hand feeding baby lovebirds

Question
How do I know if the food is getting into the lungs? How much weight should my bird gain each day? It is not by choice that I am hand feeding, the mother just is to aggessive toward the babies. We didn't even know we had babies.They are about 2 weeks old. We just adopted the birds from my daughters school.
I have been feeding them, but would like to know about the weight gain and the lung thing. They seem fine and healthy. Thanks, Ilka

Answer
Hi, Ilka.  Thanks for posting!

If handfeeding formula is getting into a baby's lungs, the baby will either aspirate (die) in a matter of minutes (it will be gasping) or the baby could develop pneumonia, which won't show up right away.  This would be a very serious situation and would require avian veterinarian assistance IMMEDIATELY or the baby will die.  This is why it's so important to know how to handfeed properly.

A baby's daily weight gain depends on many factors.  A precise amount isn't as important as to ensure the bird isn't losing weight.  As long as the baby is gaining some weight each day, and not losing weight, there's nothing to be concerned about.

Come back with any additional questions.

Chrys