• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

Handfeeding mousebirds...

Status
Not open for further replies.

GG.

Enjoy the small things
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
10/17/09
Messages
28,652
Location
gulf coast, alabama
Real Name
GG
beautiful pics Susanne - very informative thread -

that wee one is adorable :)
 

srtiels

Ripping up the road
Mayor of the Avenue
Avian Angel
Joined
11/23/09
Messages
1,000,000
Location
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Real Name
Susanne
Thanks, I'm learning as I do the handfeeding. In the past I always started the mousebird chicks older, and they are tough to get to accept food, so the first week is force feeding. This little one has no problem letting me know it wants food. The incubator is a few feet away from me and it sounds like a little cricket chirping when it is hungry...which seems like all the time.

The downside is that what goes in must come out and they won't poop where they sleep/nest, so they have to be stimulated to poop after feeding, and between 3 chicks that is alot of poop in a day.
 

Attachments

waterfaller1

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/16/09
Messages
26,782
Real Name
carole
Umm..glad I'm not eating an eggroll right now..:eek:...:rofl::rofl::rofl:
 

srtiels

Ripping up the road
Mayor of the Avenue
Avian Angel
Joined
11/23/09
Messages
1,000,000
Location
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Real Name
Susanne
This little BN is a bad baby. It now want to hang, and again on the lid of the incubator. So I moved it to the little cage with the WB, and it wants to be a big bird and climb. And then it tried to escape :) You can see the difference in colors between the BN and WB.
 

Attachments

srtiels

Ripping up the road
Mayor of the Avenue
Avian Angel
Joined
11/23/09
Messages
1,000,000
Location
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Real Name
Susanne
you have a tiny Indiana Jones on your hands there! :)
----------------------------------

:lol:LOL...if a little boy that would be a great name :) It sure is an active little one. I'm hoping that now that it is in with the WB it will encourage them to be less bashful and beg for food.
 

srtiels

Ripping up the road
Mayor of the Avenue
Avian Angel
Joined
11/23/09
Messages
1,000,000
Location
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Real Name
Susanne
Ah...it worked! When the little begger was beging for some food held with the tweezer both WB also let me feed them without a fuss...YAY!! Trying to feed them was like wrestling with a snake before today. And yes, the little BN had to get the most food...LOL
 

srtiels

Ripping up the road
Mayor of the Avenue
Avian Angel
Joined
11/23/09
Messages
1,000,000
Location
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Real Name
Susanne
The little one has adapted quickly to the cage, and when it is hungry will now hang on the side and stare and call to me. It was so hungry it was licking and chewing on the wire. That is it's little tongue across the bar!. And it is a big bird and hang. And next is it side by side with a WB. This shows a side by side difference in the species. The WB are coming around to begging if they want to compete with this little one. Hopefully I can get some pix's of them being fed.

I was going thru my pix's and notes and this little BN is more precocious (Sp) than Chubbs. Chubbs did not try to venture from the nest til he was 2 weeks old. This little one is only 10 days old.
 

Attachments

waterfaller1

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/16/09
Messages
26,782
Real Name
carole
Oh my goodness..look at that tongue!:eek::p
 

srtiels

Ripping up the road
Mayor of the Avenue
Avian Angel
Joined
11/23/09
Messages
1,000,000
Location
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Real Name
Susanne
Today I clipped some Endive in the cage. The WB nibbled on it alittle. And I'm going to place a little plate of soaked pellets and bits of fruit to see if the WB will try to eat. The WB are bad....now that they figured out how to eat from food offerred by tweezers when I offer some to the little BN they will snatch it from him.
 

Attachments

srtiels

Ripping up the road
Mayor of the Avenue
Avian Angel
Joined
11/23/09
Messages
1,000,000
Location
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Real Name
Susanne
I have to sit my butt down and read the manual on how to use, and upload video's from the DigiCam into the computer. If so, then I can do some videos of handfeeding these little mousers :)

Kirby is now helping with the feeding. I will crop feed some formula into each mouser. Then I give the little BN to Kirby, and the tweezers and bowls of soaked pellets and chopped fruits. He will feed the little one the pellets and fruit with the tweezers while I am doing the same with the WB. The WB are soming around real good to accepting being handfed...YAY! They are all eating very well though the little BN is a real piggie and will not stop begging til it is stuffed, then ducks his head. And poop...lots of it...LOL
 

srtiels

Ripping up the road
Mayor of the Avenue
Avian Angel
Joined
11/23/09
Messages
1,000,000
Location
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Real Name
Susanne
The little brats are doing great. They will hang on the side of their little cage and stare and chitter to me when they are hungry...which seems like it is always...:lol: When I open the lid there are little hungry mouths waiting. I hand Kirby the little BN. And I just pulled the fostered BN which is 10 days old today. You can see the changes and difference between the BN babies, which there is only 5 days difference in their ages. The WB are about 3 weeks old.
 

Attachments

srtiels

Ripping up the road
Mayor of the Avenue
Avian Angel
Joined
11/23/09
Messages
1,000,000
Location
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Real Name
Susanne
All the babies are doing well. The little BN in the incubator is getting big and starting to climb so I think in another day or so I will have to move him to a little carrier cage and I'll put the older BN baby in with him.

I am still giving them some formula every hour or so. But I stopped feeding fruit and pellets with tweezers to the 3 older babies. I put a small plate of food in there and they are finially starting to nibble on it between feeding. This morning I also clipped some greens near their plate and they nibbled on them.

When I open the carrier now I have to watch them. They move fast and escape and they can fly....good. The BN took a flight and landed on the front of my dress. One WB got lost in the closet where there is alot of junk and it took awhile to find him.

My other worry is soon I may have to separate them into separate carrier cages. From experience of the first WB babies I handfed one day in the matter of being away from them for a 1/2 hour I can back to plucked mousebirds! The book says that they will do this, but I'm not sure why.
 

Attachments

GG.

Enjoy the small things
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
10/17/09
Messages
28,652
Location
gulf coast, alabama
Real Name
GG
:omg: look at them!!! they have grown sooo much!!

so sweet seeing them eat 'big bird' food

the one on your dress is adorable!!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top