I GOT BABIESS!!

[lioen]

So i had some mating birds for a while now, and one egg just finally hatched!! im so excited, but the information online is a bit scattered. It says i should remove it for handfeeding 3 weeks from birth, but it doesn't specify what to put in the formula, what tools to use, etc. I'm new to this, im sorry. I would also like to know if i could hold the baby (safely), how (the mom is not comfortable with people because of their last owners), and when. it was only born a few hours ago! should i just let the mom take care of it all for all of it?? do i give them special food? etc, i just need help really. Thank you!! i'll try to get pictures when i can.

 

[Sparkles99]

What species of bird?

There are pros & cons to hand feeding. I personally don’t think it’s in the bird’s lifelong best interests.

 

[Budgie_guy]

I only have one breeding experience, with budgies, but I can telly you that despite the mom was afraid of people she didn't care about me handling the babies.
So once they grow a bit I think you can try to handle them for a few minutes and see how the mother reacts. If she's okay with that you can continue to spend time with them: they will learn quickly to trust you, without hand-feeding (that is risky). The problem is that they would still prefer their own kind over you, so you should make sure to work on your relationship with them often.
I guess it depends on how tamed you want them to be.

 

[lioen]

well, I have cockatiels, and I do want them to be used to humans. I need to sell most of them off, so I would want the owners and babies to have a good future relationship.

 

[Zara]

Let the mother take care of her young.

For now she won't feed the chick as they are absorbing the yolk sac. Do not feed the chick during this stage.

Montor closely and if she rejects, step in for hand rearing. You will need to move the chick to your brooder at this point and feed hand rearing formula. I like Nutribird, other people like other brands. But it will also come down to what is available in your area. Hagen make formula, as well as Psittacus.

For now, don't handle the chicks unless needed as I believe it will upset the hen leading to possible rejection.

Frankly I think it's careless to allow breeding without any research just to make money.

 

[Sparkles99]

The best relationship is an honest one & so doesn’t involve imprinting. Many breeders are leaving chicks later.

Imprinting is often associated with self-mutilation & feather destruction later in life.

 

[lioen]

Let the mother take care of her young.

For now she won't feed the chick as they are absorbing the yolk sac. Do not feed the chick during this stage.

Montor closely and if she rejects, step in for hand rearing. You will need to move the chick to your brooder at this point and feed hand rearing formula. I like Nutribird, other people like other brands. But it will also come down to what is available in your area. Hagen make formula, as well as Psittacus.

For now, don't handle the chicks unless needed as I believe it will upset the hen leading to possible rejection.

Frankly I think it's careless to allow breeding without any research just to make money.

i didn't know they were going to have babies. i have done some research, but i have some bad anxiety and needed some tips and tricks from people who have experience to help me. i didn't do this to make money, i just can't take care of multiple babies as im going on a trip soon. please don't assume the worst of me just because i forgot to put in some details that i didn't think had to be nessecary. thank you though!

 

[Mizzely]

Do you have a local breeder or vet who can help teach you to handfeed?

You can still have awesome, human friendly babies even if they are not hand fed! Or you could let mom do most of the work and just do a few feedings here and there. Look up "co-parenting" in that case.

 

[Spearmint]

Spearmint was hand raised as a baby, and he was left with a lot of issues. He gets extremely bad separation anxiety, and cannot stand being left alone for too long. Parrots are very capable to bonding whether they were raised by their parents or not. I would rather provide the parents with all the nutrients and foods in their diet to feed the babies

 

[Zara]

A good tip for "friendly" chicks, is to let the parents take care of the chicks. Once they are feathered, you can spend short amounts of time interacting with them. When fully feathered offer some millet off the sprig and you can also spend more time interacting with them.
While they are "bald", leave them in the nest so they don't get cold.
Letting the parents take the bulk of the work will usually increase the chance of success. But at least if you wait to interact with the birds, they will be older and so if they get rejected, it is easier to feed them over a 2 day old chick for eg.

If you have no experience handfeeding and need to step in, use a small spoon for feeding to reduce the chance of them aspirating.