Okay...so today, we took a ride to Braintree and picked up eight young birds to start a kit with. We will be adding them to the two young birds we already had. The new birds are hunkered down in my kitbox now. Tomorrow, we will move the two other young birds in with them, and will start training them. These birds are all between five and ten weeks old, and none of them have previously been flown. I assume it is okay to start training them without waiting a period of time for them to settle to my loft. Does anyone agree/disagree? Any advice?
Also, the breeder gave us a squeaker that is around fifteen to twenty days old that is not yet fully weaned. It was abandoned by its parents after it fell out of its nest box to the floor of his loft. He needed to get it out of there, as other birds in the loft were starting to scalp it. It will drink if we dip its beak in water, but won't drink on its own. It has pecked at some seeds, but only seems to take the very small "canary grass seed" from the mix. We are going to be hand feeding it for a while until it discovers that there is more to eat than canary seed.
Should we put any type of supplement or medication in its water to help sustain it at this point? I've bought a parakeet mix to feed it, but I'm concerned about the contents. One of the ingredients listed is ground corn. I thought I recalled reading on here about ground corn causing or enhancing canker or some other ailment. Is that correct? I've also read a lot about feeding thawed frozen peas and/or corn. Is this a good idea?
The baby is currently asleep in a birdcage in our room - nice and warm with a full crop. We had to put it in our room, because Pickles (our cat) lay down next to the cage and stared at the baby for about an hour this afternoon. That didn't seem to bother the baby, but it bothered me. Pickles is a fifteen pound cat, and I'm afraid the baby would be an appetizer for him.
Also, Popcorn (our Yorky) wouldn't stop barking any time she was in the same room as the baby.
Does anyone have any idea how long we will need to continue hand feeding? Thanks for any assistance.
Also, the breeder gave us a squeaker that is around fifteen to twenty days old that is not yet fully weaned. It was abandoned by its parents after it fell out of its nest box to the floor of his loft. He needed to get it out of there, as other birds in the loft were starting to scalp it. It will drink if we dip its beak in water, but won't drink on its own. It has pecked at some seeds, but only seems to take the very small "canary grass seed" from the mix. We are going to be hand feeding it for a while until it discovers that there is more to eat than canary seed.
Should we put any type of supplement or medication in its water to help sustain it at this point? I've bought a parakeet mix to feed it, but I'm concerned about the contents. One of the ingredients listed is ground corn. I thought I recalled reading on here about ground corn causing or enhancing canker or some other ailment. Is that correct? I've also read a lot about feeding thawed frozen peas and/or corn. Is this a good idea?
The baby is currently asleep in a birdcage in our room - nice and warm with a full crop. We had to put it in our room, because Pickles (our cat) lay down next to the cage and stared at the baby for about an hour this afternoon. That didn't seem to bother the baby, but it bothered me. Pickles is a fifteen pound cat, and I'm afraid the baby would be an appetizer for him.
Also, Popcorn (our Yorky) wouldn't stop barking any time she was in the same room as the baby.Does anyone have any idea how long we will need to continue hand feeding? Thanks for any assistance.
