Taming a baby Red-rump

[CBL]

Hi all, as I said in my intro post I am new mum to a baby red-rump. He was offered to us unexpectedly and have had no experience with these guys before.
Unfortunately we got him a little late I feel - he was 3 weeks old (approx) and in late pin feather stage (it has been a week now and he is pretty well feathered). After much fussing and fiddling for the first couple of days (took an hour to feed him!) he is eating readily now and is on 4 feeds a day (think I can cut it down). He nibbled on some millet today and will be getting some arrowroot biscuit tomorrow (do I give him this in between feeds or as a replacement for one?)
He is still in a box and I am trying to get him used to the outside world but will soon need to get into a cage (I have part of the box covered and he prefers to stay there).
I guess my real point to this thread is to check that I am doing ok with him and also to ask any tips for calming him. He really doesn't like to be held in the hand and prefers to be wrapped in a towel to feed (I have started removing the towel mid-feed). I have been spending time after a feed with him out but all he wants to do is bury into any little crevice he can (especially under my arm and the occasional run along the couch). I have been scratching and patting him on the head as well as the body and he doesn't seem to mind too much.
Do I just need patience to get him tamer? I was wondering if the desire to hide and be in darker areas is just because he isn't quite ready to leave the 'nest' yet.
Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!


Oh and btw - his father is a blue and mother is an opaline yet he is mostly green with a yellow belly, some blue on the sides of the wings and tail and a touch of opaline (no red rump). Are the colours likely to change after a moult?

[Smiley]

That sounds like a normal baby you have there..Dont worry for your bird will come around..and yes he is not ready yet to come into the big wide world...Just do what you have been doing...And leave stuff for him to nibble on at all times..If the rump has no red..you could have a female there ...depending on what colour you mite have there as well...A photo would be good if you have one..


Natalie

[AussieBirds]

Hi CBL
It sounds to me that your bird is a little younger than you think at three weeks it should have been in full feather, I would suggest that it is only a couple of weeks old.

A couple of questions need to be asked here first off are you feeding it hand raising parrot mix? secondly at what intervals are you feeding it?

Arrowroot biscuit is excellent but I would crush up and make sure it is crushed fine in fact you could add it to the hand raising mix along with some baby apple sauce

As far as the bird settling down this will happen the more you handle it and it is normal for it to want to hide, in fact if you hold the bird against your chest covering it with your hands you will find it will sit there very contented for as long as you let it.

Don't rush the little one as it will eventually come around and will make the perfect little companion bird, It sounds as if the little one is a hen and after the first moult the colour will certainly intensify but not change.

I hope this helps you and if you need any more advice I will be only too pleased to help.

John

[CBL]

he is fully feathered now (and has been for a few days) so are you suggesting that he is currently about 3 weeks old? (i was thinking more like 4).
He was, up until today feeding every 4 hours or so starting at 6am then a last feed at night at about 12. Last night and tonight however I fed him at 10:30 and will feed him again at 6am in the morning. Today he ate at 6am, I tried at 11am but he wasn't interested but ate a bit before 1pm, then at 6pm and finally at 10:30.
He is on Vetafarm formula and nibbled on millet today.

I shouldn't be saying he - will post a pic for you all to have a look at tomorrow. Originally we were told we were being given a hen but when 'he' was taken out of the nest we were told he was a cock bird. Either way it doesn't matter - in fact I had been told that the hens make better pets (less aggressive in breeding season).

Thanks for the tips - we had a big cuddle tonight (i have the scratch marks on my arm from where we tried to bury into it) and even sat totally uncovered for about 5 mins and checked everything out.

[AussieBirds]

I would only be guessing on the age CBL but from your description I think I'm pretty close to the mark. The veta farm formula is fine as I said add some baby food apple and perhaps a pinch of Soluvet or Ornithon multi vitamins mixed in.

The 6am feed schedual sound fine you can cut out the 11am feed with out any worries. Ill be interested in the pictures.

Other than that it sounds like you have it all under control.

John

[CBL]

Here are some photos - he had more feathers than I though on the first day we got him - they change so much it is hard to remember! and sorry about the size!
Pic 1 - the first night we had him


Pic 2 - taken this morning (7days after we got him)



Do you think he is ready for a cage? He is currently in a large box - I keep the lid covering part of it and he prefers to stay there

[Smiley]

Your birdy would be ok going into a cage now...Since he/she is shy..If you can and the cage is big enought..Try and put the box in there as well..That way he will slowly get used to it...Covering the cage with a towel is good as well...I would still be feeding him/her three feeds a day if possible..That would be 6 am 2 pm 8 pm...if he doesnt still feed well..them to two 6am and 7pm...

Natalie

[CBL]

Well we are definately going into a cage because we took a huge flight across the loungroom today - much to the shock of my husband and I!

[Smiley]

How cute...Birds will do lol...her first flight.I bet he/she enjoyed that...


Natalie

[CBL]

Had a couple more flights this afternoon - mainly onto the screen door but also took a tumble behind the entertainment unit!
Moving into the cage tomorrow. Unfortunatley this involves a bit of a switch around. The empty cage we have is a bit big (bar space wise) and so I will have to put Bill the cockatiel in that and give Bills old cage a very thorough scrub and disinfect. Not sure how Bill is going to feel about it but will move his toys over and fill the cage with is favourite treats.
Thought I had a bit more time up my sleeve to sort the cage situation out. Will definately be taking your advice Motherhen and putting the box in and covering the cage with a towel

[AussieBirds]

Just looking at the picture the CBL and she looks like an Opaline hen but she is very young, still has the black markings on the top of the beak, not to worry about the flying too much just be carefull they do tend to go a bit crazy when they fly and have trouble judging distances to land, the cere above the beak is usually the thing that suffers as they hit head first and there may be some blood flowing. I will be interested in more pictures as she gets older.

John

[CBL]

So you are thinking he is a she?

[AussieBirds]

He is a she for sure. If you go to the pictures of your birds section of the forum and look at a post titled "update on weagle aka squark" you will see some pictures of an opaline hen that my daughter is hand raising she is about the same age as your bird and you will see how similar in couloring they are. The bird in that picture is one of my baby Red Rumps the father was Opaline and the hen was Normal. Here is a link to the post
aussiebirds.proboards27.com/index.cgi?board=idea&action=display&thread=1106042712

John

[CBL]

Haven't seen any photos that look much like this little girl (though squeak is close). As i said before I am new to red-rumps but though opaline had more white - she is mostly green. Guess opalines are a bit of a mish mash of colours?
The father was an incredible blue and was hoping for a bit more of that to come through (but is just in the tail and a bit on the wings). She is still gorgeous though!

[CBL]

Another thing I forgot to ask - sorry!

I mixed up half a crushed arrowroot biscuit and hot water, a little formula and some baby apple last night for her last feed (which she gobbled). How often should this replace the forumla?

[AussieBirds]

You can use that as your formula if you like just add a little soluvet or Ornithon the the mix. That's basically what I use to hand raise my birds.

John

[CBL]

Thanks John - you are my hero!

[AussieBirds]

Your welcome, I have been breeding Red Rumps for a while now and I love them they are easy to breed and to look after, they come in a great range of colours and in my opinion they deserve a higher profiloe in the bird world.

John

[CBL]

Yeah I agree. I had never considered getting one before. We were always going have Bill (the cockatiel) and then get another tiel as well (happening in the near future too).
I got a phone call from my husband at work asking if I wanted to rear this one and picked her up the next day! I have been frantically searching throughout the web trying to find info on them but there is so little out there. Finding people with experience in them has been a lifesaver!

[weagle]

CBL - try cutting her down to 3 meals a day one about 7.00 am, one about lunchtime and one about 7 pm. She looks like my little Squeak and if that is the case, she is an Opaline Hen.

She should be OK for the cage now - get a branch out of the garden and put it in the cage they like to rub their beak on it. You can also get a little muff thing that hangs off the cage and they can get in it and hide if they want.

Try feeding her some apple, snow pea sprouts and get her used to trying and cracking open some sunflower seeds and big seeds like that, so that they get into the habit of trying to do it.

You can even do this when you have her out at night....just hold it for her and she will probably start to try and crack it open.

Put either some Fruity Apple or Fruity Pear - Heinz Baby Food in with the mix and the easiest way to do it is to get a teaspoon and shape it like a beak - they take it right off it.

My Squeak is nearly 2 months old now and I have her down to one feed a day and she is in her own cage with her own toys and food. I feed her at night when I get home from work and she is content with that.

She does and did like to hide too - it would be normal for her to run up the sleeve of my dressing gown in the morning!!!!!

Also watch her when she flies. You will find she will fly for windows cause she can see the outside world and she will go "donk" into the window. I had Squeaks wings clipped, but she still flies but she is getting a bit more control now.

Hope this helps.

Tracey