They're six weeks - now what?

[LAK]

Hi everyone,

For all of those who walked me through the hand feeding problem with my baby love birds two weeks ago, thank you. Our babies our flourishing - Cher, Bananas and Toot. They all have their own birdonalities, and we love them dearly.

Now, though, I have more questions. They're six weeks old now. I feed them formula three times a day, and they eat avicakes and munch on nutraberries as well.

They still live in the brooder.

What do I do with feedings from here on out? Should I keep the formula three times per day or drop it to two? When do I add water? When do I add other types of food and what should it be?

When do they transition to a cage, and how should I do this?

Thank you in advance for your advice and tips.

 

[crimson]

ok, honestly your a little behind, but that's ok, this is how we learn.
normally around 4 weeks of age, I transfer mine into a cage, but add a heating pad on the bottom so they will still be able to keep themselves warm at nightime.

first off, the brooder is no longer necessary, they should be fully feathered by now ad no longer require the heat

place them in a cage, perches low to the ground. maybe one or two a little higher.
add a swing, *safe toys*...add crushed pellets/seed in a seed dish, along with water.
millet is a great starter food for birds, but since they are eating avicakes and nutriberries you are well on your way.
place those on the bottom of the cage, for easy accessability.
once they learn how to climb around and perch, which will only take days, raise the cups a little bit each day.

reduce the amount of feedings down to two, one in a.m. & p.m.(either after dinner or before bed) a.m. feeding can be altered rather than first thing in the morning,

you could feed them later in the morning....this will encourage them to start eating what is available in the cage, when first waking up.

right now you don't want to starve them, but you do want to achieve them being weaned.
some babies will go off formula earlier than others. keep feeding the other ones, who are still wanting it,but reduce the amounts gradually(every 3-5 days)

they should be weaned by 8-9 weeks of age

 

[LAK]

Thank you so much, Crimson. I will post pictures of them soon! By the way, the people who own the parents don't want them back. They belong to the staff at an adult day care center. When I contacted them to see when I should bring them by, they told me that the staff really got used to only having one bird and really didn't want them back. I think they're supposed to go to the aviary at the affiliated nursing home now, but I'm not sure. I'm waiting to hear back. I guess I'm not surprised. I feel really bad now because when we took them in, we started giving them kale and all kinds of goodies. We can't keep them though, especially now that we have decided to keep all three babies!