In Need of Tips and Guidance.

[hh566]

Just a week ago, I received two baby lovebirds that were the age of 2 weeks old. For a week now, I have been hand-feeding them baby bird formula through and syringe. That has been what I have been doing with them, with occassional "play" by holding them every once in a while. With this all being said, I am new and have been looking for answers to questions I am always asking myself:

How much time should I spend with them aside from feeding them?
What are forms that I can play with my baby birds?
When and how should I start giving them showers?

 

[SilverSage]

PLEASE if you want the babies to live, start by reading this thread!

So you bought an unweaned baby...
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...orums.com/showthread.php?t=74363&share_type=t




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[GaleriaGila]

I am glad you're reaching out, but vry concerned that you've been given this task of raising baby birds without the guidance and support I would have wished for.
While we're waiting for some of our breeder experts to come along, I'll give you some feading from one of our foremost members.

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

EDIT
You beat me to it, Dani!

 

[SilverSage]

Just a week ago, I received two baby lovebirds that were the age of 2 weeks old. For a week now, I have been hand-feeding them baby bird formula through and syringe. That has been what I have been doing with them, with occassional "play" by holding them every once in a while. With this all being said, I am new and have been looking for answers to questions I am always asking myself:



How much time should I spend with them aside from feeding them?

What are forms that I can play with my baby birds?

When and how should I start giving them showers?

You should do very little besides feeding and weighing until they are starting to break pins (the pin feathers start to open and you can see the actual feathers) and you can start giving them showers once they are able to perch well and are fully feathered.

At this age you should absolutely not be playing with them. Once they start breaking pins, you can begin to give them some nice calm snuggle time and start putting a harness on them. Play time starts about the time they are almost fully feathered.


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[hh566]

Thank you for the information. Getting the birds came to me as bit unexpected, so I never really had the chance to prepare myself for this kind of responsibility.

By what age range would the pin feathers easily be identifiable as broken? They both seem to already be growing out some feathers.

So, judging by what you say, it would be fine to feed the birds and put them back where I am keeping them until the next feeding?

Is it okay to have a heat pad under them as a source of warmth?

 

[SilverSage]

No, a heating pad is NOT a safe heating method. Please google “homemade fish tank brooder for ideas on how to make a safe brooder.

See these babies? See how the little green feathers are breaking free?

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[hh566]

Alright will do.
http://www.parrotforums.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=3029&c=16
This is what they look like right now at 3 weeks old. How much longer would it take till it would be okay to start doing anything?

Excuse the amount of questions. The more help I can get the better I can understand them.

 

[EllenD]

I'm copying my post from the "New Member's" forum...Its extremely important that you follow the handfeeding and housing rules perfectly if you want your baby birds to survive, as SilverSage already told you...1 degree difference in formula temperature can kill them...seriously...

Welcome...

Please be sure to ask many questions about hand-feeding your babies, and about housing them...I'm a longtime breeder, and there are so many little mistakes that can make your babies sick or worse, I hope you have done much research before taking this on...

Important questions for you:

Are you using a candy/cooking thermometer to make sure that all formula you feed them is between 104 and 110 degrees F?

Are you keeping them in a proper Brooder at all times so that their ambient air temperature is at 95 degrees F?

How many times a day are you feeding them right now? Are you checking their crops BEFORE AND AFTER each feeding, first to make sure they are almost empty, and then after to make sure they are full enough? Are their crops fully emptying overnight?

Are you weighing them with a digital kitchen scale every day to make sure they are gaining weight?

Do you know the proper method to actually hand-feed them with a syringe/eye-dropper? Are you going in from their left-side, over and across the tongue, and aiming towards their right-side of the back of their throats?

*****Please be accurate about both the formula temperature and their ambient temperature...If the formula is 1 DEGREE too cold they can quickly develop a bacterial or fungal infection throughout their GI Tracts and Crops. 1 DEGREE too hot and it will burn their crops, causing a horrible wound and following infection...And if they are not staying in a Brooder or a homemade Brooder that keeps them at 95 degrees before they grow-in all of their down feathers, and then at 85 degrees after that, until they grow in all their proper feathers, once again, they will not be able to properly digest their formula and will develop a horrible bacterial or fungal infection throughout their GI Tract, Slow Crop, Crop Stasis, etc.

Please feel free to ask any and ALL questions you may have..Not many people without experience take-on hand-feeding baby birds and are successful at it, unfortunately, so please be slow, careful, and always ask questions...