Babies are 4 1/2 to 6 weeks old now

[lovebirdjack]

When it it time to start training them to set up on your finger and just how do you do that and when can I separate them from their parents.

Also the parents are at it again. I don't want her to have babies so soon so what do I do?

[linda040899]

The 6 week old has the balance to learn to step up onto your finger, but the younger ones don't, and won't, until they are also 6 weeks old. Even if you wait a while, youngsters are easy to train, as they are more open to new things than older birds (not that training older birds is mission impossible).

Unfortunately, you are caught between a rock and a hard place here. The younger babies are too young to be out of the box and all of them are too young to be separated from both parents. Give the youngest baby a few more days until he reaches 5 weeks, and you can remove mom to a separate cage (out is sight and hearing of dad and the babies) and let dad take over the care of the little ones.


The other option is to let mom lay her next clutch but hard boil each egg shortly after it's laid and then return it to mom to incubate. She will basically be sitting on eggs that can't hatch and she will abandon the eggs roughly 25 days after the last one has been laid. When that happens, remove the entire box, re-arrange the cage and even move it to a different location. Hopefully, that will give her and her mate a rest from breeding. Personally, the second method is the least traumatic for all concerned so that's what I, myself, would do.

If you want to put the babies in their own cage eventually, you will have to wait until the youngest is 8 weeks old and then I'd add another week to that for good measure.

[lovebirdjack]

Many Thanks Linda. We will weigh up our options and go from there.

Cheers!

PS I'll post pictures soon. :)