Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have two brand new baby lovebirds. This is her first clutch. I am not sure she is feeding her babies. She is laying on them just as she would on her eggs. But I have been trying to quietly watch and it doesn't appear as though she is feeding them. One was born yesterday and the other was born during the night. A baby was laying in position to eat (on its back) beside the mama bird but I am not sure she is feeding it.
My local pet store has baby bird formula but when do we step in and try to feed the baby? After you feed it with a syringe, do the babies stay in the mamas nest or do you put them in a brooder?

If you put a little formula on the baby's beak would the mama realize that it is food and that she should be feeding her baby?

How long can a baby live after hatching if she is not feeding?

Thank you in advance!

Carmen

You would do better with letting the parents feed their babies, especially at the beginning. Do not pick up the babies as parents that are not completely tame my become agitated and accidentally squash or kill their babies. If your lovebirds are very tame you may be able to chance touching the babies after the first few days. The babies will usually start calling for food within 1-2 hours of hatching and the parents will feed them at that time. Some parents wait until all eggs are hatched before feeding but most will feed within that couple hour period. Before that the babies are eating and digesting the rest of the egg from which they hatched.

Even in handfed babies it is best to leave the babies with their parents for the first few days (many say first few weeks) before taking over handfeeding. During the first few days the mothers regurgitated food is more of a milky consistency and has extra nutrients needed for the baby (it is called crop milk at times).

Some birds will ignore their first clutch of babies and they will starve. If you are positive that your babies are not eating, (if they are constantly calling for food and always being ignored or the parents completely leave the nest and don't reenter) then contact a local avian vet. Handfeeding is very hard to get right the first time. If you don't have experience I strongly suggest getting an avian vet to show you how to handfeed at first before trying on your own.

Thank you! I actually set up a video camera on a tri-pod to watch the birds without irritating her! I saw the male regurgitate to the female and then she fussed with her babies and it looked as though she was attempting to feed them as I saw her try to regurgitate. I left them alone and when i went in to check on her before i left for work - she was feeding her baby! It was so neat! The baby was laying on its back and mom was feeding it like a pro!!! She has her mothering instinct! So we are happy! I will keep you posted and thank you for your advice!

Carmen

Glad to hear all seems to be doing well! Good luck!