Please Help 4 week old baby lovebirds first time breeders

Hi everybody,

We have three 4 week old baby lovebirds that we just pulled from the nest box. We wanted to have the parents take care of them until fully weened, but last night when I peeked in on them, I discovered that one or both of the parents had plucked out most of the feathers on their heads and some of their wing feathers.

We panicked because of all the horror stories I read about parents killing their babies. I had bought all of the necessary supplies to hand feed ahead of time (in case I would need it).

Now, I think I might have done the wrong thing. We can't get them to eat enough food at once. I know they should be fed 4 times per day every six hours. We spend hours feeding the three of them, and they don't even end up with a full crop. It takes us three hours to even get them to eat what they do. I'm worried that we have just made a disaster. Should we put them back in with the parents? If we do, will they take care of them? Will they kill them or abandon them because we took them out and fed them on our own?

On top of it all, I feel awful because mommy is still looking for them whenever I go in to check on them. (The parents are not even our birds. Long story. We never should have gotten into this mess. The owner made it all sound so simple. I feel so irresponsible now looking back on it).

What should I do? Please help! I'm really nervous about all of this and on the verge of tears.

Ok ok ok. Take a deep breath, and snuggle a baby.

How active are they compared to when you pulled them out and now? If they are the same amount of active then I'd say your doing good.
Now, I've never bred parrots before. BUT, I have bred just about everything else. My worse experience was a mother goat who I loved. Gave birth to 3 lovely babies - 2 made it (due to our inexperience one was born with a hard to cure disease, had to put him down) and out of the 2, she rejected one. If she ever saw the baby she'd try to kill it. Head butt it, bite it, general trying to kill it. Had to imagine how hard it was - same place you are. Mother is being aggressive, not sure what to do, I know the feeling too well. *Hugs* it will end up fine, I promise.

Now, you know that Ive never bred parrots, but between chickens, pigeons, geese, ducks, and many more birds this is my general advice - have you *seen* the mom try to attack them? Or could it be the dad? If you remove the dad, leave the chicks with mom and see what happens. Be CLOSE by in case something happens, and be ready to grab the chicks. If she feeds them - great. If she attacks them - then immediately take them out. Also, start looking for breeders nearby to see if they can help on hand feeding. What are you feeding them?

I wish you the best of luck, and this is not a disaster! It'll end fine.

Hi. I'm feeding them something called Exact formula. They're not parrots though. They're lovebirds. Okay, so when you say to take dad out and put them back with mom, does that mean stay close by all night? Should we be keeping watch? If I put them back in, and she kills them in the middle of the night, I will be devastated.

I don't know if this is relevant. I forgot to mention it before. I started to get worried about the possibility days ago. One of the parents smashed in three eggs, at least two of them had fully developed babies inside. Does this mean anything with respect to the fate of the three older babies?

While you're waiting you can also watch handfeeding videos. I would bet there's a couple on YouTube.

Lovebirds are parrots.....

Are you making sure the formula isn't to thick or runny?

I had no idea that they are actually parrots. Always learning…

About the formula, I'm not sure if the consistency is right. I follow the instructions on the packet insert to a T, but it always seems too thick. I've had to add a bit more water. Otherwise, the consistency is like tapioca pudding. I read that for 4 week old babies, the consistency should be like a thin gravy. Also, temperature is always a problem. I think that's part of why it takes so long. It's either too hot, and I have to let it cool, or it's too cold, and I have to put the container in a bowl of hot water. And then of course, once I get the temperature correct, it takes so long to get them to eat a little bit that the formula just registering at 106 is now 101. So, the heating cooling process starts all over again . . .

Thank you, by the way, for helping me. I really appreciate this.

Small parrots but parrots none the less, haha

I don't have any experience hand raising so hopefully more experienced members chime in

Hi Lak, and welcome to the forum.
if you haven't put the babies back with mom, I would not, for many reasons.she could kill them, or may accept them back, I would not risk it.

this is what you need to do.....this is a bit long
keep them warm, place a heating pad on LOW cover it with a towel to prevent soiling, put it in the bottom of the cage. make sure it doesn't go off after a few hours, keep it on(yes even throughout the night)until they are about 5 weeks of age, or until all are fully feathered.

@ 4 weeks of age you can start introducing millet, and a dish of water, but still continue to feed at least 3x's per day.

they will still be on the bottom of the cage(or container) so give them a stuffie, you know a stuffed animal to cuddle with, they will love it and it will relax them.

Add perches low to the cage, and add some simple toys they may be interested in.
plastic ball toys, shreddable toys. you can even put in a swing, and before long they will be climbing over it.
Now for the formula: that can be quite frustrating, and may take few tries before you get it down to what you want.
here are a few good tips, this is what I have found that works for me, but you can modify it to suite your own needs.

You should pre-boil water for a minimum of 10 minutes to kill any bacteria, and e-coli.
keep it in a mason jar so its ready the next time you have to feed, then all you have to do is heat it up in a clean pot, don't microwave it!
when you run low, just boil another pot of water for 10 minutes and store in the mason jar again.

when you have HOT pre-boiled water, use a crock pot bowl or stainless steel bowl, something that will hold the heat(I'll explain why in a minute)
pour it onto the formula, stirring constantly. add water gradually until you get the right consistency.(sort of like when you make gravy, not too thick or thin)
Now it will THICKEN up, when it does, add a bit more water, stirring,you want to have it drip off of your fork.

Formula cools down VERY QUICKLY that is why I suggested a bowl that will retain the heat while you are making it....it took me over a year to figure that one out, ha ha.

To test the formula, I put my KNUCKLE in, not my finger(it has bacteria and germs on it)
when you put your knuckle in, and you feel like it's almost too hot for your finger, that is the perfect temp for the birds.

now if you are using a syringe, suck up the formula until full, make sure there are no air bubbles. fill up as many as you need.(more is better)

Now what I do, is I fill up a measuring cup with very hot water, then place the syringes(full of formula) in the measuring cup....the hot water will keep the formula hot until you get them fed....it's a very neat trick a breeder friend taught me.
while you are mixing the formula, run that water to get it nice & hot!

@ four weeks of age they will be afraid of you, and will not understand what you are trying to accomplish, that is to be expected.

while holding the bird, and he is facing you, place the syringe on an angle, so the tip would go into the birds right side of his mouth.
remember that the formula cools down quickly, so remember after you feed each bird, start with a fresh new syringe. have multiple syringes, in the measuring cup so you can take one that is still hot, for the next bird.

I know this is long, but there are plenty of little steps you should take to ensure you are doing this correctly.....I hope this helps!

this is an excellent web site that helped me when I first started.

Flying Gems Aviary - Handfeeding baby lovies
just remember every person has their own way of feeding birds.

Thank you so so so much. We got the brooder down pretty well (though not perfect). Last night, when we put them in, they immediately burrowed under the little stuffed camel we put in there. We watched a bunch of videos on YouTube tonight and discovered that our birds didn't look so healthy. We were just able to get enough food in them to fill their crops fairly well, but I can't wait to try your method. I never would have thought about putting full syringes aside in hot water. I will try this out as soon as I get lots of syringes. We only have one right now. I'll let you know how it goes. They do look a lot better than they did when we pulled them though.

hey chill, theyre gonna be fine,and maybe you could keep the kids near the mummy, sos he can still see them and all. and yeah, birds dont normally do that. maybe its a new place for them, and theyre all scared.... give them some time with you, then see if you can put them together. im just guessing, dont take me seriously. ive had NO experience with baby birds,so maybe im not the right person to answer this.

Lak - can you post photos of the babies & parents? Where did you get them - sounds like someone trying to make a quick buck.

Best of luck

LAK said:

Thank you so so so much. We got the brooder down pretty well (though not perfect). Last night, when we put them in, they immediately burrowed under the little stuffed camel we put in there. We watched a bunch of videos on YouTube tonight and discovered that our birds didn't look so healthy. We were just able to get enough food in them to fill their crops fairly well, but I can't wait to try your method. I never would have thought about putting full syringes aside in hot water. I will try this out as soon as I get lots of syringes. We only have one right now. I'll let you know how it goes. They do look a lot better than they did when we pulled them though.

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mother nature doesn't always provide the best for their chicks.
I'll be the first to say "mother nature knows best" in certain situations, however when raising chicks, and depending on the situation, it's often better to pull them to improve their health, yes they do look scraggly when they are pulled, but within 24 hours they will look better.

the other very important thing to remember to properly clean that syringe, you should remove the plunger and place the whole thing in boiling water for 2-5 minutes. that will kill any bacteria that is on it.

I recommend you go out and buy more today if possible.

Crimson, thank you so much! I can't even tell you what a difference you have made! The babies are doing wonderfully now, and the feedings aren't taking nearly as long. They're starting to get used to the fact that we are the "mommies" that feed them.

I have another question for you and anyone else who can answer. Initially, we were only going to keep one of the babies. Now, however, we are bonded to all three and don't want to give any of them up. If we keep them all, and they all stay in the same cage, will they still bond to us if we take them out and spend time with them each day? Or will they bond to each other and only "tolerate" us. We want a snuggly, bonded with the human bird(s).

And this is how the insanity begins......

its really good to hear that babies are doing well..sorry i cant help you with your lovebirds bonding to you..because i have experience of single lovebird..GOD BLESS the babies..