Expert: Riley - 3/6/2007

Question
Riley,  thanks so much for your prompt response.  I guess the problem could be the diet, though I have tried to give the best diet available as well as fruits & veggies (though they are picky about them).  Is hand feeding all birds about the same?  I ask because I have never hand fed a bird but I have a friend that just finished hand feeding a love bird (that is now on seed, fruits & veggies).  Is the procedure the same?  As far as the parents not feeding enough, that could be true.  The female takes longer breaks outside the nestbox now, but that is also due to the age of the babies I would guess.  She is always eating (as I put fresh food several times a day) and he is always feeding her.  I don't think it is poor diet, but the dad is young, under a year.  It wasn't a planned thing, at least until he was older.  As you said, it could be a number of things.  

One other thing, what are the top 3 feeds that you would recommend.  I like the Kaytee Exact Rainbow pelleted, but have a problem getting my parakeets and cockatiels to change over.  My finches changed over wonderfully and are fed the Kaytee Exact Rainbow pellets exclusively (no seeds) plus fruits and veggies.  With 3 varieties of birds (parakeets-cockatiels and finches) what feeds would you recommend?  I want what is best for my babies and there are so many different feeds/brands and all seem pretty much the same.


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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
My parakeet laid 6 eggs, of which 3 were fertile.  The three that hatched, seemed fine at first.  Mom is feeding and dad is helping feed mom and I believe the hatchlings too.  The first to hatch is flourishing, the next, is doing okay, I think.  The last, died early this morning.  I am pretty sure that it is a case of the larger/older one getting all the nourishment.  The oldest has its eyes open and getting feathers.  The other, is not 1/2 the size of the first (even though only a day between hatchings).  The one that died, didn't grow much at all in the almost 2 weeks of life.  My question, can I take the older hatchling out of the nest for a few hours a day, maybe two times a day and put it under a heat lamp or on a heating pad so that the remaining hatchling can get some extra nourishment from the mom, unhindered by the older hatchling or would this make things worse, possibly making the parents abandon the next (since I took out 3 unfertile eggs, then a dead hatchling and now possibly the larger baby).  I don't want to lose the other hatchling, but neither do I want to make matters worse.  I believe this is my females 1st clutch.  At least, her first since I have had her.  Thanks,
-----Answer-----
Hi Donna, Thanks for posting!

What you really need to do is remove the oldest from the parents completely and handfeed it with baby parrot handfeeding formula and a handfeeding syringe so the younger baby will have a chance to live.  Also, supplement the second baby once or twice per day with the handfeeding formula.  The younger baby needs the nourishment that only the parents can provide, and also needs additional nourishment to put on some weight/grow.  After the younger baby gets bigger, you should also remove s/he for handfeeding (and company for the first one you pulled).  Taking the older baby out for a few hours a day isn't going to make any difference.  

The problem could be that the parents are on a poor diet, therefore, the babies aren't getting nourished enough.  The parents might not be feeding enough, since 3 eggs either were not fertile or died in their shell, it could be that all the babies really aren't very healthy (due to parent birds being too young or poor diet or not as healthy as they could be).  It could be any number of things.  

Riley

Answer
Yes, the process is the same for all parrots.  

I've used Zupreem fruit blend pellets for many years with very good results.  My parrots don't seem to like Kaytee Exact Rainbow pellets or Prettybird pelleted food.  You have to feed what your birds like and will eat.  Some birds don't like certain brands for whatever reason, so you might need to try different brands.  If you keep seed in the cage at the same time as the pelleted food, your birds will most likely always choose the seed over the pelleted food.  

All your birds can eat the same brand name of pelleted food (if they all like the same brand), but you will most likely have to buy different sizes of these brands as the keets need smaller pellets than the tiels and the finches need even smaller pellets than the keets.  If your birds won't eat the Kaytee, you'll need to try a different brand(s).  Also, try to get your birds to eat cooked brown rice with veggie mixed in.  All my keets and tiels love this.  They also love corn bread, multigrain/whole grain dry, sugarless, healthy/nutritional cereals, greens, etc.

Riley