Caring for Baby Lovebird?

I just got a baby lovebird and its 2 and a half weeks old.
The lady I bought it from told me she feeds them every 3 to 4 hours and its like 1/2 to 1/3 of the formula.Is that correct?That just seems like a long time with the baby not eating and not much food.

Why on earth has she given you a lovebird that young...?

If the crops empty and it's crying, feed it. Some of the hand rearing people might be able to help you out.

She said it was an accidental breeding and she doesn't have the time to handfeed them till their old enough to ween off.and how would the crop feel if its empty?She explained it to me quickly but I just wanna make sure i'm doing everything right.

The crop would look 'big and puffed' if he's just had a feed so when it looks almost like a deflated sack, would be the only way I could describe it on a young chick...

C'mon all ye breeders out there, help me out explaining!

Just keep doing what you're doing for the time being, as long as the baby is getting some food without being forced/under fed, then it should be okay. Someone will get to you soon.

I think that you need to return this bird. As a Lovebird breeder it's not easy to hand-feed a bird. She should have left that bird with the parents if she didn't have the time.

You will first need a brooder to keep the Lovebird warm, if the bird becomes cold they can have issues digesting food or even die. The bird should be kept at 88-92 degrees Fahrenheit. Secondly you'll need a syringe, formula, and a candy thermometer to check the food. You can not use a normal thermometer typically because they will not go high enough. I've seen people use meat thermometers as well. At this age the bird will need to eat every 4-6 hours (yes even through the night) The food should be thin, but not so thin that the bird aspirates the food. You also need to know how to check the crop by sight to make sure it's not too empty or too full. If it's done improperly it can lead to death. Here is one of my favorite sites >Flying Gems Aviary - Handfeeding baby lovies


Overall, you need to return this bird to a proper breeder. Selling un-weaned birds shouldn't be done unless the breeder personally knows the other breeder and they have quite a bit of experience. There is no such thing as an accidental breeding in my opinion. You have a female and male bird and a nest, what do you thinks going to happen?

I'm not taking it back because she isn't taking care of them good and I know I can take better care of it.I dont have a brooder but Hes in a tank with a lid on it and I also put a really soft cloth in there and 2 little stuffed animals with a shirt over them to help keep him warm.

I have Kaytee Exact Formula and thanks so much for that website cause that helps alot.

I don't have a thermomiter and the Pet Stores are closed now but i'm gonna try to get one tomorrow.Right now i put the formula in a cup and let the cup sit in warm water to make it warm.

These people here are TRYING to help you, they gave you good advice, Do you know how to take care of this baby? you wouldent be asking if you wernt worried about taking care of a baby this small, take the baby and give it to a vet. they should be open at this time of the night, say its an emergancy.

Lovebird babys are SMALL. hard to feed and even harder to know how to properly be taken care of by someone who has to ask about them while they have them, I know this because I have done my homework, the prospect of handraising any bird even older then this one is nearly impossable for a avarage person.

if you give the wrong dose, or the temp is wrong, you can seriously hurt this baby. This baby has a chance right this moment, if you make one little mastake things can take a turn for the worse, Take the baby to a vet and give it over, they will find a home for the baby when its big enough for them too find a home.

The temperature of the food is a big deal, you can't just warm it with water. If it's too cold the bird won't be able to digest it and it can grow bacteria and kill the chick. If it's too hot it can burn the crop and cause death as well.

You also mentioned you didn't want to return the bird because the lady wasn't taking care of the bird. While the lady obviously isn't the smartest cookie for selling non weaned birds to in-experienced people, she at least knew how to keep the bird alive. Without proper temperatures in food and experience there is no way this bird will survive. I commend you on wanting to do the right thing, but honestly the right thing is to find a breeder who can properly feed and care for this bird. Perhaps you can find a breeder that will wean the bird for a fee and you could take him/her home after? Or you could have a PROPER breeder show you how to do everything. It worries me that your trying to feed tonight by warming water with no temp, that's a very very big risk. One that could certainly lead to death. Can you go to even Walmart and by a thermometer?

Take their advise .. sent to someone who is experience to wean it for you. Get a vet to check on the baby. Taking care of unwean baby is much more difficult than you can ever imagine. Unwean babies needs much more attention from owner than any big birds. You must also be sensitive to the surrounding enviromment changes and able to keep the bird warn and alive..

Get a plastic aquarium and have some of those (woods that they use for hamster). It can help keep warm and better for the baby chick... Thermometer is a must. I wish you all the best .. and hope you keep us posted.

Ok, let me explain this clearly for you. FIRST IF you don't know how to care for a baby bird, it can be deadly IF you don't feed it properly! Second, you need to watch some videos on how to handfeed and the consistency of the formula should be when you mix it. Third, run to your local hardware store and get one of those clamp on shop lights, they're NOT expensive at all, get you some 60w bulbs, get a 10g aquarium and place bedding on the bottom. Place the light onto the aquarium and leave it on 24/7 on one side of the tank and cover the other side of the tank with a towel. So if the baby gets hot, he can move over to the side that's not as hot which would be the side being covered by a blanket. This would be your brooder! At 2 and a half weeks this would do, if younger, you would need two shop lights with lights on. I put filtered water in a cup into the microwave and bring it to boiling point. Mix one and a half teaspoon of formula in a clean container, place formula in first then put little water in at a time to and stir it while you put it in. Mix it to a oat meal like consistency to a little more liquid like where it's not too thick. Then keep on stirring with the spoon until you get all the formula properly mixed in. Let it cool for about 5 min. You can feel it not hot to the touch, it should be luke warm. At this stage, I didn't even feed every 4 hours, but if you don't know what your doing, this is probably best to do by feeding what the baby wants to eat. I feed every 12 hours, once in the morning and once at night. You can check the crop sack to know if your doing the right timing. Crop sack should be emptied every time you feed. There's danger in this as well, especially a lot of folks experienced this for Kaytee Exact Formula including me is that the formula tend to go hard and the baby not being able to digest. So it is quite important that you know what your doing!!!! That's why the posters above told you to bring him back. IF your unwilling to bring him back, at least bring him to someone locally who knows what they're doing and show you how it is done properly! Even feeding with a syringe improperly CAN kill a baby bird!

Okay first off, I came here for advice on how to RAISE a baby bird.Not for people to tell me to get rid of it.Stop wasting your time telling me I need to get rid of it because i'm not.I didn't go an hour and a half away and waste $75 to give the bird away.

Also, I am taking better care of it because she had no lid on their cage or any type of heat light or anything for them and she told me she feeds them 1/2 to 1/3 of a cc....Which they need like 4-6 cc's.

Thank you though to the few who have gave me good advice.He seems totally fine and hes super active.

I do have another question though.
People keep saying that they only feed their 2 week old birds like 12 hours inbetween or 7 and 8 hours but he would be dead if I waited that long because his crop seems to empty very fast.I fed him at 11:40 and when I checked on him at 1:30 his crop was pretty much flat and totally empty and he was starving.Why is his crop emptying that fast?

I don't know why anyone is telling you to wait 12 hours. You feed every 4-6 hours as that website mentioned. There are people who believe in the "survival of the fittest" method where they feed twice a day and if they make it they make it. It's not an ok feeding method. I don't agree with the previous poster at all you HAVE to have a thermometer. The temp is the most important part besides consistency, just a few degrees off will burn your chick. It's literally 1-2 degrees off that can mean your chick not digesting or being burnt and dying.

Why won't a normal thermometer work?

IolaniAviary said:

I don't know why anyone is telling you to wait 12 hours. You feed every 4-6 hours as that website mentioned. There are people who believe in the "survival of the fittest" method where they feed twice a day and if they make it they make it. It's not an ok feeding method. I don't agree with the previous poster at all you HAVE to have a thermometer. The temp is the most important part besides consistency, just a few degrees off will burn your chick. It's literally 1-2 degrees off that can mean your chick not digesting or being burnt and dying.

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Its not the first time I raised chicks nor im someone new raising chicks. I've done it for many years. And I've raised Lovebird chicks before. After you've done it countless times you get the process down pretty good. If you check my post on baby birds that I have right now, if I don't know what im doing, my babies would not survive, I have 4right baby cockatiels right now.

If the poster reads, I said its probably best to feed at the time it was suggested for now until he understands how to check and how it is done!

To the poster! If you feed too little or mixing the formula with too much water, the crop sac will go down very quickly!!!!

I'm not saying you don't know how, but I don't think it's right to suggest going off feel for food to someone. You said yourself you've done it for years. I know breeders who have bred Lovebirds for 20+ years and still use a thermometer everyday because it's detrimental and they don't want to risk it. I understand what your saying about food, but she's saying people are telling her to feed only twice a day for now on, that would lead to a weak chick.

If I didn't know how to feed and had done this, I would go directly to a breeder to have them wean it or show me how. It's not a matter of money, it's a matter of making sure the bird is taken care of properly, $75.00 or not. I think most breeders have been taught how to hand-feed, it's a big risk trying to learn yourself without the proper tools.

IolaniAviary said:

I'm not saying you don't know how, but I don't think it's right to suggest going off feel for food to someone. You said yourself you've done it for years. I know breeders who have bred Lovebirds for 20+ years and still use a thermometer everyday because it's detrimental and they don't want to risk it. I understand what your saying about food, but she's saying people are telling her to feed only twice a day for now on, that would lead to a weak chick.

If I didn't know how to feed and had done this, I would go directly to a breeder to have them wean it or show me how. It's not a matter of money, it's a matter of making sure the bird is taken care of properly, $75.00 or not. I think most breeders have been taught how to hand-feed, it's a big risk trying to learn yourself without the proper tools.

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I understand your meaning now! I still would say to go to someone locally to show how it is done properly!!! Its easier to see it in person then to explain it over online!

Well now that the argueing is over....
lol
I thickened it a bit at the last feeding it its lasted longer, thanks
and why won't a normal thermomiter work??

Okay first off, I came here for advice on how to RAISE a baby bird.Not for people to tell me to get rid of it.Stop wasting your time telling me I need to get rid of it because i'm not.I didn't go an hour and a half away and waste $75 to give the bird away.

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Well hopefully you didn't waste $75+ on a bird you don't really know how to take care of; If it dies that is. Good luck. You have good advice, hope it works out for you.