Hi Lafeber team,
1) When should I start to hand feeding a baby bird(like Lovebirds/Cockateils/budgies babies)? I mean at what age.
2) What happen, if I just started to hand feed a baby bird at age of, say like, 1 and 1/2 months, which has fully grown feathers, yet still fed by mother bird and further it’s not ready to weaning.
Hi Joy,
If you have never hand fed birds before, it’s best to try to find a breeder who can show you how to do it. When handfeeding birds, the chicks have to be kept warm, and the formula has to be the correct temperature and consistency. If not, the chick can’t digest the food properly and can end up with a sour crop, which is when food spoils while still in the crop. In general, chicks are pulled to be handfed around 3 weeks of age. If you wait until they are more alert and aware of things, it is very hard to get them to accept the formula. It is very unlikely that a feathered chick will accept hand feeding. And you should never force a chick to eat formula or you can cause it to aspirate the food, which generally causes death. You might want to consider co-parenting. This is where you start to handle the chicks around 3-4 weeks of age. If the parents tolerate it, you can remove one chick at a time and handle it for a few minutes, a few times a day. Never handle them right after they have been fed and have a very full crop. With parakeets, you can usually tame them if you work with them as soon as they are self feeding. Whatever you decide to do, I would try to get hand feeding lessons and research co-parenting chicks to help with your decision.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
