hand rearing a 4 week old love bird

Question
QUESTION: hi chrys i have an aviery , on the 6th december i just did a routne check ov my nesting boxes and to my suprise i found a baby love bird he was standing had no feathers and eyes colsed , our love birds have never bred , so i didnt think he /she would survive, 10th december  still alive , 22nd december had a few feathers eyes open and very nosey !! 24th december  alot more feathers and responding to my voice he waits for me to check him , 26th december harly was waiting for me he jumped out the nest and calls for me so ive brought him in he try's to feed himself id like some advice on wot to feed him and how often ,i have some special bird formular as ive fed quails , but as hes roughly 4 weeks now do i need to wean him ???? harley weve named him has come so far in his little life i dont wann loose him now weve had such cold days and nights,and hes survived them all , hes a little fighter im reading on line at the mo but its all about 1/2week old harley is defently about 4 weeks maybee more . he does try to eat off my finger and has had warter from a hamster feeder , ive taken some hay from his nest box and hes in a plastic hamster  carrier 10" long 5"high and 5"wide for now  thankyou so very much tracey xx

ANSWER: Hi, Tracey,

Congratulations!  Yes, at 4 weeks of age, the bird is ready to start the weaning process.  However, if this bird is still with its parents, the parents will wean the bird.  You can help by offering s/he a variety of healthy, nutritious human foods.  You want Harly to be healthy and live a long, happy life, so feed s/he healthy, nutritious human foods, pelleted bird food, leaving seed as a reward or occasional treat.  Visit my website for more information on healthy foods:  www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html.  I'm confused as to whether you have pulled this bird completely from its parents and are keeping him separated?

Parrots that have been acclimated to a cold/cool environment usually do very well.  Cold becomes a problem for birds who are used to warm temps inside (live inside), then become exposed to cold temps.

If you leave nesting boxes up in the aviary, your birds will most likely breed.  Nesting boxes are a que for birds to breed.  Are you using the boxes as a method of keeping the birds warm in the aviary?  If you leave the boxes up, you may find more babies in the future.  They may not have bred so far because of hay being put in the boxes for them.  Lovies usually prefer making their own nests out of nesting material left on the cage bottom.  They tear it up and carry it inside the nesting box and make their nest the way they want it to be.  

Chrys

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QUESTION: hi chrys , yeah i leavethe bxes in to keep the birds warm , harley is away from hie parents now , i gave him some millt in his cage and some seed thet had sprouted and he ayte it all himself i do have bird formular do i give him that as well and also wen do i introduce water ? his new carrier container is  10" by 5"by7"
he seems o strong but as u can imadgine i dont wanna loose him not now i want to no that wot im doing is god for him , he weiged 43grams yesturday now only 40 is that normal ??? as ,as a mother i no human babies loose weight befor they gain  thankyou so very much tracey xx

Answer
Hi again, Tracey,

Weight loss in a baby bird of 4 weeks of age is only normal when they are weaning and also fledging (taking their first flight/learning to fly) at the same time.  Is your baby learning to fly right now?  If so, some weight loss is expected.  However, 3 grams in 1 day is too much.  I suspect Harley isn't getting enough nourishment.  Visit my website for information:  www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html.  What you should be doing during weaning is handfeeding 3 times per day and for the 4th feeding, substitute healthy, nutritious foods.  I prefer eliminating the noon handfeeding first (substituting nutritious human foods for the handfeeding), maintain this routine for 1 week.  The second week, eliminate the dinner handfeeding, too, also substituting nutritious human foods.  So at this point, you will have eliminated the noon and dinner handfeedings, substituting nutritious human foods.  After another week of this, eliminate the morning handfeeding, again substituting with nutritious foods.  The hardest handfeeding for the bird to eliminate is the bedtime handfeeding.  I want my babies to have a full tummy when they go down for the night, so I wait to eliminate the bedtime handfeeding until last.  Millet and seed is not enough.  Seed is high in fat and low in nutritional value.  Spray millet is more nutritional than seed, however, you need to "abundance" feed your baby by offering a variety of healthy, nutritious foods, in addition to pelleted food, so your baby grows up healthy and happy.  Water should be introduced as soon as the weaning process begins.  

Read my website for more information and come back with any additional questions.

Chrys