Weaning!

[zhalice]

Help! My baby lovebird is eating millet spray, but aside from that, will not eat any other food aside from the handfeeding formula. Should I wait for her to wean naturally or should I do something? I provide her with pellets, apples, spinach, and cheerios but she ignores them. I am scared she will become a bird that only eats seeds

 

[DoubleTake]

Help! My baby lovebird is eating millet spray, but aside from that, will not eat any other food aside from the handfeeding formula. Should I wait for her to wean naturally or should I do something? I provide her with pellets, apples, spinach, and cheerios but she ignores them. I am scared she will become a bird that only eats seeds

You should never force a baby to be weaned. How old is he\she? Nothing wrong with a seed diet if you give the right seeds lovebirds are active.

 

[zhalice]

She is about seven weeks old-- I'm just concerned because I would like her to be eating a greater variety of foods. I worry that she will be on an all-millet diet after weaning

 

[DoubleTake]

She is about seven weeks old-- I'm just concerned because I would like her to be eating a greater variety of foods. I worry that she will be on an all-millet diet after weaning

7 weeks is not long at all. Most baby lb wean about 8 weeks. They can start at weeks but usually not the case. Just keep it in the cage all over the floor. You can introduce all that you mentioned but it may be too big and to "solid" too soon. May want to add some sprouted seeds. Sprouted seeds are nutritious but need to be changed out regularly.

 

[Zara]

Welcome to the Avenue Zhalice

How many feedings are you giving?

Be sure that right after the formula feed you are offing some adult foods to explore, maybe some pellets, finely chopped veggies or mash. This is the time they are most likely to try them.

Try offering the formula on a teaspoon, to help the chick learn to eat food not just receive it in the crop.

Lovebirds usually wean between 7 and 10 weeks, so you are still within the norm. There are always some birds that take just a little longer