Wow this all sounds very time consuming...
Good on you for helping the babies out...
None of my birds have ever bred, so I know nothing of this, but find it very interesting...

Yes, raising babies is time consuming. It takes me at least 5 minutes per chick per feeding. Actually feeding the baby doesn't take very long but the prep time and cleanup for each chick adds up. I had 8 chicks this year, and feeding all of them once a day took 40 minutes to an hour. I've never pulled babies from the parents so they would be completely handfed, but doing several handfeeding sessions a day would put a serious dent in one's free time.

Even if the chicks are completely parent fed, the breeding process takes time and attention. The parents prefer soft foods which have to be replenished several times a day. There's extra mess to clean up, and the health and weight of the babies needs to be monitored. As the babies grow they should be handled daily to help socialize them to humans, and once they fledge the mess and activity level increases dramatically. It's tons of fun but it does require some extra work from the human.

So I gave it a try today. Didn't go as well as I hoped. To begin with I had trouble keeping formula at 104/105. I mixed for 2 at a time. Had trouble getting mouths open of younger ones so decided that if I got 1 to 2c.f. that would be a start. Next to oldest was the best but didn't want to keep taking formula. The chick that is not gaining as much was not too interested. Also I mixed formula so 1part formula to 2 parts water. After I finished parents went in and fed them. How much do you put in their mouth before removing syringe. I was putting just a little.

A baby that's being fed by the parents won't take nearly as much formula as one that's only handfed, so ignore what the handfeeding charts say you should give them. Make sure they're a little bit hungry when you start to feed them or they won't take anything at all. The main goal is to make it a rewarding experience for the chick, so give them as much as they're willing to take but don't force it. In the beginning of course a little forcing is necessary to teach them what's going on, but once they've taken some formula you don't have to keep pushing it on them if they don't want more.

The other main goal is to not aspirate the chick. Each baby has their own feeding style and it might change over time, so you have to use your own judgment about how much to give each one before you pause to let them swallow. You don't have to actually take the syringe out of the mouth if you don't want to, you can just stop pushing down on the plunger. Once they've figured out how handfeeding works, a hungry chick will want to scarf down a huge amount all at once and one that's not so hungry might want little dribs and drabs.

Your skills will improve over time too and you'll have a better feel for what's going on. Just be careful until then and it will eventually be a rewarding experience for everyone. BTW I find that it's easier to control the flow of formula if I let the end of the plunger rest against the base of my thumb and use hand pressure to push it down instead of pressing it with the tip of my thumb.

Thanks. How do you keep the formula warm?

So far I haven't found a way to keep it warm indefinitely. Putting the container on top of a heating pad doesn't work lol. What I do is heat up a bowl of water in the microwave. I use some of the water to mix up the formula in a different cup, then I put the cup in the bowl of warm water. This usually keeps it warm long enough to feed two chicks.

Then when it cools off too much, I take the cup of formula out and nuke the bowl of water until it's hot again. Then I put the cup of formula back in the bowl and wait for it to come back to the right temperature. I stir the formula with the thermometer until it reaches the right temperature. This helps guarantee that the temperature is even throughout the formula. I spend more time stirring the formula and waiting for the right temp than I do feeding the chicks lol.

You probably know that you shouldn't microwave the formula itself, but I thought I'd mention it just in case. Microwave heating is uneven and it can cause dangerous 'hot spots' in the formula.

Thank you.

tielfan, what kind of thermometer do you use for stirring the formula and checking the temperature? Is sharp stick-type for meat (brand new of course) OK?

Yes, I use a cooking thermometer to check the formula temperature. When I get a new one I check its accuracy by measuring the temperature of something with both the new thermometer and a medical thermometer to see if they give a similar reading. When I'm checking the formula temperature I stir it continuously with the thermometer so that the temperature will be even throughout the formula not hotter in one spot and cooler in another.