First attempt at hand feed.

[kyle]

lem2bert
Thanks!
Fraza
Other than the feeding it's like getting to know him for the first time. Up until now all he did was eat and sleep. He's learning about his surroundings including me. But he certainly has no fear of anyone at this stage. If I have to feed him for the next 4 weeks or so he will stay finger tame. I will see what his personality is like as he grows, but I doubt he'll remain as cuddly as a society would.

[Fraza]

kyle hopefully u get Abit of luck and he does stay cuddl

[Babs _Owner]

kyle

Another 10 days or so until weaning!! Excellent work! Keep it up Kyle! Yay!

[kyle]

Babs
Thanks Babs. Blueberry likes to hang out on the other cage watching the finches. I'm hoping he's watching them eat and learning. after he eats I let him fly around for an hour. He's all over me for feeding time but other than that quite independent. It is remarkable to me at such a young age how he already is manipulating his environment. Particularly when I go to the kitchen he knows whether I am making his food or not even though he is in another room.

[Babs _Owner]

kyle

I know you've taken video. It only takes a few minutes to sign up and open a youtube account.

Putting videos on the account you just:

Go to the video manager
Select upload video
Drag and drop a copy of the video off your desktop
Set it to public
wait 5 minutes for it to "publish"
Send us a copy of the link so we can see him!!

[lovezebs]

kyle

Hey Kyle,

He's looking great, nice and chubby .

He may stay tame, but in most cases they don't . I have fed babies, who would snuggle and cuddle, but once introduced to the rest of the flock, they lose their tameness (if there is such a word ) very quickly.

The only one I know who has remained very tame, is Babs little girl.

[kyle]

Babs
Thanks babs I tried to download a video but I'm going to have to get someone to show me how. You are now my guru on hand-feeding. LOL. You saved me from making many mistakes.
@lovezebs
I think if I worked at it and he was the only Finch in the house he would remain tame. But if he decided to join the flock that's okay with me too. Much easier for me and happier for him.

Today I have babies that are just hatching and I found two on the floor of the cage. Luckily I caught them right away. I warmed up a teaspoon scoop them up and put them back in the nest. So far so good but I have to keep an eye. The problem with hand feeding is not being able to leave the house for any length of time.

[Fraza]

kyle maybe when these new chicks are 8 weeks old pair one up with blueberry and keep in cage for while maybe they will both become tame then put them back in because the other one might see blueberry tame and not be scared

[kyle]

Fraza
I could do that but in all honesty to keep him hand tame it's quite a commitment. I have an African grey parrot that is very used to his routine and he is not very pleased with sharing his me time. The parrot depends on me for everything. He can read me like a book and we have a Cooperative relationship. I can tell him to go potty or stop screeching and it means something to him. If he had his way he would be with me 24/7. Blueberry on the other hand has no fear but no emotional contact. I'm like his drug dealer if it wasn't for the food he wouldn't bother with me at all. LOL.

[Fraza]

kyleyrh I see what u mean it’s nature for the finches to be with finches

[Babs _Owner]

kyle

Thanks so much my friend. We both know its hard work. But now you know the ropes and with your "baby station" set up, it creates a new sense of security in your birdroom.

You can smile and feel confident that you can handle those little tossed chicks you come across in the future.

I'm so pleased to see Blueberry thrive.

About being stuck in the house..... remember with the baby wipe warmers, you can use an adapter to plug them into your car . And carry a "cool pack" to store powdered formula, water, clean scoops, pipettes.

I keep a Mr. Coffee cup warmer on my desk. It heats the scoop of formula on my desk to about 104 degrees in about 5-6 minutes.

I bought a new one and its small and compact. You can take it anywhere with you.

You really can pack these guys up and take them with you with the brooder and a bag for all the setup supplies.

**make sure you place the plastic scoop in a coffee mug of water preheated on the warmer of course**

CupWarmer.jpg (3.75 KiB) Viewed 670 times

[kyle]

Hi everyone,
Just a little update about blueberry. He's turning 7 weeks old. He's doing great and been in a cage with a few other gouldians for the last 2 weeks. I'm having an issue with weaning him. Hand fed babies often take between 40 to 45 days to ween. He is almost a week beyond that and no end in sight. I see him eating in his seed silo and chewing on Millet and homemade egg food. but every three hours if he sees me he begs. I have been feeding him thinking he let me know when he didn't want it anymore. I wonder if I should start to hold back a little?

[Fraza]

kyle I don’t know about holding back or not but just wanted to say it’s good that he’s doing great at seven weeks old and in a cage with others

[Babs _Owner]

kyle

Yeah that is odd. He may only want your feedings for moisture. Has he found water yet?

Space it out to 3 feedings a day. It forces him to find alternatives without starving him or letting him dehydrate.

I know it's hard to resist the begging, but he's gotta transition over to resist the possibility of yeast.

Often after cutting back the feedings, they will suddenly just turn their nose up to the formula and opt for their normal diet.

PS. Im so glad to hear he is still doing well.

[lem2bert]

kyle

I am so glad blueberry is doing so well. Weaning must be one of the hardest things to do.....I hope you have good luck.....you have done a wonderful job getting him this far...and you have gotten very good coaching along the way. Thank-you for posting your progress...I have everything ready in case I need to hand feed, and now I feel more confident thanks to you , Elana and Babs.