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Seeds as handfeed

Ralph dacanay

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Ralph louell anthony j. Dacanay
So i have a friend that have a handfeed bird but i ask him what formula he use but i was surprise because he said he uses millet seed to handfeed his bird. Can you pleas reply so i can show him that handfeeding with seeds is wrong? He also said that its in the care you give not the food you feed.
 

WallyLoopey

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If it's a baby bird that needs handfeeding I'm not sure how he's handfeeding seeds. Do you mean offering seeds as treats by hand to an older bird? (Already weaned/eating on its own)

Feeding is a huge part of care.
 

sunnysmom

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Do you mean he's weaning the baby? I think a lot of people use millet spray to help wean.
 

Ralph dacanay

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The baby bird is only 2 weeks old and he uses bird seed to feed it not handfeeding formula
 

rocky'smom

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I am so sorry for the bird, at 2 weeks old the baby should be on hand feeding formula .
 

Ralph dacanay

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Heres a screen shot of his video
 

WallyLoopey

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I'll be amazed if it lives. Sorry to seem rude.
I'm just shocked.
It NEEDS formula.
 

camelotshadow

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:cry3:
 

AviaryByTheSea

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So i have a friend that have a handfeed bird but i ask him what formula he use but i was surprise because he said he uses millet seed to handfeed his bird. Can you pleas reply so i can show him that handfeeding with seeds is wrong? He also said that its in the care you give not the food you feed.

The bird should be on formula. If your friend refuses, at the very least I would try to convince him to grind the seeds up and mix with a little water. He can add some peanut butter to the mixture as well.

I am actually horrified and saddened.
 

Tiel Feathers

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This makes me so sad and angry! Why would he do this?!
:shake:
 

WallyLoopey

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If he can't afford the formula he should return the bird, or did he breed the parent birds?
 

Ralph dacanay

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He returned the bird to his friend that sells him the bird but he said to his friend to handfeed it with birds seed
 

Laurie

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If he is just feeding seeds then the baby will quickly get dehydrated and die. If he is mixing in water also then the bird will be malnourished because seeds are not a complete diet. He needs to be feeding something with balance fat, protein and vitamins and minerals. The water intake is also very important as is keeping the unfeathered baby warm.

Are you in the US or somewhere else? Can you get baby bird handfeeding formula? It is possible to make something close to what you need but you would still need access to supplies and it is a lot of work. Even then it is better to use the baby bird formula.
 

Laurie

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I can see the seeds going down into the crop. This is not in itself an issue as parent feed seeds as well still not a good idea. If the seeds are too big they could get stuck in the crop as well.
 

Monica

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Unfortunately, living in the Philippines, bird care and knowledge may be much more lacking than in other parts of the world. :(

Also, bird related products may be harder to purchase and potentially even expensive.
 

Ralph dacanay

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Yup handfeeding formulas here are so expensive so people gere makes their own formula and my friend uses it for 3 years already and it works
 

SpecialistElbru

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Baby birds can not digest the Millet seeds.

I don't know what species of bird you have from the single picture but it looks like a altricial bird. When altricial birds are infants they can not chew and digest millet seeds. Even when the parent birds are seed eaters. In such a case the parent birds will painstaking grind up the seed in the beak and form a paste before feeding it to their young. Millet has a hull, sometimes millet is sometimes sold de-hulled. Even de-hulled millet is no good for baby birds, it will pass through undigested,or worse it could block the intestine and kill the bird sooner.
 
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