Caring for Baby Lovebird?

[IolaniAviary]

Part of the responsibility of having a chick is staying home to feed. You can leave him for 11 or so hours, but realize he's going to be hungry when he's used to eating every 4-6. That's just how the cookie crumbles.

You should have your adults on pellet, seed, fresh fruits, fresh veggies, and egg food. Your chick should have pellet and seed in their 24 hours a day and you should also offer fresh fruits and veggies. At 4 weeks which I believe your chick is, it will begin to eat. It will not keep the bird full however, it will just learn to pick.

 

[Amber]

Part of the responsibility of having a chick is staying home to feed. You can leave him for 11 or so hours, but realize he's going to be hungry when he's used to eating every 4-6. That's just how the cookie crumbles.

It's not only a food thing, it's a psychological thing for the chick. if your not their to feed it when it's hungry, it thinks it has been abandoned. On Mondays I had a full day of uni and would have to sneak out of lectures to go home and feed Alex, then sneak back in. It's just something you have to do. Research 'attachment theory' in human infants, because theirs considerable evidence parrots have something similar going on, with similar consequences.

(I know from my own experience that when I had to take over feeding Alex, even though he knew me well because I would visit twice a week, he was close to weaning, but couldn't cope with being taken away from his 'mother' (his hand rearer) and as a result it took 2 months after he moved in until he was comfortable enough and secure enough to give up the formula. Even now when he is upset or scared, a spoon of formula can calm him down. As a result of breaking the mother-chick bond he developed a few issues we had to work through, mainly the formula thing, but also severe anxiety at being left alone. He is much better on the anxiety thing now though.)

Did you know you had this holiday prior to getting the bird? Because if you did you should have made other arrangements. Surely you can take a hour break in the middle to go and feed the bird? Are you travelling with it? Where are you staying? Do they allow pets? And so on. How are you getting their, most public transport wont let you take animals on board.

I travel with Alex A LOT. Thats an understatement, every week we are on the move. We are nomads by nature and he LOVES it. But it is a lot of planning due to him.

 

[MilitaryBrat]

The only time I cant feed him is the 11 hours im in Disney.I was gonna keep him at the pet care at the front of the park but I just found out they closed all of the down.All the other times are fine.I'm driving my own car, staying in my own camper.Nothing to worr about there.

 

[MikeyTN]

IF they feel abandoned, why do the babies still beg? They're not starving to death! This goes back to IF you know the proper time to feed the babies plus the amount to feed! I used to stay home all day when I used to raise them. My timing never failed me. Plus I do have 4 chicks right now that I really didn't want them to have but they did so I followed what I used to do when I raised them. My 4 chicks are flying around healthy and living in a cage now. The youngest was 2 weeks old when I pulled them, he's one month and a day old today! Depending on the age of the chick is when you decide on feeding times. I used to pull at one week but they require more feeding times that I don't have now cause I have to work. And I work 12hr shift! When I used to raise Lovebird chicks, I use the same feeding times as the Cockatiels and it works just fine. I'm fixing to post pics of my babies in the cage that I just took, take a look! It would be in my post!!!

 

[Amber]

IF they feel abandoned, why do the babies still beg? They're not starving to death!

If a human child is (or feels) abandoned and hungry it will still look for and take food from anyone it doesn't see as a direct threat. Same for almost every species, it's called survival.

As for starving to death, no, but it's not ideal either.

 

[MikeyTN]

IF they feel abandoned, why do the babies still beg? They're not starving to death!

If a human child is (or feels) abandoned and hungry it will still look for and take food from anyone it doesn't see as a direct threat. Same for almost every species, it's called survival.

As for starving to death, no, but it's not ideal either.

Amber,

If they're malnourished you can tell by their breast bone! Its not the first batch of chicks I raised. No its not ideal to starve them, but you also need to give them the time to empty their crop sack! But I feel no need to keep on explaining this, you believe what you believe and I do the same. I would never allow my babies to starve as my posting should show they're not!

 

[IolaniAviary]

I don't think anyone is suggesting you starve your birds.

Plain and simple, the time on the site I posted has the ideal times you should feed your Lovebird. No breeder will tell you to feed them every 12 hours, because two feedings a day is not correct until they are older. As a Lovebird breeder, my birds would be screeching and begging for food at the 6 hour mark, going past is really quite cruel but that's my personal opinion. They aren't screeching for fun, they are screeching because their bodies are telling them they are hungry and need food and nutrition. They will tell you when it's time to eat... even without that schedule you should be able to look and hear and know exactly when it's time to feed. Most avian vets are very much so against the "survival of the fittest" method, it's mainly used by Canary breeders and is looked down upon. That is what the every 12 hours method is called.

Skipping will not kill your bird, but just realize that you did sign up for this and Disneyland isn't exactly the best excuse in the world. But, if you choose to go through with it, not it will not harm your bird it will just be hungry. Just like not feeding your child a meal will make the child hungry, but not in any health risk.

 

[MilitaryBrat]

Disney World is a good excuse considering I can't get my money back and i'd be made to go anyways.I called the petcare center thats a little ways from the park and they said they can feed him.

 

[IolaniAviary]

Disney World is a good excuse considering I can't get my money back and i'd be made to go anyways.I called the petcare center thats a little ways from the park and they said they can feed him.

Going to a theme park is not a good excuse in most peoples' opinions. Does the pet-care have training in hand-feeding? Do they quarantine all of the pets for 30 days before introducing them to the others? Your bird could easily be fed incorrectly which can lead to death, and/or catch something. Most places like that don't even accept the animal without a vet certificate. I'm guessing they don't have birds often, it's one of the reasons why bird boarding is so difficult. Because even a vet-check may not catch something, and it is a risk.

 

[Amber]

IF they feel abandoned, why do the babies still beg? They're not starving to death!

If a human child is (or feels) abandoned and hungry it will still look for and take food from anyone it doesn't see as a direct threat. Same for almost every species, it's called survival.

As for starving to death, no, but it's not ideal either.

Amber,

If they're malnourished you can tell by their breast bone! Its not the first batch of chicks I raised. No its not ideal to starve them, but you also need to give them the time to empty their crop sack! But I feel no need to keep on explaining this, you believe what you believe and I do the same. I would never allow my babies to starve as my posting should show they're not!

No ones suggesting you starve your birds, and I don't know how you made that conclusion. I'm certainly aware on how to feed birds, I have done it myself. Crops should be allowed to empty once a day, I was recommended to allow this to happen at night when it would in nature.

This was a comment on the issues with leaving a bird that needs feeding. Not only the issues of hunger, but the psychological issues that can arise if this becomes a regular thing (leaving the bird alone and hungry. it does not have parents, it does not have siblings. This compounds it.) when it needs a feed every 6 hours without for nearly double that (11 hours). It was not an attack on you or your practices, and I don't see how you came to assume that. In fact, it was part of a discussion about my own observations and research with Iolani and not concerning you or your methods at all. If you want to discuss it further or feel I have made an attack on you, I'm happy to discuss it in private via PM rather then choking up a thread where this argument is not relevant.

 

[Amber]

Just like not feeding your child a meal will make the child hungry, but not in any health risk.

Until child protection comes for you anyway lol (Terrible joke, I know) :54:




Anyway, like it's been said, you can leave the bird for 11 hours, but whether it's an ideal arrangement is another argument, and in my mind at least it is cruel to do so unless the bird is developmentally ready for that kind of time period between feeds. I doubt we can sway your mind. if you chose to go with the pet care facility as an alternative, be aware of the potential of disease transmission (does happen) and incorrect feeding techniques.

On another note, if your travelling, I'd start planning your travel kit and what you will need to make the journey for the bird as smooth as possible. Travel cage, water and food dishes, enough of the water from your house the bird is used to to mix up formula and provide water for the duration of the trip (foreign water can cause issues in animals due to different compound in the water, just like how human kids can have intestinal distress from a different towns water. I'm not sure how this would affect birds, but better to be on the safe side. Alex always prefers home water anyway, I think water from elsewhere tastes different to him.) pellets, seed, fruit (or buy when there) enough formula for the trip etc. Don't forget toys and other familiar objects to comfort the bird in an unfamiliar situation. When travelling with Alex I pack all of these into a carry bag.

Is what out travel kit when half ready looks like (Travel cage, seed and pellet mix, fruit, formula w/ feeding spoon, harness for emergencies, wetwipes to clean up poops, a baggy of his favourite toys, etc). I would in addition to what is visible I also take bottles of water and a bunch of clip on food dishes, (one is visible in the cage) and a few other items. It fits into a calico shopping bag quite well. I don't have toys in the cage while in motion, it's too easy to injure a bird. Well, besides the rope swing because he loves to sit on it while in the car and it can't hit him where it is positioned if he is on a perch or cage wall. All doors are pegged shut because he knows how to open them. he now also knows how to remove the pegs so I have to use dog clip things.

 

[MilitaryBrat]

I've already gone on the trip and came back.He was perfectly fine and didn't seem scared at all.He slept by my face most of the car ride and I didn't leave him at the pet care place because I knew i'd jyst be wasting my money.Hes only been eating formula once a day and its only 1 or 2 ccs, sometimes not even that.So he was totally fine.

 

[Charleston]

Actually hand feeding lovebirds is easier than feeding any other that we have ever had at our aviary. We have been raising and caring for all types of birds (hand feeding all of them) Lovebirds, Quakers, Finches, Amazons, African Greys, cockatiels, cockatoos, Macaws, Parakeets and many many more since 1986. Right now we have 23 birds and the easiest to hand feed have been the Lovebirds and then the Amazons. I was told when I first started that it was almost impossible to hand feed Lovebirds and Finches but it isn't...since '86 we have only lost 5 babies---3 when we lost power to our brooder this winter and 2 when we first started because of smoke from a garage fire....

 

[HalfInsane]

No need to create zombies.