handfeeding

[jamezyboo21]

Okay my gould baby will be 5 weeks this friday. i have not seen him try to eat own his own yet and left the nest last thursday so it woulk be a week out of the nest thrusday. Anyways he still begs alot but the societies i guess are worn out because they make him beg alot and they dont try to feed him anymore. Would he be okay in a cage by himself if i just feed him myself. And will he wean his on self and how?

[L in Ontario]

If he's only been fledged a week - I'd leave him in with the Societies for another week at least.

[Sally]

I agree with Liz, he is too young to be on his own yet. It is almost impossible to start handfeeding one this old--they are old enough to be suspicious of you, and they will not open their beaks. I'd leave him with the Societies, but make sure there is plenty of eggfood, also spray millet, which is one of the first things they try to eat on their own. You could also do some soaked seed, which is easier to eat. Society babies wean much younger than Gouldians, so the Societies often will stop feeding fosters too soon.

[jamezyboo21]

I have already been handfeeding the baby gould since he was like 3 days old. The socities had babies too so they were raising the gould and socitiy babies but now that the society babies have fledged and been seperated, i hardly ever see them feed the baby gould so i am feeding it more often. He's already really use to me. when he see's me he starts begging and he will fly to my finger or hand and start begging, he knows the routine when he sees they dropper he knows im gonna feed him. He flys very well and only goes in the nest at night sometinmes but the socities look likie they ignore him when he begs and he doesnt show any interest yet on eating on his own. I alawys have millet spray in the cage but he doesnt touch it. Ant the socities have started mating again and building a new nest. I threw out all the nesting material from there old clutch and bleached the nest and they started building again.

[BirdCrazy]

I would continue to feed him then. He will most likely eat for a couple more weeks or so. He will wean when he is ready. Mine refuse it from me when they are done. I would not put him in a cage alone though. I would either keep him with the Societies if they let him or put him with the other Society babies that he was raised with. They will teach him how to eat. I always put my handraised ones with teacher birds as they will show them how to do everything including eat and drink. Good luck!!

[Sally]

Oh, if you have been handfeeding all along, you can just continue. He will wean himself one day. When I handfed those Strawberries, they had fledged and did the same as your Gouldian, would fly to my hand or even my shoulder looking for their chow--so cute. But one day, the oldest wouldn't come near, and when I approached him, he flew away from me--he had decided he was a big boy. The others followed suit in the next few days, and pretty soon, they acted like they didn't even know me--talk about a knife to the heart! But they needed to grow up and be finches--still, I wouldn't have minded if they would have wanted to stay friends with me.

[jamezyboo21]

Aweee..i hope mine doesnt do that. I want him to be tamed. if my parents see that he is tamed i might be able to keep him in the house in my room. My dad doesnt want any birds in the house, he was nice enough to let me keep them in the garage with heat lamps on them till the summer time when they have to go back outside. I did convince them to let me keep my two yellow back goulds inside because i told them they were very expensive.

[Sally]

Well, I read an article on the web somewhere about a BCCB that was handfed, and it stayed tame even as it raised its own babies, so there is hope for your Gouldian!