H/R Scaley,what food????

[privateer]

Hi All
I've got my first baby Scaley,about 2 weeks old and still in nest, and was wondering what is best to feed this young one if I start feeding it???Also I see most people feed 4 x day. My problem is the baby wouldn't get a feed at around midday as no one would be here to do it. Would it be alright to feed at 8.30am then maybe 3.30pm?? Or any other suggestions??

[vankarhi]

If the parents are still feeding it ......... is there any need to take it out of the nest??? You could take the baby out and play with it and it would still be hand tame. Or even wait until it is a little older and does not need as intensive looking after.

[privateer]

I thought of that......didn't know if the parents would like it though.........How much older would be better???

[AussieBirds]

Be very careful taking any baby birds out of the nest while the parents are still feeding them unless you intend to take over job of raising the birds full time. It is almost certain the parents will abandon the young completely especially if they are as young as you say, if you intend to do this wait until they are at least six to eight weeks old so you can cut the feeds down to three a day and miss the mid day one.

I have done this with cocktails successfully. You will find that if you take over the feeding the birds will become very tame and make great pets, but be warned it is going to be something that is going to take complete dedication on your part, you will have to persist with each feed making sure the bird gets a full feed. If you decide to return the young to the parents at the end of each feed be careful the parents don't reject them you may have to bring them inside full time and thats a whole new story, you will need to keep them warm and in a secure container.

Good luck with what ever you do and if we can be of any assistance don't hesitate to ask any questions.

John

[vankarhi]

privateer said:

I thought of that......didn't know if the parents would like it though.........How much older would be better???

Have you handraised babies before?? If not then do some research and maybe go to a breeder to show you how they do it. I used to always get my baby tiels when they had most of their feathers, but it is a full time responsiblity.............they need to be fed at least 3 or 4 times a day (depending on age) until you start to wean them, then they still need 2 feedings a day. I put my alexandrine back on 3 feeds a day because she did not seem to be putting on enough weight................the formula I was using then was not good, so I swapped and she is fine.

It is not an easy thing to do and if not done properly so many things can go wrong, like infections from poor hygiene, or crop burn from formula being too hot (that is only 2 things that can go wrong). If you can wait till they are much older it would be much better for them..............and for you if you cannot be there to give them all the feedings they need.

I still worried about my alexandrine (Rani........in my avatar) and she was 6 weeks old when I took over feeding her, but she has grown into a lovely bird..........with big attitude ;D

My ekkie was not raised by me, but she is still very bonded to me and loves me ;D

[petiel]

I fed a little scaly from 2 weeks because the young parents abanded the egg , so I put the egg under a cockatiel which hatched the egg and them I put the chick with a turk to feed him until he was 2 weeks and then I took over feeding. And I must say he was so easy to feed on the spoon and he weaned himself with no trouble. I used half parrot handrearing mix and half wet lori mix. He is a big healthy boy. They do need to be fed every 4 hours when they are 2 weeks of age. Try to let the parents keep feeding him until it is about 5 weeks then take him for handrearing. At five week he will be on 3 feeds aday.