How to coparent lovebirds

[MaggieSmiles]

I'm very new to this and didn't expect my birds to have babies (my old neighbor couldn't afford them so I took them in) but 3 out of their 6 eggs hatched (very exciting), they're a little less than a week old, and I was just look for information on how to coparent them. I researched handfeeding and coparening and decided ccoparenting is for me.

When do I start coparenting?
How do I start?
How long can I handle the babies?
When should I move the baby birds to a different cage(s)?

I'm sorry for the all the questions, I'm very new to this and there's a lot of conflicting information out there.

Thank you

 

[Lady Jane]

Welcome. You will find great information here. I will notify some of the Lovebird helpers.

@LunaLovebird @expressmailtome @Rolanda @fluffypoptarts

I am new to Lovebirds but I hope all goes well for you and the little babies flourish in your care.

 

[Lady Jane]

 

[expressmailtome]

How comfortable with you are the parents? If they are anxious when you are around, co-parenting will likely not work.

 

[JLcribber]

How comfortable with you are the parents? If they are anxious when you are around, co-parenting will likely not work.

I have to agree. Unless the parents are very comfortable with you being close and handling them it's not going to work.

I researched handfeeding and coparening and decided ccoparenting is for me.

It doesn't really matter what you decide. If the parents abandon the chicks because of interference you are now faced with a handfeeding situation to which you have absolutely no experience. It takes a tremendous amount of "experience", skill and knowledge with a particular species to even think about breeding them. You are not anywhere near that. Hopefully they are good parents.

I understand this was what you have to deal with and it's water under the bridge. In the future please take the proper precautions to prevent unwanted/unneeded hatchings. (All you have to do is replace the eggs with fakes).

 

[MaggieSmiles]

Yes! The birds are very comfortable with me and land on me and definitely love me...

I had no idea I had eggs until they hatched

I understand that I am new - doesn't mean you need to be mean... I merely asked for advice

 

[MaggieSmiles]

I would still really appreciate the advice from anyone who is willing to give it to me

 

[Calpurnia]

John isn't trying to be mean, he's just trying to point out the very real dangers of your situation. Hand-feeding babies is no joke. There are a dozen or more things that could go wrong, from aspirations, to crop stasis, to unhealthy weight loss, etc. Unless you've been taught or trained by an experiences breeder/avian vet there is no reason why you should risk the babies lives or health. If the parents are feeding the babies well enough, I'd say leave them to it.

For the record, there was a study done at U.C. Davis not long ago that showed that hand-feeding a baby was completely unnecessary for it to bond with a person. I believe they handled their babies for as little as 15 mins a day, and saw no difference in tameness when compared to fully hand-fed babies. So if I were you I would handle the babies for a short time each day, but ONLY if the parents are okay with the disturbance. Then let the babies wean and fledge on their own before moving them to a different cage.

 

[MaggieSmiles]

I NEVER typed anything about hand feeding birds! I want to co-parent - so the parent birds feed them and I just handle them for a few minutes a day so they're tame... and yes I know that as they get older I need to handle them a little longer

 

[Calpurnia]

Ah okay I see, I guess I just read hand-feeding in your original post and blanked out the last part of your sentence. In that case yes, a few minutes a day is really all it takes.

 

[MaggieSmiles]

If you read my post thoroughly you would see that I said nothing about wanting to hand feed (I know I'm far from hand feeding and I'd rather keep the babies with their parents for as long as possible) and my questions were quite simple


When do I start coparenting?
How do I start?
How long can I handle the babies?
When should I move the baby birds to a different cage(s)?

I understand I'm new to this, but that's no reason to totally disregard what I wrote and the questions I have

 

[fluffypoptarts]

I think the word "co-parent" gives a lot of us the impression of hand-feeding. Since you do not intend to go that far, so much the better! It's very risky.

I agree just holding the babies for only a few minutes each day would be best while they're this young. If this is their first clutch that has hatched, there's a higher chance that they will reject or hurt the babies, especially if they feel stressed or confused in any way.

Once the babies are fully fledged and only eating solid food, you could give them their own cages.

 

[CallieCadmoor]

I have no experience in this but I wish you all the best with the wee ones! It will hopefully be a wonderful experience for you

I'm sorry about the misunderstandings, I also misread it and double checked. These people areally very knowledgeable and care a great deal. There just have been a few horror stories recently about babies so it gets people nervous.

I am sure that you will do an excellent job spending time with the babes. I think maybe handle them for as long as the parents are okay with it? But not more than 15 minutes in the beginning. And possibly start when they begin growing in their feathers? As far as I know separation can happen much later on and depending on gender. 4 months maybe? I'm sure someone will correct me as I have no personal experience but this is some stuff that I've read?

Good luck!!

 

[MaggieSmiles]

I think the word "co-parent" gives a lot of us the impression of hand-feeding. Since you do not intend to go that far, so much the better! It's very risky.

I agree just holding the babies for only a few minutes each day would be best while they're this young. If this is their first clutch that has hatched, there's a higher chance that they will reject or hurt the babies, especially if they feel stressed or confused in any way.

Once the babies are fully fledged and only eating solid food, you could give them their own cages.

Thank you so much and I'm sorry for the misunderstanding - I grew up with a double yellow head amazon parrot (who now lives with my aunt in Florida) so I don't know the ins and outs of babies (we only had the one parrot, Fred, and he is a boy)

It is the birds first clutch and I don't want them to abandon the birds... When would you suggest I handle the birds? The parents are used to me/like me but I also don't want them to stress - any suggestions on how to go about handling them?

What age do I separate them so they don't hurt the babies? I've read with 5-6 weeks or 8-12 weeks... There's a lot of conflicting information out there and I'm still waiting for a call back from a vet.

 

[MaggieSmiles]

I have no experience in this but I wish you all the best with the wee ones! It will hopefully be a wonderful experience for you

I'm sorry about the misunderstandings, I also misread it and double checked. These people areally very knowledgeable and care a great deal. There just have been a few horror stories recently about babies so it gets people nervous.

I am sure that you will do an excellent job spending time with the babes. I think maybe handle them for as long as the parents are okay with it? But not more than 15 minutes in the beginning. And possibly start when they begin growing in their feathers? As far as I know separation can happen much later on and depending on gender. 4 months maybe? I'm sure someone will correct me as I have no personal experience but this is some stuff that I've read?

Good luck!!

Thank you and I am sorry for the misunderstanding... I just want everyone to be okay and I am new and it did feel like I was being attacked even though I thought I wrote my post thoroughly... I just want to do this the right way

 

[fluffypoptarts]

It could be 8-12 weeks or longer before you can separate them. Weaning doesn't always occur at the same time, so you'll have to keep a close eye on things.

As for how early to handle them...I'm not sure. I'd say not before 2 weeks, but hopefully someone who has more experience with co-parenting will come along with a more definitive answer for you.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

When you do go to handle the babies, I would find a way of letting mama know you're going to, and approach very tentatively and slowly at first.

 

[CallieCadmoor]

I just want to do this the right way

The fact that you are seeking out help instead of just relying on Internet blogs, etc shows that you care and wanting to do it correctly. I and I'm sure others appreciate that xx

 

[MaggieSmiles]

It could be 8-12 weeks or longer before you can separate them. Weaning doesn't always occur at the same time, so you'll have to keep a close eye on things.

As for how early to handle them...I'm not sure. I'd say not before 2 weeks, but hopefully someone who has more experience with co-parenting will come along with a more definitive answer for you.

Thank you! I was thinking not before 2 weeks too - I know they're really fragile and I just want them to be okay.

I saw pictures that a lot of nesting boxes are on their side with the "door" open - mine is upright... when the 2 weeks is up should I move the nesting box to it's side and open the door?

My ex neighbor told me they were both girls (he even said he had them sexed...) - so I truly was not expecting this, otherwise I would've had them separated because I don't know that much about bird babies

 

[MaggieSmiles]

When you do go to handle the babies, I would find a way of letting mama know you're going to, and approach very tentatively and slowly at first.

I saw pictures that a lot of nesting boxes are on their side with the "door" open - mine is upright... when the 2 weeks is up should I move the nesting box to it's side and open the door?

Thank you so much for the advice