New Lovebird Babies, Age?

[Conure & Macaw Mom]

I wrote this in the bird board discussion but have another question. While looking at other peoples baby loves I noticed someone has 5 week old babies that are fully feathered. The guy told me mine were 6 weeks old & they are only half feathered? Here is my other post.

Ok, I went to the bird show today to just LOOK around & buy a few new toys for the gang. Well, as I was walking down the last row I saw a little fish tank with shreaded newspaper in it & it was moving. Of course I had to see what was inside. The guy moved the newspaper & there sat the 2 cutest little 6 week old love birds babies i have ever seen. There was a nother couple that walked up to see them too. They didn't know a thing about birds & didn't look like they would be very good parents either. So, a couple hundred dollars later I am now the proud mom of 2 new babies. I had to rescue them. I have extra cages so I got one out real quick & put all their new toys & stuff in it. I put them in & they made themselves right at home! They started walking around, drank some water, took a bath in it, then started eating. I am concerned about one thing though. The guy said they are fully weaned. He said the last several times he tried to hand feed them, they refused. They seem kinda young to me to be weaned? I handfed both of my Severe Macaws. One weaned at about 6 months or so & the other at 10 months. I bought a bag of handfeeding formula & syringes just in case. Any comments on this? Crystal
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[Monica]

First off, these birds look plucked. Second, they look like black mask/fischer hybrids.... but I could be wrong on that last part...

Either the parents plucked the chicks, the chicks plucked themselves (would be a medical reason), or you got scammed.... sorry

[Conure & Macaw Mom]

I hope nothings wrong with them. They do have alot of grey peach fuzz on them. He told me they were just babies thats why. I know their not full grown cause they are really small compared to the adults. Crystal

[Monica]

The breeder lied then. They are plucked. Young chicks do NOT look like that if they have not been plucked. This is why they are not fully feathered yet younger chicks ARE. They DO look young to me as they have black eyes...

[sweetpeaches]

crystal..i am relatively a newbie to lovies. i have one, who i have had for 8 mos. those pictures don't look good to me either...lovebirds community plus is a great forum to post these pics also. you may get some answers there too.

[Conure & Macaw Mom]

The guy that sold me these babies did lie to me the jerk. I emailed the photos to a guy thats a love bird breeder & he said the same thing. They are a black mask / fisher hybrid & look plucked. I got the breeders email & info. I'm gonna be sending him an email, u can bet on that. I already planned on making an appointment with my avian vet tomorrow. Hopefully these babies are ok. Crystal

[sweetpeaches]

oh crystal...sorry to hear that! please let us know how they are!

[birdlady49]

Not only are they plucked, but they're older than the breeder told you. Six-week old babies would still have a lot of black on their beaks. Yours just have a tiny bit. So I'd say they're six MONTHS old, if not older.

Yes, you were scammed. Hopefully you didn't spend the same money you would for handfed BABIES that are not hybrids.

Please let us know what your avian vet says. Do either of these birds have legbands? If so, sometimes you can tell when they were born.

[Flappuccino]

Gosh- it's a good thing you took these little guys in. I agree with everyone else- they do not look good.
STRICT quarantine is a must in any case, but I would think, especially in this one. Who knows what this "breeder" is really like.
Maybe it's just the pics, but they do look a little thin. It wouldn't hurt to try the handfeeding formula anyway, and lots of soft foods.
Good luck, and I hope they're ok. Personally, I'd also lodge a complaint against this guy with the organization that put on the bird fair.

[Conure & Macaw Mom]

I paid $50 each for these little guys. They do not have leg band unfortunatly. I hope they are ok cause they are so cute to watch. They act like little babies hoping around the cage playing with their new toys. They seem very excited over them. The cage I put them in is a cage that I had previously made for a pair of my finches & it has a nest box attached to it. Thats where they have decided to sleep. Even though I spent money on a sleeping tent for them. They were peaking outta the nest box at me earlier, it was so cute. Crystal