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Question
QUESTION: hello, and around when will it be able to fly.
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in answernumber 4 u said "ur baby keet shouldnt be drinking water on its own yet" but it doesnt drink water on its own I feed it water .please specify ur answer          -------------------------------------------
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it doesnt drink water on its own i feed in water in the syringe after each feed
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hello i am handfeeding a baby parakeet so i had 2 questions 1)the bird is now 13 days old and it has a light pink nose so far, so is it a girl or boy? 2)when can it properly start walking? 3)when can i stop handfeeding it? 4)i have a ULTRA-CARE VITA-SOL(water soluble high potency multivitamins for caged birds) can i mix a drop in the water for the baby keet?
thank you
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Hi, Adam.  Thanks for posting!

1.  You won't be able to sex your baby keet until it is about 3-5 months old.  The cere color will change as the bird gets older.

2.  It will start walking properly when it's old enough.  It takes time for the little guy to gain strength in its legs and learn how to walk.

3.  You will need to continue handfeeding this baby until it is weaning time, which should be about 6-7 weeks of age.  Then you'll need to start the weaning process.

4.  Your baby keet shouldn't be drinking water on its own yet.  So you'd have to mix the vitamins in with the handfeeding formula.  I prefer adding human infant strained baby food to handfeeding formula for baby parrots being handfed instead of high potency multivitamins.  The infant baby food has many vitamins.

Here's my website URL, which contains much information you need:

www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html

Chrys
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OK.

Chrys
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Hi again, Adam.

It's OK that you are giving your baby bird water with the syringe after feeding it.  

You should start teaching your baby bird to drink from a water dish when you start the weaning process.

Chrys
ANSWER: Hi again, Adam.

Baby keets usually fledge at about 5-6 weeks of age, sometimes a bit older, but usually 5-6 weeks old (depending on the individual bird).

Chrys

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QUESTION: hey i have learned alot from you thank you very much. i have 2 more questions 1)my baby keet will be 5 weeks old next week so how do i exactly start the weaning process 2)i was assuming it was a girl because it had a pink nose but now the nose color seems to be changing, when will it be fully developed so i can determine wether its a boy or a girl thank you
ANSWER: Hi again, Adam.  I'm glad I've been able to help.

You start the weaning process by eliminating one of the handfeedings and substituting some other food in its place.  For example, you should be handfeeding this baby at least 4 times per day.  To start weaning, you would eliminate the noon or dinner handfeeding and substitute something soft and warm in its place, such as cooked brown rice with scrambled eggs and/or veggies mixed in.  Since baby birds don't know what food dishes are, you should start providing food on something flat so the baby can see the food.  After a week of this and if the baby is doing well, the second week, you would eliminate another handfeeding (but not the first or last handfeeding of the day).  You would then need to substitute something else for each of those handfeedings.  If the baby is doing well with both of those handfeeding eliminations and is eating other foods well, the third week you would eliminate the morning handfeeding.  You can start introducing foods at room temperature now.  Elimination of the morning and last handfeedings can be tricky, as these are the most important feedings for a bird.  Therefore, the baby must be doing well with eating on its own.  If all is going well, the 4th week, you would eliminate the last handfeeding.  By this time, the bird should be eating a variety of foods on his own.  DO NOT wean your baby keet to seed.  Seed is high in fat and low in nutrition and is a poor diet for a bird.

When a baby is starting to eat on its own, you will also need to introduce water to the bird.  Be careful with this as a baby can drown itself until it learns what a food dish is and how to drink on its own.  DO NOT leave a water dish in the baby's brooder/cage until it learns to drink on its own and is able to get around well.  I've seen baby keets fall asleep after eating and drown themselves in their water dish.

The cere color can change until the baby is 3-4 months of age or sometimes until the first molt, which occurs at about 6 months of age.  It will be then that you can sex your baby keet.  

Chrys

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QUESTION: hello again I have another question my bird is bitting pretty hard now days whats the best way to get rid of this bad habit?  thank you
ANSWER: Hi, Adam.

It depends on why the bird is biting.  Explain to me what is going on when the bird bites.  Biting is a learned behavior in caged birds, so your baby bird is learning to bite for some reason.  You'll need to provide more details about what is going on.

Thanks.

Chrys

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QUESTION: the bird is bitting. i want to train it in a way where it shouldnt bite humans, all of a sudden it started bitting really hard i tried using the simple verbal command "NO" but it doesnt really work. from the beganing till yesterday it never bit me, it always lightly nibed on my finger. now, i know and am aware of it not being strong enough to bite, but the very next day cant be that big of a difference where it bite me 3 times harder
ANSWER: Hi, Adam.

Evidently, one day can make a big difference!  Budgies have to bite hard because they are so small.  If you have been handfeeding this baby, it should be tame enough not to bite.  If it's biting, something is going on for it to feel it has to bite (it has learned to bite for some reason).  You need to tell me what is going on in your situation/set up with your bird when it bites.  In other words, does it bite you hard when you put your hand inside its cage and try to get it to come out?  Are you holding the bird around its body when it bites you hard?  What are you doing with the bird when it bites you hard? This is the key for figuring out what is going on and what to do.  

Birds don't just bite for no reason.  There has to be a reason this bird is biting you, especially since it is so young and you've been handfeeding it (according to your posts).

I need more details.

Chrys

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QUESTION: hello i also i have another baby keet who is living with the parents its in the nest box, its about 4 weeks old now it has all feathers but one thing that i see is that i dont see it stand up properly its foot is bent to specify it basically it sits on its stomach.
ANSWER: Hi again, Adam.

Are you saying the bird in the nesting box is splay legged?  Do an internet search on "splay leg" and look at the pictures.  Come back and tell me if this is what is going on with the 4-week old baby.  

Chrys

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QUESTION: yes it has a spley leg

Answer
Hi again, Adam.

Since your bird is 4 weeks old, I seriously doubt its splay leg can be fixed.  Splay legged birds need to be hobbled as soon as possible, but usually no later than 2-3 weeks of age for hobbling to work.  What you have is a bird with a handicap since the splay leg wasn't discovered and fixed much earlier.  Depending on the severity of the splay leg, you will likely have to customize a cage for this bird to fit its disability.  This bird will require much care due to this handicap.

Chrys