Lovebird Babies

[chao]

My lovebirds have gotten babies!! I am planning on pulling them out to hand feed when they are a little bigger. Does anyone know when I should pull them out to hand feed and what product to feed them with?

[birdlover912]

Have you handfed before?

[chao]

Yes I have but it was on doves that I hand-fed. Are there any similarity between the two? I've also done some research on how to hand feed chicks.

[Flappuccino]

Hi! Aren't lovie babies the BEST? I got my lovebird when she was 2 weeks old and handfed her. I had a great experience and I'm glad I did it.

That said...

If I had the parents on-site, I would not choose to do it again. It is time consuming, you can't be away from the house more than a couple of hours, they don't get the beneficial bacteria from mom & dad, and it is not perfect nutrition.

I would definitely rather let the parents feed the babies and hand raise and socialize them instead. Then I could get a full nights sleep, be able to go out, let them do all the work, and let me get all the fun! I would take them out to play and cuddle for 15-20 mins several times a day starting at 3 wks.

If you choose to go ahead and hand feed, one of the good formulas is Zupreem Embrace, or there's another by Harrison's I think.
Please don't buy Exact. Some folks have been lucky, but many, many others have had seemingly healthy babies die of malnutrition and dehydration on it. They did something to change the formulation a year or two ago, and it hasn't been the same since.

You mentioned you've done research on how to do it, but maybe there's someone who can teach you in person? It can be tricky business, and they can very easily aspirate, or end up with a crop burn.

Good luck with whatever you choose- no judgements here- but if you let the parents do their job, you can still have a life -and well socialized babies, too!

[Panda]

Congrats! Good luck with the hand-feeding. Oh and keep us in progress as the chicks grow older.

[chao]

Thanks for the advice. I'll consider it. The chicks grow so fast. One day they're naked and the next day they're feathered.

[shosh]

I have also heard about the benefits of letting the parents do the work.....as long as the babies are frequently handled by humans, you will have great babies.