feathered friend eating out of the palm of your hand!

Directions & Dosages 

Higgins inTune Hand Feeding is easy to prepare and feed, but there are a few important steps to follow when preparing the formula. We recommend using filtered water that has been heated to 120F (49C). If unsure of the water quality, boil for a minimum of 10 minutes, and then allow the water to cool to 120F before mixing with the hand feeding. We do not recommend using a microwave to heat the water or mixed formula as microwave heating can cause uneven heating and dangerous hot spots.

Use the mixing chart below to determine your birds inTune food-to-water ratio. Note that the listed ratios are a suggested guideline and may be modified depending on the age, health, type of bird and environmental temperature. Once mixed thoroughly with a spoon, allow the mixture to rest until an inserted thermometer registers a temperature of between 102F - 108F (39C - 42C). This is the recommended temperature to begin feeding.

NEWLY HATCHED TO 2 DAY (24 - 48 hrs) OLD CHICKS: Should be fed a watered down version of the formula. The formula will separate at this ratio, which is a normal occurrence. Blend well prior to each filling of the syringe to ensure adequate delivery of nutrients. A new born chick requires hydration and water soluble nutrients more than anything else at this early stage.

2 TO 5 DAY OLD CHICKS: Begin to eat a thicker formula at a ratio of 1 part inTune Hand Feeding Formula to 3 - 4 parts water. The blended formula should have the consistency of baby food or apple sauce but flows easily from the syringe or pipette.

5 DAYS OLD TO THE WEANING STAGE: Should be mixed at an even thicker ratio and blended to the consistency of a creamy pudding. Ratios listed are our recommendation as a starting point. Humidity, ambient temperature, species of bird, etc. may require slight modifications.

Feed the blended formula with a clean, disinfected syringe, spoon, tube or any other instrument you're comfortable with. A separate syringe or utensil should be used for each individual baby chick or each incubator. Fill the feeding syringe and be sure to expel any air in the feeding end. Always feed the baby bird from the left side of its mouth. This way the syringe is pointed towards the pharynx that leads to the esophagus. If you feed from the right side, the syringe will be pointed toward the trachea and food aspiration can occur. Aspiration can also occur when the baby bird is reluctant to feed or the formula is dispensed before the baby birds natural feeding response. Feed the blended formula with the baby birds natural feeding response (head bobbing up and down rapidly). This is a natural way of feeding and decreases the likelihood of formula being inhaled. Feed until the baby birds crop is nicely rounded or it refuses any more food. It is important to not over-feed the chick as that could lead to regurgitation. Each feeding should consist of 8% to 12% of the baby chicks weight. After feeding, wipe away any remaining food found on and around the beak area. Place baby bird back in a warm area or incubator. Clean and sanitize all utensils and discard any unused blended inTune Hand Feeding Formula immediately to avoid microbial growth.

OTHER IMPORTANT FEEDING GUIDELINES: Baby birds need to be fed on a routine schedule. Newly hatched baby birds need to be fed every 2 hours. Their crops should empty or almost empty at this frequency. This will indicate if the baby bird is getting the right amount of food in between feedings. As your baby bird grows, its feeding frequency will decrease from every 2 hours and lengthen slowly to every 6 to 8 hours, depending on age, sex, and environmental temperature. Monitoring weight gain and loss is one of the more proactive ways to ensure your baby birds are thriving and maintaining a healthy development. Baby birds should be weighed every morning to maintain proper weight gains and monitor overall growth. If you notice your baby birds crop slow down in between feedings or the crop still has food from the prior feeding, take the following steps immediately: (1) Check that the brooding temperature is adequate. Usually, this will be the cause of crop slowdowns. (2) Thin out the formula at a ratio of 1 part inTune to 3 parts water for 24 hours and then slowly return to the normal concentration within the next 24 hours. (3) If after 36 hours there is no noted improvement, consult a professional avian veterinarian immediately.

Ingredients

Brown Rice, Soybean Protein Concentrate, Coconut Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Dried Milk, Cane Sugar, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Dicalcium Phosphate, Bananas, Flaxseed, Casein, Brewers Dried Yeast, Dried Whey, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Algae Meal, Macadamia Nut Oil, Dried Cultured Skim Milk, Natural Mango Flavor, DL-Methionine, L-lysine, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Lecithin, Wheat Germ Meal, Mixed Tocopherols (preservative), Rosemary Extract, Green Tea Extract, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Niacin, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Ferrous Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Sulfate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Manganese Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Cobalt Carbonate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Casei Fermentation Product.
Guaranteed Analysis

CRUDE PROTEIN 21.0% mim

CRUDE FAT 16.0% min

CRUDE FIBER 3.0% max

MOISTURE 10.0% max

VITAMIN C 100 mg/kg min

VITAMIN E 100 IU/kg min

OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS 0.3% min

OMEGA-6 FATTY ACIDS 1.2% min

DOCOSAHEXAENOIC ACID (DHA) 0.03% min

TOTAL LACTIC ACID BACTERIA 200000 cfu/g min

(Enterococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Lactobacillus Casei)