Surprised by lovebird babies (cockatiel, parrot, conure, feather)
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I don't think that I'd be able to part with them after feeding them...
I'm definitely keeping them. Every time they squawk for food and come tumbling towards me, my heart just melts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aredhel
Unless you want to start breeding lovebirds for sale, you're going to need a second cage so you can split mama bird and poppa bird up before they can lay lay more fertile clutches.
I took the hollow coconut out of the parents' cage in hopes that would dissuade momma bird from laying eggs again. I did consider splitting them up, but they're so bonded to each other that I don't know if I could do it. I have two other pairs of lovebirds (in their own cages), but so far no signs of eggs so hopefully they're same-gender pairs. I don't want to breed lovebirds. Plus, I think I have more than enough birds right now. LOL
Thanks, everyone, for all your lovely comments! Here's an updated picture that I took this morning. Babies are growing and getting very demanding for their feedings!
May I ask a question, in the page 1, when you took the babies from the nest, did you give them back to the nest again? If so, did their mother accept them?
Because it said (I'm not sure of this info), if you touch the babies, the mother bird will not accept them.
Because it said (I'm not sure of this info), if you touch the babies, the mother bird will not accept them.
That's actually a myth, fortunately. Professional ornithologists touch baby birds in order to band them all the time. Excessive/prolonged disturbance around a nest may lead the parents to abandon it, but that's because they figure the chicks are doomed to fall victim to predators, not simply because the chicks have been handled. Most birds (a few vulture species excepted) have next to no sense of smell, so they have no way to detect that their chicks have been handled unless they actually see it happening.
May I ask a question, in the page 1, when you took the babies from the nest, did you give them back to the nest again? If so, did their mother accept them?
Because it said (I'm not sure of this info), if you touch the babies, the mother bird will not accept them.
I didn't really plan on hand-raising these babies, but they were terribly crowded in the little coconut that momma bird had decided to make her nursery. I tried moving the babies to a proper nesting box, but momma bird seemed confused by the switch and wouldn't go near the box. So then I put the babies back in the coconut, and momma bird went back to tending them.
Then a friend who had seen the pictures I took of the babies (the first time I had them out of the coconut) said that they were in danger of getting splayed legs and the coconut wasn't very good for them. I had no choice at that point but to take the babies out again. And, of course, that's how I ended up hand-raising them. They seem to be gaining weight well, now that they're out of that cramped coconut and they're not pushing each other out of the way for food like they were when momma bird was feeding them. I weigh them every morning.
As a side note, momma bird doesn't seem to miss the babies at all. In fact, she seems to have forgotten about them entirely. This was her first (and hopefully last!) breeding. I'm not giving the babies away (I'm too attached to them now) but these babies have increased my lovebird population by 50%. I've now got 9 birds instead of 6. Oy vey!
That's actually a myth, fortunately. Professional ornithologists touch baby birds in order to band them all the time. Excessive/prolonged disturbance around a nest may lead the parents to abandon it, but that's because they figure the chicks are doomed to fall victim to predators, not simply because the chicks have been handled. Most birds (a few vulture species excepted) have next to no sense of smell, so they have no way to detect that their chicks have been handled unless they actually see it happening.
The babies look like they're developing nicely!
Thanks, Aredhel! Are you able to tell how old they are from my pictures? It's now two weeks since I first noticed the eggs had hatched. I think they must be a bit older than 2 weeks, though.
Last edited by Rachel NewYork; 05-28-2019 at 03:27 PM..
Thanks, Aredhel! Are you able to tell how old they are from my pictures? It's now two weeks since I first noticed the eggs had hatched. I think they must be a bit older than 2 weeks, though.
Alas, I can't help you with that. I've never reared lovebird chicks.
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.
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