Roudybush Formula 3 Hand-Feeding Baby Bird Food 24 oz

Roudybush Formula 3 is a hand-feeding formula for all species of psittacine, from day one through to weaning. It is also used for squabs older than 7–14 days, after they come off a crop-milk replacer. It is not for insectivorous birds.

Like the rest of the range it is complete — no additional vitamin or mineral supplements.

Mixing ratios by stage

Roudybush publish the ratio by age and species size. Formula to water, by volume:

Roudybush's own instruction: "Mix dry formula into warm water and feed as soon as possible. Make fresh formula at each feeding. Never feed leftovers." Spread the feeds across a 16-hour day, timed so the crop is almost empty when the next meal comes.

Hand-feeding safety — please read

Roudybush do not print a temperature on the bag, so what follows is standard avian hand-feeding practice rather than the manufacturer's instruction. It is the part that keeps chicks alive.

• Feed at roughly 102–106°F (39–41°C). Use a thermometer every time. Formula that is too hot burns a hole through the crop wall; formula that is too cold sits in the crop and ferments. Both are emergencies.
• Do not use a microwave. Microwaves create hot spots — the spoonful you tested reads fine and the one behind it does not. Warm the mixing water instead, or stand the container in hot water.
• Mix fresh every feed. Warm, wet, protein-rich formula is an ideal culture medium. Throw away what is left.
• Clean every utensil after every feed.
• Never force food into the beak. Aspiration — food going down the windpipe — kills chicks quickly and there is usually nothing to be done afterwards.
• Weigh daily on a gram scale and check the crop empties between feeds. A crop that stays full needs an avian vet the same day.

If you have not hand-fed before, do not learn on a chick. Ask a breeder or an avian vet to show you, and buy a weaned bird if you possibly can.

Guaranteed analysis

Ingredients

Corn starch, corn flour, soybean protein isolate, soybean flour, soybean oil, corn bran, dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, DL-methionine, choline chloride, potassium chloride, niacinamide, mixed tocopherols, rosemary extract, ascorbic acid, citric acid, lecithin, silicon dioxide, manganese sulfate, zinc sulfate, alpha tocopherol acetate, biotin, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, copper sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, sodium selenite, thiamine mononitrate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex, vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3, ethylenediamine dihydriodide, folic acid, cyanocobalamin.

Questions we get asked

What about lory chicks?
Roudybush recommend Formula 3 rather than their Lory Nectar for chicks — more protein for growth and less sugar.

Can I use it for a wild baby bird?
No. This is for psittacines, not insectivores, and most garden fledglings are insectivores. Call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator — in most US states it is also illegal to keep native wildlife without one.

How do I know how much to give?
By the crop, not by the clock. Feed until the crop is comfortably full, never taut, and time the next feed for when it has almost emptied.

Can I make a batch for the day?
Roudybush say no — fresh at every feed, never leftovers.

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