Hi,
I've been hand-feeding two baby parrotlets for a couple weeks now. The parents were having issues and the mother had become ill (now recovered). The oldest is 22 days, the youngest is 17 days old. The oldest one, which I've named Lucky is almost completely feathered, very active and already causing mischief. Her crop is starting to shrink though and she is not consuming as much formula as she once was, she seems to get fuller faster, or just not as hungry. I've moved her feedings to every 5 hours from 4, which seems to help, but she seems to want to do other things, besides eat.
By the way, I am spoon-feeding. This is my first experience hand-feeding and I felt that it was the safest method and something I was more comfortable with.
My main questions are, when can I remove her from the brooder and when can I start offering her some soft solids on top of formula?
She wants to chew on everything and anything. I've even caught her picking at her poop, even though she had a full crop.
I talk to my vet on a regular basis, but I would like to hear from people who have actually done this.
Some websites claim not to remove them from their brooders and offering foods other than formula until they are 6 weeks of age. Others say you can once they are feathered. It's a bit confusing and the last thing I want to do is mess up. 3 weeks feels too soon, but I am new to this.
The youngest baby is a little piglet still. I wasn't sure if he was even going to make it. When I found him in the nest box, he was in the corner and cold to the touch. His skin was peeling and he just looked off. I rushed him to the vet and the vet fed him with a gavage. He has since perked up and loves his food. He still has issues, but is coming along great now.
I'll post some photos soon.
I've been hand-feeding two baby parrotlets for a couple weeks now. The parents were having issues and the mother had become ill (now recovered). The oldest is 22 days, the youngest is 17 days old. The oldest one, which I've named Lucky is almost completely feathered, very active and already causing mischief. Her crop is starting to shrink though and she is not consuming as much formula as she once was, she seems to get fuller faster, or just not as hungry. I've moved her feedings to every 5 hours from 4, which seems to help, but she seems to want to do other things, besides eat.
By the way, I am spoon-feeding. This is my first experience hand-feeding and I felt that it was the safest method and something I was more comfortable with.
My main questions are, when can I remove her from the brooder and when can I start offering her some soft solids on top of formula?
She wants to chew on everything and anything. I've even caught her picking at her poop, even though she had a full crop.
I talk to my vet on a regular basis, but I would like to hear from people who have actually done this.
Some websites claim not to remove them from their brooders and offering foods other than formula until they are 6 weeks of age. Others say you can once they are feathered. It's a bit confusing and the last thing I want to do is mess up. 3 weeks feels too soon, but I am new to this.
The youngest baby is a little piglet still. I wasn't sure if he was even going to make it. When I found him in the nest box, he was in the corner and cold to the touch. His skin was peeling and he just looked off. I rushed him to the vet and the vet fed him with a gavage. He has since perked up and loves his food. He still has issues, but is coming along great now.
I'll post some photos soon.
That baby definitely looks old enough to be exploring solid foods but still needing some handfeeding. Soaked pellets are great (easy for them to eat) as well as regular veggies (corn, peas, carrots, broccoli, banana, apple, etc). That little cutie looks like he's feathering in nicely and probably still needs some supplemental heat but should be tapering down some. What kind of brooder do you have? A baby cage would be the next step, low perches and still some heat possibly. As they get close to being feathered in they seem to get more obsessed with flapping and preparing for their first flight than wanting to be handfed. Small feeds, offering weaning food and just allowing them to figure it out (monitoring their weight) works well. Just wait till they start to fly, that was always my favorite part of handfeeding. I never have raised a p'let though. Have fun and enjoy every second of it!
