Should I put it back?

[Kar199]

Hi all
Hope y'all are fine,
A while ago my pair of love birds laid their first clutch of 4 eggs, the first 3 babies died but the last one survived. After a week I opened the nest to check the baby and I noticed that she had bites and scratches on her head, later on i found out that the father was bitting her. So I removed the father from the cage, but also the mother was bitting here, so I've just decided to take her out and hand feed her. And now she's grown up and very healthy. So my question is, can I return her back to the cage with both the male and femle? Or they will bite her again?
Thanks for reading.

 

[Loko]

It really depends on how they react but it doesnt seem like a good idea to me to put a third bird into a pair as one may see it as a threat and attack. A seperate cage would be a much better idea.

 

[SilverSage]

Most likely they would kill her. The general rule is that once you pull
A baby you have to keep feeding them until they are ready to wean.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Scott]

Congratulations for having hand-fed a baby to success! Better to enjoy your new bird and give her the safety of a separate cage!

 

[Terry57]

I would also give her another cage, she is now grown and could likely be perceived as a threat if put back in with her parents. I'd love to see a picture!

 

[DRB]

So I take it bird's don't have the bond with their newly hatched that a dog or cat have with their pups or kittens?

 

[Scott]

So I take it bird's don't have the bond with their newly hatched that a dog or cat have with their pups or kittens?

Not from my experience with Goffins and Timneh Greys! The Timneh parents were dutiful and raised them faithfully until the babies were removed to bond with people. After that.... who are you?? The Goffins were a completely different story. They were excellent hatchers, but by day 3 they abandoned the first baby. Second and third were ignored within the first week. I've had the Goffin parents for about 27 years, the offspring for 23, 22, and 20 years. They have NO concept of familial relations!

 

[Loko]

So I take it bird's don't have the bond with their newly hatched that a dog or cat have with their pups or kittens?

I think that its natures way of preventing in-breeding. There seems to be a strong natural opposition between offspring and parents after the birds have fledged, or even earlier especially in captivity.

 

[Scott]

So I take it bird's don't have the bond with their newly hatched that a dog or cat have with their pups or kittens?

I think that its natures way of preventing in-breeding. There seems to be a strong natural opposition between offspring and parents after the birds have fledged, or even earlier especially in captivity.

Interesting concept! So much to learn, but it seems reasonable.

 

[EllenD]

It also could be that the reason the parents were biting it was that there may have been an illness or something else wrong or perceived to be wrong with the chick. Parent birds do this to ill or injured chicks, or chicks they think won't live, and you said the other 3 died, so it's a possibility. But I too would get a new cage and not return the baby, at this point it's just another bird to the parents and they would most likely kill it.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

[GaleriaGila]

Intriguing idea, Loko! Makes great sense, genetic-diversity-wise.