And then there were 3

Happy hatchday to the latest addition to the family! Now there are 3 of them. They kind of look like adorable naked molerats, don't they?

We're thinking of names for all of them. Maybe they can all start with "P" like Percy, Pippin, Petey, etc. We're all really psyched about this.

We're ready with the materials for the brooder when we start handfeeding them on October 12. Sylvia is just awesome. Here's a short video of the 3.

The first two new hatchlings

Last Saturday, we got 2 new hatchlings, coming out of their eggs a few hours apart. Both looked well and healthy. The third egg is starting to hatch (if you look closely, you will notice a small chip on the egg next to the more prominently seen chick). I used my phone camera to take this one so the photo resolution is not so good. I also took a short 17-second video.

We're so excited. We hope everything turns out well.

The third egg

As predicted, Sylvia laid the third egg last night. We are expecting the fourth one this Wednesday. Yippee!

Bird Behavior

Dr. Foster and Dr. Smith of the Veterinary & Aquatic Services Department had an interesting entry about bird behavior. They have a detailed description about the things birds do and what it means.

Pepper, our pied cockatiel, and the Lovies are fond of beak grinding and hanging upside-down in their enclosures. This means that they are happy. They also have a habit of bobbing their heads when they see people. This means they are trying to catch attention.

Pepper has a habit of spreading his wings in a quasi-predatory pose, which can mean either one of two things: 1)he's stretching, or 2)he's showing off. He also has a habit of calling out to us when we're home, because he really doesn't stay in his enclosure that often. (He mostly stays there to sleep and eat. We also put him in when we open the windows, so as not to risk him flying out.) One annoying habit that Pepper has is that he tends to cry when we leave the room so we have to answer his call to reassure him that we are coming back.

Lovebirds and cockatiels are smart birds that require constant stimulation. If a bird starts feather-picking (this is very different from preening) and chewing on its feet, it could mean that it's either bored or upset about something. Spend a portion of the day with them. Make toys out of cardboard material, toothpicks popsicle sticks, raffia, etc. Put their enclosures where people normally hang out like the livingroom. Do not put them anywhere near the kitchen (especially when you're cooking) as certain chemicals found there can be toxic to birds.

To know more about pet behavior, read the article on Pet Education.

On Weaning

1. Eyes open up at about 10 days, pin feathers start emerging in about 2-3 weeks, and they should start pecking at items on bottom of cage at about 3-4 weeks of age.
2. Start weaning baby lovebirds at 4 weeks of age, when the baby is ready. Lovebirds need to imprint on humans at as early age as possible so they will be tame pet birds. When they start pecking at stuff on their brooder/cage bottom, you can start the weaning process.
3. Handfeed lovebirds under 4 weeks of age every 4-5 hours or whenever their crops become empty (varies with each bird). The rule of thumb is whenever the crop is empty, except during the nighttime hours. It doesn't hurt them to be a little bit hungry if you can't meet a regular time (if you happen to be out shopping or something), but don't go too far over the time.
4. Have them in some type of brooder situation where they have sufficient warmth, humidity, etc. They shouldn't still be in a nest without their parents. They need heat in order to process their food. They can be introduced to a cage when they can walk and climb on the cage wire and have enough feathers to keep them warm enough. Otherwise, the 3-week old should be in a brooder type setup and the 5-week old could probably be in a cage.
5. Babies often try to feed off their clutchmates. This is normal. Their beaks are still soft so it's doubtful that injuries would occur.

Source: All Experts

Rodney and Tamara Money of True Love Aviary maintains:

1. If you are going to be a great bird breeder then you need to buy a scale that measure in grams. You can get them at the birdie boutique also. Healthy, 8 week old+ lovebirds can weigh from 45-52 grams giving a gram or two.
2. To introduce "big bird" food to babies, introduce the food to the babies when they start to chew on their bedding. Let them have a taste by physically placing a very small piece of "big bird food" in their beaks (make sure they do not choke). After you hand feed babies with formula, place them in their brooder next to their food; formula stimulates them to eat "big bird" as they get older. At 7 weeks, introduce cooked foods and fruits, sprouts, and veggies.
3. Every baby is different. If your babies are still very young, like 4 weeks for example, and they are not eating formula as well, then cut down on the number of feedings. Around 5.5-6 weeks of age, baby lovebirds should be on two feedings and taking around 8-10+cc's every feeding.
4. At 7 weeks old, the babies should be on 1 feeding. And by 8 weeks, they should be fully weaned and ready for their vet exam. Let your babies learn to fly before they wean or you will have a very difficult time weaning them; it's natures way. Then after they wean if you want to clip your birds you can.
5. Drop a feeding or two every week. When the babies are three weeks old, start placing crunched up Nutri-Berries, Avicakes, pellets, seed, and millet for the babies to eat and explore. When they start eating, you can add a water bowl also.
6. If the babies are crying at an hour or two, they need more food during feedings. Use either Roudybush or Harrison's Hand feeding formulas. Exact Hand feeding Formula that you can get at Petsmart and other retail pet stores is a bad formula. The food is hard for the babies to digest and stays in the crop which can cause an infection. 10-14 day old babies will take up to 3-4 cc's. Only use O-ring syringes. You can get them at birdieboutique (google it).
7. When you pull the entire clutch at 10-14 days, or 10-16 days, if you have 4 babies, then feed them every 3 hours from 8:00 am-11:00 pm (that is about 6 feedings.) Other "experts" would say less feedings, but others have found out that this is closer to what their parents do.

Sylvia lays her second egg

We checked the nestbox this morning to find a second egg. We're all very excited about it. The birds have been eating okra like crazy, which is good. We make it a habit to feed them greens and not just seeds.

Philip is starting to come around. He's not as nervous as he used to be when we first got him. We lined their nestbox with a substrate, but they immediately removed the material to replace it with the ones they have gathered on their own. Apparently, they're very picky when it comes to nesting materials.

Yesterday, we were looking for good brooders for the chicks and found some interesting materials. Will post them later.