Breeding ringneck help please

[Stardrop87]

Hi everyone so i have a baby ringnecks that are almost 2 weeks old, still with mum and dad.
I'm want to hand rear them when is the best time to do so?
And what is best between heat lamps or heat mats?
Any help is much appreciated. Thankyou

 

[LaManuka]

Hello and Welcome to the Forums to you and your IRN babies.

Rearing chicks, in my opinion anyway, is something that is best left to the parents for as long as is practicable and safe to do so. It is important to monitor the situation and ensure that the parents are in fact still feeding the chicks, and not to pull them too early as they do require the emotional security of being fed by their parents, otherwise insecurities such as screaming or plucking can develop later in life. Whether or not this particular pair of yours have bred successfully before, I would still be keeping a close eye on proceedings to make sure the adults are not injuring either the babies or each other as this can also sometimes happen with birds unfamiliar with raising chicks, and in this case you would have no option but to remove them for their own safety.

Now, having said that, I have never hand-reared a baby bird myself as, sadly, it is something that can all too easily go terribly wrong. The link below was written by a member who has extensive experience in both hand-rearing and IRNs in particular, so perhaps it might be useful to you. The first bit is a somewhat heavy going as it relates to people who buy unweaned babies from breeders or pet stores so it does not relate to your situation, but there is a wealth of useful info in this thread pertaining to the “do’s and don’ts” of hand-rearing….

http://www.parrotforums.com/breeding-raising-parrots/74363-so-you-bought-unweaned-baby.html

I’m sure some other members with more hands on experience will weigh in with their advice shortly. In the meantime, welcome aboard!