Question for Members that Breed Birds

[spiritbird]

I have been wondering about hand feeding vs. co-parenting. If I were to keep babies with parents until they are weaned and at the same time handle them frequently would these baby birds be just as tame as if I hand fed them?

@cedardave

[Cedardave]

Ok.....birdbreeding 101. The first super important thing is to keep the chicks with the parents for about 3weeks depending on the species.This gives the parents a chance to pass on their immune system thru regurgatation.We always mix a high quality juvenile formula with moistened food for the morning feed.If you pull them from the box at 2 or 3 weeks they will have started to feather in.If what you were suggesting was to pull them regularly to socialize with them and put them back for the parents to feed thats a bit of a problem.When you pull the young from the box, the parents get very worked up for a short time and then the hormones begin to recied.They may stop feeding or reject them or even harm them should you choose to do that.It really is quite simple to siringe feed them after 3 weeks.Go to your vet and get 3ml siringes...not sure what that is in non metric....but fairly small.Mix your formula to almost hot...grab the chick and get placed comfortbly on you.We keep our full siringes in a cup of hot tap water to keep them hot.Hold the chick at about the shoulder and reasonable quickly feed.You can tell if your going to fast if the formula spills from their beaks.You will see them bob their heads and make noise much like they did when they were parent fed.Really you will be fine...as will your birds.Good luck...enjoy...its a very fulfilling feeling

[Cedardave]

I know my answer was long winded....the short answer is they will be just as tame,but you put at severe risk the wellbeing of the parent birds.Having their babies removed,returned,removed etc is too tramatic and the addrenalin it creates in them can cause death.

[spiritbird]

Thanks for your advice. I do not have babies or even eggs yet. But I do have mating Linnies. I took the nest box down because they were just sleeping in it. My female will be one year old in Jan. so I am thinking she is too young yet. I will put nest box up early Spring again. I did syringe feed medication to my little budgie that has since passed and he seemed to spit out quite a bit. I have several syringes and used to handling them because I am retired RN. I can see your point about stressing out the parents. Do the parents stay with the babies in the same cage if I hand feed at 3 or 4 weeks? ml is the same as cc in metric so it would be a 3 cc syringe. My syringes are all 1ml. Too small. I do not want to be getting up in the night. Is that required after 3 weeks of age?


So if I decide not to hand feed about how long before the chicks are weaned? Just let the parents continue feeding. After they are eating some on their own I can then begin to handle them? I can tell you I am not too keen on hand feeding, never have been. Thanks for responding and sharing your knowledge.

[Cedardave]

If you decide to handfeed, you pull the babies and house them in a seperate cage.If you decide to leave them to be parentfed, it will take about 5 or 6 weeks before they will ween.Either way,be sure the nestbox has a low perch in it to avoid your chicks getting splayed legs.(legs to far apart...from sitting flat and not perching)If you choose to keep them with the parents be sure to mix formula with the regular food and lots of soft foods.When the time comes ask more questions.Often the first bunch of eggs turn out to be duds.You will obviously be handling them if you handfeed....if you parent feed,handle them lots once you pull them.Either way once they are old enough,they will have to move to a seperate cage.

[Mare]

Great questions, Dianne! Dave, if I ever need advice on this subject..you will be THE MAN! I'm with you, Dianne, feeding every 2-3hrs. would be rough, I've done it with mammals and knows it takes a lot out of your sleep schedule.

[Cedardave]

In regards to the feeding every 2-3 hours....by leaving the chicks with the parents for about three weeks for them to develope...the feedings once you remove them from the nest are often much less frequent.We just pulled on friday a set of sun conure chicks that were with the parents for 4 weeks.They are.super social and take 12 mls of formula every 8 hours or so.It gets very hectic when there are conures,greys and macaws all needing their feedings.We feed them the best there is and it keeps them full by not having any junk fillers in the formula.In many cases breeders of questionable reputation will make it sound alot harder than it is to get a higher dollar for the birds they are selling.

[spiritbird]

Thanks again Dave. In the wooden nest box I have there is no way I know of to put a low perch inside the box. One ready made hole has a nut/bolt so it will attach to the cage. I have a friend visiting who may be able to drill another hole in the box. Thanks for all your advice. Oh by the way my female is hormonal because she is begging for food from her mate off and on. He feeds her but seems to get tired of it when it goes on for hours at a time.

[Cedardave]

If its a wood box,get a short piece of wood dowel from home depot.Cut it longer than you need.Drill a hole on each side of the box and place in.Try and get it so the dowel fits snuggly so theres no rist of it becoming detached.

[spiritbird]

One more question to the master breeder and then I will leave you alone for a while. How far up from the bottom do I place the perch/hole?

[Cedardave]

About an inch or two,depending on the box size.The most important thing is the bird is able to hold onto a perch as opposed to keeping the feet flat....which causes the legs to naturally spread and essentially develope incorrectly.

[spiritbird]

Thanks again.

[wingman]

I put a little of that Rubbermaid shelf liner in the breeder box with some cotton balls seems to work great on the babies as they grow! Gives them something to grip...

[spiritbird]

What does the shelf liner look like? What ever you did it worked!! Your babies are fabulous .

[wingman]

It is in a roll and made of nonslip material tiny little holes . you line drawers or kitchen shelves with it and it can be cut with scissors to fit the area. You can find it at Kmart in the housewares!

[spiritbird]

Is this it? [Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks] I would be concerned that little toes would get caught in the weave.

[wingman]

That's it but cheaper when called shelf liner at Kmart! I have had no problems with it . Helps them from getting splay legs, I suppose for the chicks it helps them get used to grasping with tiny feet....if you look at the latest pics I posted of the babies they are on it in the temp box I use while cleaning the breeder box...

[spiritbird]

I will remember your hint. Thanks. So you are handling the babies with no problems. That is not the advice I got from Cedar Dave. There are different ways of doing breeding/raising babies I guess.

[wingman]

When I clean the breeder box Rio is right there watching she does not seem to mind as long as she can see the babies.