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I've hand fed lovebirds, cockatiels, greys and now a blue and gold macaw. I don't pull until three weeks unless it's necessary. I like to let the birds tell me how much they need to eat, of course never so much as to over stretch the crop. I like Kaytee brand handfeeding formula. I've found that the bigger birds are biggest babies. I do put the bigger birds in individual "bowls" with some nesting material and paper towels. I make a little hole in the middle so the baby can be propped up. Good luck!

Not rare at all. Happens all the time. I live in a country where handfeeding small birds like tiels and below are banished, and whaddya now, we still have adorble pet tiels, parakeets and what not here.

In Austrie handfeeding of all birds is forbidden as it is considered cruel, and they know what long term sideeffects it brings. But still, they have great pets over there.

Parentfed birds become tame is not an exeption from the rule. They do become tame very quickly, when it comes to babys you don't even have to "tame" them in most cases, curiousity takes over and voilá, a bird on the hand. After that it's easy to gain more and more trust.

I can't state enough that birds should become tame by mutual respect and trust, not by something as drastic and yes, in my opinion cruel as handfeeding wich forces them.

Steph, all I can say is that you are lucky to live in a country where most birds are cared for so well, have large cages, and are cherished! Sadly, that is not the case in most other countries, where it's common to feed them only seeds, put them in cages far too small, not interact with them, clip them because people think it's the only way to keep them tame, etc. I hate the non-existant pet laws here.... especially the ones concerning birds! There are better laws for dogs and cats than there are birds... thus bird cruelty probably happens more frequently than dog and cat cruelty, because people just don't know crap about birds.

I'm not against handfeeding, heck I'm not against clipping either! However, are any of my birds clipped? Nope. Currently, my budgies are cage-free in a room that is 11' x 14'. Now only if I could get all the tiels to be cage-free, too! I have cages I can put them in, but I'm trying to take them out! Gotta say, it's pretty nice when a bird flies to you on it's own accord rather than coming to you by force. Some of the birds will probably always be caged, but I try to provide the largest cage I can get for them, as long as it is not an issue for their health (you wouldn't think so.... but if a large cage equals egg laying and weight loss, smaller is better! :wall: )

Now, even though I'm not against handfeeding, I do think that some better things could be applied to raising them... such as selling just weaned parrots. In the wild, there are reports of scarlet macaw chicks staying with their parents for up to two years.... and yet, we handraise them and ship them out the door as soon as they wean, which is typically 4-6 months of age.... I haven't personally had a just weaned bird, my youngest human raised bird is Casey, and I got her at 6 months of age, at least a couple months past the weaning stage.... however, I am in the belief that there has got to be something connected to parrot behavior problems and selling just weaned birds (if not unweaned).

At the same time I'm saying this, I have allowed a pair of bourkes to raise a clutch (took two tries before they got a clutch with fertile eggs - previous breeders as well!). The chicks were handraised, but not handfed, from the time they were in the nestbox, and both chicks (only two fertile eggs) were quite tame! However, bourkes tend to be more passive/calm than other species. I never did end up selling the chicks as I had originally planned, and I never did see any behavior problems, either.

I've read the article, and it is good, although I'm sure it could use some editing.

I have both parent fed and hand fed chicks didn't want to stir up a whole discussion on cruelty........Just wanted some advise on blue front chicks. Not my first time hand feeding just a first for this particular type. Sometimes parents do abandon or pick on chicks and their is a definet necessity for hand feeding. I personally like the way the handfed chicks interact with humans. Yes a parent raised bird can become just as tame with lots of work and ocassionally battle wounds to your fingers and hands but.........i have notice the hand fed babies are usually larger, healthier, and feather out faster than the parent raised and are usually calmer. Although I have had to hand feed from day 1 I do not like to and only do it if absolutely necessary. I prefer to pull chicks between 10-14 days.

thisbirds4u,

Handfeeding can be difficult going from smaller birds to the larger ones. Try not to stress.
If you are more comfortable pulling after Mon and Dad give them a head start then do it. Your comfort level works to give them a comfort level. If your uncomfortable they will be too. Look closely at your formula recommendation as earlier suggested. Most brands have the fat, protein and/or mineral content for each variety. There is plenty of literature out there on the subject too. Listen to these breeders that have experience with the larger birds, since you were trying to have the sense to ask about a situation instead of going in blind. As long as you understand that NOBODY has all the answers things will work out. Remember even Mom and Dad don't always get it right either.


*Don't worry, you didn't cause the off-subject discussion.*

I breed and raise Blue Front Amazons, I pull from the nest at along two weeks or about the time their eyes start opening and I use Zupreme Hand Feeding Formula and feed up to 35cc's or maybe 40cc's at the most by the time they are weaned.

Thank You Jan!!!!! p.s. really enjoyed looking at your website and nice to see video or the blue fronts being fed I'm adding your site to my favorites list Thanks Again

Hi - you are welcome! I use to breed the Orange Wings too... their babies are a little bit different than the Blue Fronts babies when it comes to feeding, especially when it gets near weaning time.

Glad you like my videos, there are a few on there showing me hand feeding the babies, well at least two hand feeding videos, short and also I have a leg banding video too.