A little help in understanding them

My 2 lovebirds were handfed by the breeder. Now i have them for almost a week and i noticed that every time that i have to handle them my try to move away, even though its feeding time. My breeder said it easier for me to teach them to come when its time to feed, but they don't. And at their age, i have read that they should consume 10ml every meal, but they dont. Theyd only eat about 5ml each feeding, not even continuous. Theyd eat a little, then run around, goes to their corner and chirp. Then theyd come back and ask for more. And sometimes, theyd stretch their neck and when they feel the syrnge theyd back away..

Its one of the serious problems that occur when people bring home Parrots that are not 'fully' weaned!!! A Parrot should never be released from a Breeder without first being on solid food for at least two weeks.

You are now placed in a position of having to handfed and also transition them to solid food in the process.

I work with older Parrots, so the how, I will leave to others!

In the mean time, you should contact your breeder and obtain additional knowledge as to this process.

Starvation will lead to death!

Please keep us updated! This is why I choose to wait until the hatchlings were eating properly!
Did you get to feed them yet?

Yup. I still do. Every time they ask for it. I have read that they should be fed 10ml 2x a day (based on their age) and im starting to introduce them to solid food (for now they just play with it, they'd nibble it and spit it out lol) so since they don't really follow the 10 ml 2x a day because they'd ask for food every 4 hrs in the morning, i just give them small amounts multiple times a day. No worries, i know what i was getting into. The only problem that i have was that we dont really bond much since for some reason, they kind of moves away when i try to approach them.

As long as they are eating, maintaining weight (more or less - keeping in mind that fledglings tend to lose weight in preparation for flight), and they're not sick, just keep doing what you are doing.

The breeder should not have sold you unweaned chicks. They don't bond any differently to a human if they were raised by them vs if the human bought them as a fully weaned bird. Sometimes, raising them yourself could actually work against you.



Casey, my first cockatiel, was human raised and she's been with me since she was 5 months old. She's now 16 1/2 years old. Although she's social and will accept scritches from anyone, she still has a preference for me.

Charlie, my mitred conure, I've had since he was 12 years old. Due to a beak injury, I have to trim his beak every once in a while with a dremel. He's 23 years old and trusts me. He doesn't warm up to strangers very well (it takes time! and you have to work on gaining his trust!) but he's definitely bonded to me since I brought him home.