Hand Feeding Question

[daniella]

Hello All,
I am new and I had some questions. I have been feeding a baby lovebird for quite some time now. He's healthy and doing fine but I was kinda worried about his biting habbits. The thing is he isn't biting to hurt he just bites bc he thinks i have food on me. He's done it since I've gotten him and it doesn't hurt. I was just worried in the future he might keep biting and it might get worse. Also when is it okay to buy them an actual cage. Right now hes in a fish tank style cage with some heating lamp and a ton of toys but I notice he's starting to move around more and more and I was kind of wondering when to put him in a regular cage.

[linda040899]

How old is your baby lovebird? In terms of age, babies that are with their parents remain in the nest box until they are 6 weeks old. At that point, they come out of the box and dad teaches them to eat on their own. By age 8 weeks, they can usually eat enough by themselves to be independent, although I don't sell my babies for at least another 2 weeks, just to be sure.

I would not put a hand feeding baby in a cage until age 6 weeks and then I would start out with a smaller cage so that he/she could get used to it. After that, you can graduate to the larger size that you want to be his permanent home.

How big is the fish tank where you are keeping him?

[daniella]

He's 7weeks now and I have been putting seeds in the bottom but he has no interest in them yet. And its a 50gallon tank its huge and he runs from one side to another LOL

[linda040899]

A 50 gallon tank gives him quite a bit of room to move around! That's actually bigger than some smaller cages...... Fish tanks can be modified onto cages of sorts if you're feeling creative. One of our members used to house his pair in a 100 gallon modified fish tank! His set up was pretty elaborate, too. :lol

Weaning a single lovebird takes longer than if there is more than 1. Groups learn from and compete with each other, where a singleton has to catch on all by himself. You might try putting together a small dish of easy to eat food and letting him socially eat with you at mealtimes. If he sees you eating, it might spark a bit of interest in him, too.