How do you take care of baby lovebirds?

[treiseanne]

My birds just laid 4 eggs and I don't know how to take care of them when they hatch. Do I feed the babies or will the parents?

 

[JerseyWendy]

I'm assuming you have a pair of lovebirds sharing one cage??? Do they have a nest? What were the eggs laid in if there is no nest?

 

[treiseanne]

Yes they have a nest in a box with bits of newspaper. do you know if the parents will feed them themselves or should i get formula?

 

[JerseyWendy]

Yes they have a nest in a box with bits of newspaper. do you know if the parents will feed them themselves or should i get formula?

If the parents are mature enough, they should be able to raise the chicks all on their own.

Is this their first clutch?

 

[MikeyTN]

You should have formula on hand just in case! Learn how to hand feed now if you don't know how! This is what happens if you give them a nest box, you should be expecting this already....also do you even know if they're fertile???

 

[treiseanne]

Kind of. The first time they only laid one and it was cold because they didn't have a nest.

 

[treiseanne]

Thanks. And I don't know if they are, but I guess I will find out!

 

[crimson]

it's up to the female to sit on the eggs. the male will eat, digest his food, then regurgitate it to the hen while she sits on the eggs.
once the eggs hatch he will do the same, and she will then regurgitate it to the chicks.
hopefully things will go smoothly, and the parents won't injure the babies.(which can happen if they are young)

try not to disturb them at all, only to give them water and food daily.
provide plenty of calcium,veggies, leafy greens for added nutrition.

If you have never hand fed there are plenty of videos on you tube, but I don't recommend it. there are plenty of things that can go wrong, if not done correctly.
in other words let mother nature takes it course, they know better than we do!!!

if you want to check and see if the eggs are fertile, try and wait until the hen is out of the box when she is eating, after 7 days of the last egg is laid, you can get a small flashlight and place it gently right up against the egg.
If you see red veins(blood) within the egg, it is fertile, if you only see yellow, it is not fertile.

be careful when you do this, and make sure the hen cannot get back into the box when you are checking. plug up the hole temporarily, and do this as quickly and SAFELY as possible.

@Mikey- not everyone understands if they put up a nesting box, birds will breed, it may seem obvious to us, but not to other people.
some people think they will just sleep in the box, and not mate.

 

[MikeyTN]

Crimson,

On every site that discuss about nest boxes is mainly on raising chicks! It is that obvious! On certain stuff I understand. The poster did say they laid one prior but it got cold cause they weren't sitting on it so hence the nest box.

 

[crimson]

I understand, if she wants to breed them without any prior knowledge, then that is her choice, not a good one!!... but hers to make.
we can only offer advice and it's up to her if she takes it or not.

 

[MonicaMc]

Well.... parrots don't hire human slaves out in the wild to raise their chicks.... nor do they have other parrots raising their own chicks (generally speaking....)....


So one should be able to assume that if the eggs are fertile, and the parents are mature enough and know what to do, that they should be able to raise their own chicks....


Only that some first time breeders can be *really* bad at raising chicks....

 

[GaryBV]

Her choice or not, it is irresponsible. I find it very distrubing that she is breeding birds that she has no idea how to take care of and gave no thought to the commitment, feeding and care of the young. What are your plans for these babies after they are grown? Will you hand tame them or not? The plus side is you are attempting to educate yourself on the care and feeding of the baby birds, but your chances of success would be greater if you had expended the effort before you put in a breeding box to know what you were signing up for.