Weaning hand-feds

[waxbill lover]

Hello,

As some of you may know, I have been handfeeding 2 zebra chicks for the last week and a half. I've had them on Lafaber's Nutri-Start Bird Formula.
The chicks are almost fully feathered now, and are "practising" for fledging by flitting their wings about, several times a day.
I still have them on the handfeeding formula, but wonder how to go about weaning them onto seeds and veggies, and when? I have a millet spray and several loose seeds in the cage (they haven't left the nest yet) on a yellow microfiber towel so they are highly visable. Will the chicks just instinctively start pecking at seeds once they fledge, like they do when they are parent raised?

Anyone have anything they do? (Sally feel free to chime in with your experience!!! haha) Do you grind up seeds and mash them into a paste mixed with the formula to feed? I've never hand-raised a finch before, and my attempts at weaning cockatiels when I was a teenager, failed quite miserably.

Thanks!

[debbie276]

I have had to hand feed gouldians and when I wean them I give them fresh water, seeds and hard boiled eggs in shallow dishes on the floor of their area. They will start to experiment on their own. I also put them in the aviary with others during the day so they can see how to be a gouldian (zebra in your case). I have found that hand fed chicks take up to a week longer to wean, sometimes longer so you will need to be patient.
Best of luck and congratulations on successful hand feeding.

[Dayna]

Like Debbie said keep offering them softer seeds that are easier to eat and boiled egg. Don't worry about weaning them, they will wen themselves when they are ready. Once they get older you can remove one if the feed times or lengthen the time in between feeds but let them wean themselves.

[Sally]

Conrats on getting this far with the handfeds, Brady! It's not easy, but so satisfying when it turns out well. Since I keep mine in a brooder, I start moving them into larger quarters when they are just about ready to fledge. I like to use one of those plastic terrarium things, so they are protected from drafts; next I will move them into a small cage, 16x12 or 24x16. In each case, I place small dishes of food and shallow dishes of water on the floor. I offer eggfood, my basic finch mix, spray millet, and veggies. I have also used hulled millet I got at the health food store. They seem to sample eggfood and spray millet first. I use tube waterers, so I hang one of those on the side, either near the floor or near a low perch. Oh, I forgot to add sprouted seed, this is very easy for them to eat.

All this time, I am lengthening the time between feedings. The timing will vary a bit from one species to another--the OC waxbill I am feeding now just went from every 1.5 hours to every 2 hours, and he is 10 days old, just a bit more fragile than some. Normally, a handfed would have been on every 2-hour feedings for almost a week already. By the time they fledge, they can be up to 4 hours between feedings, and I just keep extending the time, keeping an eye on them always, as they are slower than parent-raised to mature.

Since you don't have any other Zebras to put them with, you can try them with another species, especially if you have some young ones, just so they learn to be birds--also, they learn where food and water is much quicker if they have a 'teacher' to copy.

I was very lucky with one handfed Strawberry. He was given to me by a friend, and it turned out I had a pair of Berries that had five babies very close in age to him. When he fledged, I put him in their cage, hoping the parents might take over feeding. Of course, they didn't, but they tolerated him, and so he joined the family, flying to the door of the cage when I showed up with his next feeding. When it was time to wean them all, I couldn't tell him from the others, except by looking at the number on his NFSS band. And he weaned much quicker than usual for a handfed--I think it was because he had his five 'buddies' to show him how to eat on his own, and he quickly stopped coming to the cage door for my formula.

[waxbill lover]

New pics of the babies today. They have not left the nest on their own yet, but when I take them out to feed, they are very curious. They peck at my hands, peck at little specks of whatever they see. Hopefully soon they start taking seed. I've noticed they aren't taking as much food as they were before, so maybe if they are hungry on their own they will start taking millet etc...

[debbie276]

Awwww, they lookgreat, good work.

[G8love4finches]

I offer my fledglings Miracle meal as well. They seem to like it. Great job Brady!! They are adorable!

[Martie]

Wonderful job getting them this far! You are on the home stretch now and can take it a little easier. They will definitely wean themselves - you've had some great advice here on foods to offer. I always find this is the part where I need the most patience.

Great job!

[Sally]

They look wonderful! I love this stage, as this is when I start letting mine fly around the room a little, and they always come back to me, climbing all over me, tugging at my hair. I will open their cage door, then walk to the other end of the room to sit in a chair to feed them. At first, they wait till I call to them, and then fly to me, then it becomes a game to beat me to the chair! And then the day comes when they don't want to come to me, don't want to be fed, and it is with mixed feelings of sadness and happiness that I start planning which juvenile cage will be the best fit for them.

[waxbill lover]

So I have been doing everything that has been mentioned here so far. The chicks still DEMANDING to be fed... They fly and hit me in the face first usually, and then they land on my shoulders, and all over my head. They seem to be eating a TINY bit of food on their own, but still for the most part go crazy trying to get to the syringe still. I can go anywhere in the house, call them, and they'll come flying to find me...

They (Meep and Peep) seem to be quite fond of small pieces of broccoli and carrot, and also the small kernels of egg food, and the smaller pieces in the miracle meal (Which I'm almost out of!)

I've been feeding them 2-3 times a day still, trying to get them hungry enough to try the foods I'm offering, its just so hard not to feed them when they are very clearly hungry and begging for food. Will they stop feeding from the syringe when they are ready? Do I cut them off? I haven't seen them drinking any water yet... and thats what concerns me as well, as the handfeeding formula provides them water.

[debbie276]

I would slowly offer them less formula so maybe they experiment a bit more with their seed and extras. Are you able to expose them to other birds so they mimic what they are doing? That really seems to help speed up the weaning.
Good luck

[waxbill lover]

Hi Debbie,
Yes I could put them in the big aviary with the gouldians, stars, and societies as they are able to fly quite well, and maybe would benefit from watching the other birds. They will only eat tiny bits of stuff when they are out of their cage with me, and won't eat anything in their cage. Maybe i'll try that now they are old enough.

[debbie276]

It may be helpful, it seems they know now your a big ol softy that always has food for them

[Sally]

I find that my handfeds mature slower than my parent-raised, so they will take a bit longer than normal to wean. If you put them in an aviary, they will still probably fly to you for feeding, but they will mimic the other birds. It is easier to monitor them in a cage, if you have a flight cage large enough for them plus one or two other birds to be teachers. If you watch parent birds, they will start to ignore the begging of their babies, flying away from them when the babies cuddle up trying to get their attention--tough love!

[waxbill lover]

Update on the hand feds.
I found the younger one dead on the bottom of the aviary this afternoon. So sad. I had been feeding them once a day, as I noticed they were starting to eat some millet spray on their own.

I have decided I am going to hand-feed the remaining chick as much as it wants, until it decides to wean itself. I don't want to loose this little one too, after so much effort put in!