hand feeding baby birds

I just spoke with my breeder. My baby bird is still on one formula feeding a day. He said this could go on for quite a while. My baby bird eats seed and pellet food very well, but still needs that comfort feeding. We talked about shipping him this Saturday and having me finish the hand feedings. My bird is 10 weeks old right now. I have never hand fed a bird before, so this will be new to me. The breeder seems to think it will be okay and there is virtually no risk of aspiration because the bird is old enough and knows when he wants more and how to turn away when he doesn't want anymore. The breeder is willing and ready to help me with anything I might need after the bird ships. I will take my bird to the vet that first day and have the vet show me how to do it the first time. The breeder I am using likes it when people finish up the hand feedings because this allows for better bonding. Please tell me your opinions on this and any advice on hand feeding and weaning would be greatly appreciated.

If your breeder is willing to help i don't see the problem, provided your given the right advice. Sun Conure are easy to wean as long as you are sensible about it.

But i have to say that it doesn't really help with bonding, i believe that comment is a myth. To be honest this is an age where you can make every mistake in the book as far as teaching good bird behavior. Spoil them to much & you could have a screamer on your hands.

Pedro:

I am going to try my best to have my bird weaned by the time he is 12 weeks old. You mentioned spoiling...what would you say spoiling a bird is? I don't want to spoil him, but I also want to make sure we bond.

You would be pushing it to have a sun conure weaned by 12 weeks maybe 14 weeks.

You will have to be the teacher & reinforce positive behavior. Your bird does not need your undivided attention to be your best mate. Aviod rewarding undesired behavior. The main reason parrots are given up is because of screaming & biting. These are both learned behaviors. If you read everything you can get your hands on about Parrot behavior/training & how to manage your bird from the beginning, that would be a good start.

The main reason for bad behavior with sun conures is because they are just so darn cute as babies we tend to let them get away with to much & as they age the cute behavior as a baby isn't so cute anymore. Also remember a sun is mature at 18 month to 2 years.

I am still hand feeding my 16 week old cag. I have hand fed my daughters linnie. It isn't hard and I did alot of reading about handfeeding vs. getting the bird after weaning. I am a believer that it does indeed help with bonding. Iknow this is a much debated subject however I followed the advice of my breeder (who would either let me finish or wean the bird for me) I also love the philosophy of Hartman aviary (parrot university, they invented the avian harness) This is not where I got my cag however they have the same philosophy as my breeder. (it's great info on diet etc.) I think that if you have someone show you how to do the feeding it isn't difficult. I feed from a paper cup. I bend the side into a point like spout. Dorothy our cag will let me know when she has had enough. When she was older it was a little more complex however now that she is older she sort of lets me know if she wants more or if she has had enough. I think that hand feeding until the bird is ready to give it up is the best way. I say go for it if you are up to the schedule!

Thanks everyone for all your help. My baby will arrive tomorrow night. As it turns out, the breeder plans on walking me through the first hand feeding since It will be at night when my baby gets here.

Aww I can't wait for the pics. Baby Sun Conure is going to be at his forever home tonight. Congrats! I am sure you will love and enjoy him/her too much.

brianlinkles said:

I am still hand feeding my 16 week old cag. I have hand fed my daughters linnie. It isn't hard and I did alot of reading about handfeeding vs. getting the bird after weaning. I am a believer that it does indeed help with bonding. Iknow this is a much debated subject however I followed the advice of my breeder (who would either let me finish or wean the bird for me) I also love the philosophy of Hartman aviary (parrot university, they invented the avian harness) This is not where I got my cag however they have the same philosophy as my breeder. (it's great info on diet etc.) I think that if you have someone show you how to do the feeding it isn't difficult. I feed from a paper cup. I bend the side into a point like spout. Dorothy our cag will let me know when she has had enough. When she was older it was a little more complex however now that she is older she sort of lets me know if she wants more or if she has had enough. I think that hand feeding until the bird is ready to give it up is the best way. I say go for it if you are up to the schedule!

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It depends from bird to bird!!!! It doesn't help really being a former breeder here. Pedro breeds birds too. So this is coming from us we bred a lot of babies. I spend time with every single one of my babies when I used to raise them, I stay home full time! Some of my babies leave me the moment they're weaned and goes right to my friends instead. I have other people to socialize them as well. My last two batch of babies that I recently raised, one from the last batch was like that, one from this batch is like that as well. But eventually when some of them gotten old enough they leave me for other people anyways. I've kept a few favorites. Willie my macaw was fed by his previous owners, sure they bond great and Willie NEVER liked anyone that comes inside the house, he came right to me the day we met within 1 min. He chose me right away over the lady that raised him! She had him for 2 years. So no it don't really help that much with bonding, as long as the baby is tamed, you'll bond just fine! Plus given the proper training, it's not hard to bond with them. You also let the birds choose you, not the other way around. You can choose the specie you want but visit multiple until one finds liking in you.

Mikey I have to agree with you, although i don't think i have ever had the pleasure of a parrot actually choosing me but I have always been able to handle any bird i have purchased from another breeder. Often i have freighted them in from other states. I admit that sometimes i might have to work with a scared baby for a few days before it feels comfortable.

I have hand-reared a baby Major Mitchell from the day it hatched, he loved me until the day he matured & decided he loved my husband more. Oh i could do anything with him when hubby wasn't around, it was a different story when he was home from work, this bird was darn right mean to me.

When potential owners come to my house to purchase a baby parrot they find it very hard to choose one because I keep them flighted & recall trained, i can have 6 babies ready for sale, they all have a wonderful time flying around the house & landing on anyone's arm. My customers think it's such a great experience.

Sunmommy you are in for a rewarding experience. Congratulations.

I have my baby, Pyro. He is the sweetest thing ever and very tame. He lets me hold him and feed him already. I haven't had a problem yet.

That's great to hear!!! Post some pictures of Pyro when you can!

I love the name Pyro! Glad to know he arrived at home safe and already with his mommy. Pics pics pics

Pyro is so cute. When I give him his formula, he flaps his wings vigorously and bobs his head up and down.

The head bobbing is a baby conure 'thing', so cute.

Conito4Ever said:

The head bobbing is a baby conure 'thing', so cute.

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Is it? Aww I didnt know that. It is very cute.

So I've been giving Pyro his formula and he wanted it three times today. He was down to one feeding a day when I got him and Saturday we fed him twice, Sunday twice and today three times. Does this seem right?