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A little early to wean them completely based on that photo. How many feedings have they been on up to this picture? That age should be on 2-3 feedings. You can introduce them to soft food but they are not old enough yet not to hand feed.
Thanks for the advice! I did try giving them a little millet, but they weren't interested. I'm feeding them the formula about 4 times a day now -- they sleep right through the night so no feedings after around 7pm.
I was amazed to discover that the color of their feathers has changed! They started out as a sort of grayish-blue, but now they've turned a lovely green with the beginnings of the peach-face markings on their face and chest, that their father has. And their tiny tail feathers are brilliant blue.
I can't get over how friendly they are with me! I know it's because they want feeding, but it's nice to think that maybe they also might be a little attached to me.
What sort of soft food do you recommend? I really, really appreciate your feedback on this. The babies seem to be doing very well and they're pretty strong, but I'm a total novice at this.
What sort of soft food do you recommend? I really, really appreciate your feedback on this. The babies seem to be doing very well and they're pretty strong, but I'm a total novice at this.
Fresh fruit and vegetables (uncooked, not canned) and bird pellets lightly soaked in warm water, but not mush. There are some excellent pellet diets out there. Feel free to ask about specific brands once you have had a chance to investigate on available diets. Dry pellet diets with fresh fruit/vegetables are much healthier than seed diets for weaned chicks and adults. I weaned my Senegal parrot from hand feeding in about 2-3 weeks after I got him down to 2 feedings a day.
Make sure you are certain they are eating enough food on their own before you stop feeding them. Don't leave soaked pellets with the babies for more than about 4-6 hours as it can spoil easily. Soft vegetables or vegetables are safe and do not spoil quickly.
Fresh fruit and vegetables (uncooked, not canned) and bird pellets lightly soaked in warm water, but not mush. There are some excellent pellet diets out there. Feel free to ask about specific brands once you have had a chance to investigate on available diets. Dry pellet diets with fresh fruit/vegetables are much healthier than seed diets for weaned chicks and adults. I weaned my Senegal parrot from hand feeding in about 2-3 weeks after I got him down to 2 feedings a day.
Make sure you are certain they are eating enough food on their own before you stop feeding them. Don't leave soaked pellets with the babies for more than about 4-6 hours as it can spoil easily. Soft vegetables or vegetables are safe and do not spoil quickly.
I feed all my adult birds Roudybush Daily Maintenance mini pellets and they thrive on it. The treats I've used for training are spray millet and Hartz Bonanza Peanut Butter Flavor Parrot Treat Sticks. I let my birds out of their cages at night for a half-hour of exercise and they fly around my kitchen. It's a glorious sight – like watching rainbows in motion! They swoop at me and circle me and it makes me laugh. When it's time for them to go back in their cages, I have them voice-trained to go to their individual cages. I just say "Go back! Go back!" and they do it. They always go back to the right cages, too.
For the soft baby food, would mashed banana do? I can soak the Roudybush pellets, as well. Do you think I should introduce this to the babies starting next week?
Mashed banana and soaked Roudybush pellets are both excellent choices. Soak the pellets in a small dish to ensure they eat the pellets before they go bad. They will adapt quickly.
Dry pellet diets with fresh fruit/vegetables are much healthier than seed diets for weaned chicks and adults.
I completely agree with this, but I’d still advise teaching the youngsters that seeds are food just to be safe. Seed mixes are still much more commonly available in pet stores than pelleted diets are, and if a dire emergency requiring a hurried evacuation or an event causing prolonged disruption in shipping were to happen, you’ll appreciate having birds who are willing to eat whatever you can procure (even if it’s not their usual pelleted diet).
^^^The reason I suggest this is because my late Sun Conure was reared on a pelleted diet without any supplemental fresh fruits and vegetables (much less seeds), and when I got her she was firmly convinced that the only thing edible in the universe was Roudybush pellets. Knowing that adult birds are one of the few animals who will actually starve themselves to death in the presence of (unfamiliar) food, I was terrified. What would happen to her if Roudybush pellets became unavailable? I did eventually manage to convince her that the Universe of Food also contained Harrison's pellets, but I was never able to convince her that fruit, vegetables, or seeds were edibles. She did live a long, healthy life, but I was always worried.
My two current conures, on the other hand, are feathered garbage cans, and life with them is therefore a lot less stressful. I feed them a mix of Harrison's and Roudybush pellets with a small bit of seed mixed in, plus plenty of fruits and veggies. It's reassuring to know that they'll eat nearly anything placed in their dishes, and even in the event of a catastrophe they'd manage OK on whatever I could scrounge up for them (even if it was a wild bird seed mix from the hardware store) until I could get them back on a healthy diet.
Mashed banana and soaked Roudybush pellets are both excellent choices. Soak the pellets in a small dish to ensure they eat the pellets before they go bad. They will adapt quickly.
Will do! I guess I'll start introducing them to it next week?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aredhel
I completely agree with this, but I’d still advise teaching the youngsters that seeds are food just to be safe. Seed mixes are still much more commonly available in pet stores than pelleted diets are, and if a dire emergency requiring a hurried evacuation or an event causing prolonged disruption in shipping were to happen, you’ll appreciate having birds who are willing to eat whatever you can procure (even if it’s not their usual pelleted diet).
My adult birds go wild for spray millet, but I imagine that, in the event of a disaster, spray millet (or the usual commercially packaged bird treats) won't be so easy to come by. I know I'll probably have bigger things to worry about if something really bad like that happens, but I agree it's a good idea to try to get the birds used to other foods. Just in case.
(I can't help thinking of that apocalyptic movie Bird Box, and wondering what the heck they fed their birds?)
Thanks for all the help! I'll probably still be bugging y'all with questions as I think of them.
I've got the babies feeding from a small spoon now, instead of the eyedropper. They caught on to the concept pretty quickly. Sorry the images aren't sharper, but these babies were a blur of motion in getting to their breakfast this morning!
That's an amazing story Rachel. Your birds are beautiful. I have a friend that has a small aviary in her house. She has two parrots, a love bird, and a cockatiel. The birds are out of their cages all day long and actually visit each other's cages. The two parrots talk and they sound just like my friend and her husband.
I hear you about separating the love birds, but I don't know if taking their nest away will encourage them not to breed. You might find an egg on the bottom of the cage. What a fun experience. I raised a baby black bird once and it was a ton of work. That bird went everywhere with me and was always hungry.
You might just have a small business of selling love birds going there. Especially if your pair live up to their name
That's an amazing story Rachel. Your birds are beautiful. I have a friend that has a small aviary in her house. She has two parrots, a love bird, and a cockatiel. The birds are out of their cages all day long and actually visit each other's cages. The two parrots talk and they sound just like my friend and her husband.
I hear you about separating the love birds, but I don't know if taking their nest away will encourage them not to breed. You might find an egg on the bottom of the cage. What a fun experience. I raised a baby black bird once and it was a ton of work. That bird went everywhere with me and was always hungry.
You might just have a small business of selling love birds going there. Especially if your pair live up to their name
Thanks, Animalcrazy! One section of my home DOES seem to be turning into an aviary! I let my birds out for exercise in the evening. It's so much fun when they swoop around me in flight! Exhilarating to watch them! I have a playground for them on a shelf over their cages (see pic below), and it's fun to watch them on that, too. Although (as you can also see in the pic) they've been showing more interest in the babies than in their playground lately.
Cheers to you on raising that baby blackbird! Yep, it sure is a lot of work – more than I ever expected. But so worth it. I consider it a privilege to have had this amazing experience.
And, nonononono, I don't want to go into the lovebird-selling business! LOL
Last edited by Rachel NewYork; 03-30-2020 at 11:10 PM..
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