Worried about one of the babies.

Hi there my pair on bonded conures recently laid their first clutch of eggs. There are a total of 6, 5 babies have already hatched and there is still one more egg to go!

I was just worried about one of the younger chicks. I think the chick is maybe 2-3 days old. Since yesterday I noticed that it has been separate from the other chicks and is a couple inches away burried under the bedding/nesting material. I placed it back closer to the others and today when I checked on every body again there it was again by itself underneath the nest bedding. Is this normal? I mean I obviously dont expect much movement of a baby so young but was just wondering if it is normal or safe for it to be barried away from the others or if this is a sign of maybe the momma keeping it away and hiding it??

If that is the case, is 2-3 days old way to early to start handfeeding? I would like to keep the babies in the nest as long as I can and would hate to have to pull such a young chick but I will do everything as necessary!!

Hi my bonded pair recently had a cluth of 6 eggs in which 5 babies have hatched and there is still one egg to go. Was just a bit concerned about one of the babies, it is about 2 or 3 days old and since yesterday I noticed it was a couple inches away from the rest and kind of burried under the nesting/bedding. Is this normal? I mean I dont expect much movement being so young especially being the youngest and most recent to hatch but yesterdady I placed it back with the others and again today when I checked on everybody he was to the side burried. was just wondering if this is okay or if its momma keeping him away? I would hate to have to pull a chick so young and not sure if its even possible yet as it is so young.

Yes you need to pull him immediately and place him
In an incubator around 98.5 degrees F. Right away. Feed. Every hour, only a few drops at a time. Do you have a good neonatal formula on hand?


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Yes remove him immediately and place him in a brooder at about 98.5 degrees F. Do you have any neonatal formula on hand? You will need to feed every hour. What sort of conures?


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Any update? Is the baby still alive?


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Hey everyone, thanks for your replies!! Its greatly appreciated.

I havent pulled the baby as of yet as I would really rather have the parents raise them and have it be absolutely the last resort as trying to hand feed a baby that young would be difficult as I work during the day. I've managed to keep checking on it and so far he/she is still alive.

I placed it back with the others and again today it was sort of by itself. I picked the baby up and it's crop was still full though so despite being pushed away from the others I think it's still being fed since its crop appears to be round/full??? Is this possible?

If I notice in a few hours his crop seems empty and doesn't seem like it is being fed I am prepared to pull it but if mom and dad are still feeding I should leave it in the nest?

You need to pull him immediately and warm him up!


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No you should not leave him when there are clear signs something is wrong. If he doesn't die from one of the MANY possible complications of not being kept warm enough, the parents may start being violent. I have seen conure chicks torn completely to pieces by their parents; even if you save him after violence has happened he will be much more open to infection once wounded. If you work during the day you'll have to take him with you or find someone who can feed him during the day. Do you not have a plan in place for this circumstance?


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You mention to pull the chick immediately however I do not own or have an incubator/brooder!!!... how would I go about pulling the chick then and keeping the chick warm? would a storage bin/container work with a heating pad and towel/paper towel?

I do have formula handy. I bought the KAYTEE exact handfeeding formula.
is this a good formula to use, it was the only one I could find in pet stores in my area?

No it would not...

I'm trying to remain calm and respectful here but my mamma bear is panicking. I want to rush over and take care of the baby for you, but I'm stuck on an island in the middle of the pacific.

I'm confused here... you said you are prepared, but clearly you are NOT? No brooder? That should have been ready before you let thembreed even if you didn't want to hand feed. And the fact that you don't know that a plastic bin won't work tells me that you did not even the first hour of googling before embarking on this adventure?

You work during the day? Then why would you allow your birds to breed if you aren't home to deal with emergencies??

At this point what you need to do is call every local parrot breeder and vet that you can find and see if you can get anyone to take the baby from you. If not, do everything you can to at least buy a brooder ASAP even a used one and inform your boss that you will have to be bringing him to work and taking 20 minutes off every 2 hours. You also need a confection thermometer, a bottle warmer, formula, and pipettes (not syringes) and dozens of hours of research. I also suggest joining emergency hand feeding groups on Facebook as you might find someone e local to you and those groups have a lot more experienced breeders than this forum. I love this Forum, but you have dug a deep hole for this baby and you need A LOT of help if you want to keep him alive and most of the people here aren't breeders.


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Melanie.L said:

I do have formula handy. I bought the KAYTEE exact handfeeding formula.

is this a good formula to use, it was the only one I could find in pet stores in my area?

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If it's all you have then it's all you have. It's not ideal for babies this young which is why you should have a neonatal formula on hand at all times like Formula One. Pet stores rarely have what breeders need; the internet is your friend. But with this kind of thing you really need to have everything on hand BEFORE babies arrive.


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I hope you are able to find a breeder or vet in your area that can advise/help you.

I would Never undertake breeding birds. I breed my horses and sometimes miss days of work (if im lucky) during a breeding/foaling season.

If you don't have a brooder, maybe the next best thing is a semi-solid container that you can keep inside your shirt? Something to hold the chick but not squish or suffocate it? Then it can stay warm, and you can easily feed it through the day. But I'm not a breeder, hopefully someone will correct me if this is the wrong thing to do. I figure it would take time to find any kind of incubator, and your warm body is right there...

I wouldn't suggest it as babies of that age are incredibly delicate and this would likely cause injury. If not injury, an extreme lack of sleep from the constant movement would likely kill the baby, and even being held directly on the skin of a human isn't likely to keep the baby at 98-99 degrees F.


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I had a brooder stop working once, so I ended up having to build an emergency brooder out of a small box, bedding, 2 heating pads, a blanket, and a hanging thermometer. I only used it for a day until I found a used one on Craigslist and could drive to go get it. I had to constantly make modifications to keep the temperature correct, but it worked in a pinch.

It's tough when the parents push one out so young, but that's part of breeding. You can't just put a nest box in and assume you'll just let the parents do it, that's typically not how it works.

Please make sure you know how to properly mix the formula and keep it at the exact temp it should be, too hot will burn his crop, too cold will cause crop stasis. And if you've never done it before, and since he's so little, make sure you follow what was already said to do, use a pipette and do single drops. It takes a while to get his crop full, but it's the only way to assure you won't aspirate him. Please do get him out of there and make arrangements to care for him, if you leave him he will either freeze to death, starve or dehydrate, or be killed by the mother most likely...And that's not something you want to see...

Please ask questions often!

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EllenD said:

I had a brooder stop working once, so I ended up having to build an emergency brooder out of a small box, bedding, 2 heating pads, a blanket, and a hanging thermometer. I only used it for a day until I found a used one on Craigslist and could drive to go get it. I had to constantly make modifications to keep the temperature correct, but it worked in a pinch.

It's tough when the parents push one out so young, but that's part of breeding. You can't just put a nest box in and assume you'll just let the parents do it, that's typically not how it works.

Please make sure you know how to properly mix the formula and keep it at the exact temp it should be, too hot will burn his crop, too cold will cause crop stasis. And if you've never done it before, and since he's so little, make sure you follow what was already said to do, use a pipette and do single drops. It takes a while to get his crop full, but it's the only way to assure you won't aspirate him. Please do get him out of there and make arrangements to care for him, if you leave him he will either freeze to death, starve or dehydrate, or be killed by the mother most likely...And that's not something you want to see...

Please ask questions often!

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Great advice from Ellen here. I am also very glad you are here asking questions, and I hope that everything turns out with your babies.
I'm hoping you are able to get some more helpful answers as well.

There are reasons a mother pushes a baby chick aside, one being she thinks there is something wrong with the chick, I don't think so in this case because you said the chick's crop was full in those circumstances she wouldn't feed the baby at all. Another could be she think she has to many to feed. Also some birds that lay a good few eggs and only one has hatched she is very likely to kill the chick and lay another clutch.

All the above advise is good and I hope you can find a way to save this little chick.