21 day old baby

Hi all we have a new baby who we have left in with the mother and father but today have noticed his first little feathers have come off of him. We have seen in the nest box what looks like the parents grooming him so are worried its them removing the feathers. He is growing on average 2gram a day and still seems to be getting fed.

Because we are worried they are taking his feathers out we have ordered some formula which arrives tomorrow so that we can take him out if needs be. Has anyone got any experience or advice for our situation please

Thanks

BurtyNBetty said:

Hi all we have a new baby who we have left in with the mother and father but today have noticed his first little feathers have come off of him. We have seen in the nest box what looks like the parents grooming him so are worried its them removing the feathers. He is growing on average 2gram a day and still seems to be getting fed.

Because we are worried they are taking his feathers out we have ordered some formula which arrives tomorrow so that we can take him out if needs be. Has anyone got any experience or advice for our situation please

Thanks

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what type of bird is it? have you seen the parronts groom him?. I dont want to scare you at all but i had a budgie pair where the mother killedl 3 of the 4 babys only 1 made it out alive. I defo would monitor the situation and to make sure nothing happends to the baby id feed it myself!

Lovebirds, we are going to take the babie out tomorrow when the formula arrives

Yes I have dealt with parental plucking.
My Cockatiels started plucking their 2nd clutch of babies.
I don't remember at what age they were but I pulled the babies out of the cage.
I already had formula and had been doing some hand feeding but mostly letting the parents do it.
What I did was put the babies in the cage with the parents several times a day for "supervised feeding". When the parents switched from feeding to plucking I would pull the babies back out.
Overall this worked out well. I had trouble getting the chicks to accept the hand feeding because they were more use to the parents doing it but I am sure it helped to "top off" there crop and give them the added nourishment they needed.
Plus it's important for the babies to get the bacteria they need from the parents.
It also helps to let the parents "train" the chicks how to eat real food.

I hope this thread will have some helpful information. Best of luck to you.

http://www.parrotforums.com/breeding-raising-parrots/74363-so-you-bought-unweaned-baby.html

Hand Feeding Lovebirds

On this site it says to introduce normal food from 21 days.
"When Do You Introduce Regular Food?

As soon as possible. I can’t emphasize this enough. The best eaters are the ones exposed to foods the earliest. I’m talking 21 days. I put millet, sunflower sprouts, and crumbled Roudybush pellets at first. It usually takes a few days for them to catch on. Then I change the types of food I give EVERY SINGLE DAY. This helps eliminate the most common problem with lovebirds: food phobias. Yes, food phobias. Have you ever seen a lovebird react to a food it hasn’t seen before? It’s like you’ve just thrown a snake in the cage."
Is this right feel like I've been getting conflicting information.

Thanks

My experience is with Cockatiels not lovebirds.
I think in general the smaller the bird the quicker it develops.
When a baby bird rejects formula is the time for regular food.
I am not an expert and only have limited experience raising young birds.
SilverSage is one of my goto persons on the forum for this kind of issue.

Millet was one of the first foods my young Cockatiels eat.
Good idea to start them on veggies right away also. It will be soft and easy for them to eat..

I raised parrotlets and I always introduced veggies first. They were weaned completely onto a high protein chop and then introduced to pellets before they ever saw a seed. I actually found that weaning them onto veggies seemed to get them trying solid foods faster and more readily. I'm not sure if it's because it's a more natural and instinctual type food, or just because it was always chopped really fine so it was much easier for little beaks to eat.

I would do the same with any other species I would end up hand feeding, from linnies to macaws and I have had the same result across the board. I started introducing fresh foods as soon as they were feathered enough to not have to be in a brooder. With the smaller birds, this could mean them starting to nibble within days. With larger birds, it could mean weeks of watching them just walk around and poop all over the stuff I just spent an hour chopping up. But it is well worth it to have eagerly eating babies that love their veggies and will try almost anything you put in their bowl.

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