New and need help with babies..

[iBree]

Hey there everyone!

I'll make this as fast as possible!

So i'm looking after a pair of lovebirds and have them in a 8 foot tall cage. They laid eggs and 4 hatched. Sadly two didn't make it over a weekend of me being away, seemed like the one was eaten (parents have apparently done this before) and the other had been kicked out/ fallen out of the nest.

So i have two left to care for, the one is now 3 1/2 weeks, the other 3 weeks.
They seem to be doing quite well and i am keeping an eye on them to make sure the parents are feeding them and caring for them well.

Here are a couple questions i have atm:

- Their nest is 3-4 feet off the group and i am scared that when the babies are ready to move around and fly or at least attempt to fly they will fall and die...or the parents won't get to them for food.
So should i take them out at some point and feed them myself (i have had experience hand feeding) or something else?

- The older baby lovebird is growing amazingly well and has its colouring and feathers in, however every time i pick him up he just lyes in my hand, he has done this from day one, and i am worried he may be sick? Or is this normal behaviour for a young bird like him?

Thanks everyone, and sorry for being kinda slow with this.

 

[antoinette]

Welcome
I am not familair with lovebirds, hopefully other members will assist you

Good luck

 

[iBree]

Here is the older one as of Tuesday evening, note how he is just lying there in my hand..

 

[antoinette]

Here is the older one as of Tuesday evening, note how he is just lying there in my hand..

Sorry not able to view the picture !!!

 

[wenz2712]

welcome to the forum

 

[MarciaLove]

i have bred lovebirds for a while now and some of my babies all they will do is lay in my hand i have one now that does it and hes 4 weeks old while the others are always crawling around and playing it is probably a healthy fine bird all mine that just lay around are its just different personalities, and im not sure about the big cage my cage i have is 3 feet high and the nest box stays at the very top of it and in the last clutch i had (im handfeeding this one) the babies would climb out and down the bars to the floor and then they start flying the parents would still feed them and i just put the babies back in the nest box when they are out. So sad about the other babies sorry about that

 

[iBree]

Thanks so much, that does make me feel a little more confident!

At what age should i be thinking of taking them away from mom and dad?

And these guys nest is not very large, just big enough for these two babies to fit in this is what i'm using:
Snak Shak Natural Hide Away for Medium & Large Birds
Its the larger size, and the top has been taken off by the parents. haha
I have wrapped some cardboard around the bottom of the front opening to keep the babies in.

I then opened and placed in this box:
http://ca-en.hagen.com/Bird/Accessories/Cage-Accessories/B4330
Was thinking of transferring, but again am scared of the parents abandoning them, these lovebirds have laid and had numerous babies, but have always abandoned/ ate them apparently, the owners are shocked that these ones have lived.
I've already had to take the babies out and hand feed them as the parents took a day off after they 'did in' the two others...

 

[iBree]

So went in today and checked on them, both are doing great, will post a new picture!
However the oldest one has all his wings grown in and i found him on the ground huddled in the corner, so i picked him and and he just started climbing around on my hands and jacket for a good half hour before i put him back in the nest.

I can't get in to check them for a couple days, so hopefully things are going to be okay...I put some baby bird food on the ground just in case...

Should i be considering taking them out now?
And at this age what kind of setup should i be putting them in? Still in a brooder, or more like a smaller cage?

 

[MarciaLove]

its very hard and time consuming to handfeed and the babies will start to reject the formula at 4 weeks old and that will make it take longer to feed its really hard i wouldnt suggest doing it if you dont have a lot of patience and free time you might want to consult a local breeder that may help you out with handfeeding and while with the parents thats a fine box a little bigger and wooden would be better though and a brooder in a cage is what you should put the babies in if you pull them i have videos on my youtube channel in my signature. Also i dont think you should allow these birds to breed again if they arent good parents its just stressful for everyone involved and not good for those poor babies!

 

[iBree]

Thanks, and no trust me i have worked with toons of birds at the store, these two came in from my bosses, apparently they have had at least a 1/2 dozen clutches, and each time the parents would kill the babies off and eat them. Course they had a conure in with them.

When they arrived i just let them do their own thing and get used to their new surroundings, they came in with a batch of eggs already in the nest that the mother had obviously abandoned, but i left them in their not really knowing what to do with them.
A couple weeks later is when i noticed the fresh eggs. I didn't think they would hatch either...But they did!

My bosses refuse to split the parents up, and i can see why- these birds have never been handled, and they are around 6 years old..They would need to find an incredibly good home that would not give up on taming them so that the bird would have someone to bond to, without a solid companion i would assume they would get depressed.

I do have time, it was just horrible timing since i took 2 weeks off work- which is where they are being housed, and i am not aloud loud birds at my house so i couldn't bring the whole family with me, and i can't be in at work all the time, it was also my first break in 2 years. haha
I go back to work Tuesday so can spend all day everyday minus Sunday/ Monday with them now.
I work rehabilitating abused and stressed out animals so have plenty of patience, and i am willing to spend all the time they would need, i just want whats best for them.

If they parents do lay more eggs after this, should i just throw them out or...?

 

[iBree]

Oh sorry, and you would suggest i put the babies in the new nest box or just leave them as they are for now?

The new box was taken out, they weren't happy i opened it up for the birds, so they repackaged it up while i was away... But if it is best for them i will talk to them and just reopen it again!

This whole thing is getting frustrating, its hard to do what i need to do with these birds when they are my responsibility but the final decisions aren't up to me...

 

[MarciaLove]

i would give them a nest box its best for them, and i know timing is hard to get! also its a hard decision seeing as if they lay eggs after this they will be fertile but the parents could die from having babies too often they must wait at least two months before you let them breed again and i really think you should talk to your boss these birds NEED to be seperated because they obviously arent good breeders some birds just dont do well as breeders im sorry you have to go through this with your boss!

 

[iBree]

Just an update, both babies are doing amazing, the older one has been flying around with the parents for a good week now and is starting to eat seed on his own!

The other younger baby is not quite out of the nest box, but is flapping his wings and soon to be coming out as well!

Found a home for the older baby, i am waiting till he is 8 weeks and for sure weaned before leaving though. The lady wanted the babies wings clipped so he may stay friendly...
Everything online said to clip the wings after his first flight, but i waited a whole week, and finally clipped them. Again, hes doing well, climbing around with his little beak, and i only trimmed them enough so he can't take flight but of course can still glide.

Younger one i may keep.

 

[iBree]

First shot is of the older bird about a week ago, minutes before his first flight! He looks exactly like his father, can barely tell them apart now!

Second of the younger one, looks identical to the mother, the shot was taken during a cuddle where she went to sleep.

 

[MarciaLove]

they are so adorable!! Its getting hard for me to tell some of my babies apart from eachother now! What I did is clip only one outer flight feather of one of my two almost identical babies so it can still fly but I can tell it apart form the other. Also I never clip before first flight because that can lead to problems later on with the birds flight.

 

[iBree]

Yea i would never clip before they have flown at least a couple times. I have a hard time clipping any birds wings, but in the end i know it is for the best as it cuts down on hazards.
The older bird (new owner has called him Dot) had started not letting me touch him and was super attached the the parents, its amazing watching them, the mom and dad protect the babys so well, they would not leave his side, dad on the right, mom on the left where ever he went!
But he was getting untamed so i figured it was for the best his wings be clipped anywho..

I think that my little blue-ish girl will keep her wings for as long as she can, will separate her from mom and dad when she's fully weaned and have her in her very own cage. I would love to have her stay with me, she's so sweet.

 

[MonicaMc]

I don't necessarily think there is much difference between clipping before they start to fly vs clipping after a week of them flying... it's not really enough time to really learn how to fly in every way possible. With the right training, a flighted bird can remain tame... so, I hope Dot's new owners decide to allow him flight in the future.

Both are gorgeous though!

 

[iBree]

Yes, they bought him a flight suit, and are just going to be having him clipped till he is totally used to them and the flight suit, etc. Just to get herself reused to owning fast moving, energetic birds so that nothing bad happens hopefully.

Both Babies are out of the nest and the second bird was out and flying as well.
The moment the second baby was out of the nest mom goes in and i found her laying 2 more eggs. -.-

I threw out the 2 old nests and replaced it with a nice new nestbox.

Both parents are still cuddling, sticking with and tending to the 'babies' well. They have actually been amazing parents...i think they just needed to be in their own cage with the proper care, food, attention, etc.

But anywho, i threw away the two new eggs, and i will only let her keep one as she is still laying, i get so stressed out with worry for these birds so i can't take another batch even if they can, but i don't want to throw all the eggs out, as i know she will just keep laying, so i will let her keep the one (maybe 2) just to occupy her time.

 

[iBree]

I'm thinking Dot will be ready to go to his home in a couple weeks, he seems almost fully weaned now, if not fully, but want to make absoulutly sure.

And what i am planning on doing is setting up his new owners cage (his soon to be new cage) beside his parents for a week with toys and everything else he needs so he can learn to be away from them but still be able to hear/see/ smell whatever them.

Make it as easy going a transition as possible for him, rather than just ripping him away and what not..?