What to hand feed lovebirds and after how much time gap?

Question

I have lovebird babies about 3 weeks old and i want to hand feed them. The parents are doing so but i want to tame the babies so want to know a recipe of home made hand feed food and after how much time gaps should i feed them? And do i have to take care of the feeding time at night also?

Answer 1

I'm not sure about the home made formula recpie, perhaps there is some more information online that you can try to google.



As far as how much, and when to feed them - make sure you always feed them at a temperature of about 106 degrees. Any higher and it could burn the babys crop and the baby will die a painful death, or any cooler and the crop will slow down that will eventually lead to the shut down of the babys digestive tract and the baby will starve to death.



The brooder needs to be kept at the proper temperature, otherwise the chicks will get dehydrated if too hot, or the crop will slow down if its too cold. You said the birds were around 3 weeks old, but you must know the exact age of each bird. They do not all hatch at the same time (depending on how many eggs, they can be a week apart in age difference) and a 2 week old chick has a different feeding schedule then a 3 week old chick.



At 2 weeks old, the brooder needs to be about 90 degress F, at 3 weeks old about 82-85 degrees, at 4 weeks old about 80 degrees, and at 5 weeks old + room temperature.



Age 8-14 days old: The chick should eat every 4 hours, with a break during the night to allow the crop to empty completely. An example would be to feed at 7 am, 11am, 3pm, 7pm, 11pm. How much they eat will vary from chick to chick, probably around 2-3 cc's. Feed until the crop is nice and full but not tight. Over stretching the crop can lead to problems that kill the chick. At this age the formula should be like thin gravy.



Age 15-24 days - 7am, noon, 5pm, 11pm. Approximately 4-5 ccs.



Age 25-34 days - 7am, 5pm, 11pm. Approximately 7-12 ccs. You can offer weaning foods at this age. Scatter pellets, seeds, steamed veggies (cut in small pieces) and fruits (cut in small pieces) across the brooder floor. Also place millet spray on the brooder floor. Place a small shallow bowl of seed and pellet in one corner and they will eventually learn to eat from the dish. If they are starting to eat weaning foods well, you can offer a shallow bowl of water for them. Do not put too much water or they can drown. I like to use jar lids to offer the food in. At this age you can thicken the formula to creamed soup consistency.



Age 35-44 days. Feed at 7am, and 7pm. Remember if they are losing weight, supplement with an extra feeding in the afternoon. Only cut out meals when they maintain their weight with the meal being cut out. About 10 -12 ccs. Forumla should be the consistency of cake batter.



Age 45 days - weaning. Feed at 7pm. 10-12 ccs.



Remember to weigh the birds regularly throughout the entire process and if you notice the chicks start losing significant weight (its normal to lose a small amount during weaning) then they need to be supplemented with extra formula. Remember each chick is different and weans at a different time.



Also remember to clean the brooder at every feeding.





Also just to note, as the chicks get older they are less reluctant to eat from you. At 3 weeks old + you might have trouble feeding some of them, as they might refuse food. With chicks around 3 weeks old that refuse to eat, or are reluctant to eat you can expect it to take about a half hour (or longer) per chick to feed them.

Answer 2

I am not sure but if i were in your position i'd feel safe to do it. You can make the hand feed food with brown rice or green beans. Just like for our human babies. Steam the green beans until tender and like pound them till they are soft like (thick soup) not too watery or thick and you can add some brown rice formula to it (also steamed and pound/diced like thick soup) Or you can do just pure green bean or all brown rice. Both green beans and brown rice are very healthy foods. My dad takes brown rice regularly because its healthy & contains alot of vitamins and stuff. Also birds do eat cooked brown rice and beans obviously. Feeding time you can do 2-3 times a day. you can do it like this, first meal 9 in the morning, second meal 1pm and lastly last meal u can do it between 6pm - 10pm. Ok so the baby birds are having 3 meals a day so you can give them 1 or 2 syringes of the baby food you made per meal (normal size syringe). Your lovebirds should be weaning at around 5-7 weeks old. Sorry if i put it a little confusing to read. Hope i helped :).

Answer 3

Let the parents feed them. The babies won't be quite as tame as if they were hand-fed by a human, but it's much safer for them if the parents feed them. Hand-feeding is difficult and can be quite dangerous if you've never done it before, so hand-feeding should only be a last resort. Don't hand-feed the babies unless the parents won't feed them themselves. If you do find that you need to hand-feed them, it's best if you find an experienced bird breeder in your area, or an avian veterinarian (not just a regular vet, because they don't really know how to treat birds properly), who can show you the right way to do it.