New to this

[bharing]

I just got two lovebirds and before I knew it I had eggs. Only one baby survived and he/she is two weeks old now. Lately the parents have been "picking" at the baby and he/she squeks quite a bit. Is this normal?:confused:

[shylevon]

Which parent is picking on the baby?

Sometimes the momma birdie will want the baby gone so she can mate again. Sometimes it is the daddy that just wants the baby gone. If the picking gets violent, the baby will need to be separated into a cage with the non-violent parent. Either momma or daddy will care very well for the baby if they need to be separated.

[bharing]

They both are. Are they just preening? The baby is only two weeks old

[shylevon]

Well, I have seem momma's pluck babies bald, and they do cry like it hurts, but as long as there is no blood-letting, things should work themselves out.

[mjm8321]

At two weeks mother lovie should still be feeding the chick, as well as the dad beginning to start the feedings. If the plucking continues (without drawing blood), you might consider the following options 1)Leave the chick in with the parents, however mother and father may pluck the chick almost bald and like Shy said, things should work out and the baby's feathers will grow back in or 2) Give it a week or so until Dad begins the primary feeding and then pull mother and let dad finish the raising/weaning of the chick or 3) Pull the mother now (in my experience,the biggest percentage of chick pluckers are hens) and offer Dad softened food so he can finish up with the chick or 4) which if the parents are feeding the chick well, I hate to recommend, but you could always pull the chick and handfeed it, but unless you've handfed before, it can be quite the undertaking.

Good luck!

[LauraO]

When you say only one baby survived what do you mean? I'm wondering if other eggs hatched and something happened to the babies or the other eggs were infertile or dis. This is important when addressing the problem you're having with the current baby. Are you able to check on the baby daily. If so, is it's crop full? Can you see all the down plucked off the baby? and how do you know it's both parents plucking the baby?

Just be sure to watch the baby very closely. I know it can be difficult to get into a nestbox with a nesty hen, but it's a necessary evil. It will be the only way you can be sure the little guy is being fed and is in no danger.

I would also make sure you are giving the parents lots of soft foods during this time. A seed only diet can cause an impacted crop on young lovies because the parents don't have time to digest the seed before feeding the babies. I offer egg, birdy bread, brown rice, beans and boiled veggies at least 2 x daily. I would also make sure the hen has nesting materials to add to the box.

Good luck and please keep us updated. Having lovie babies is a very scary time. I know, I can't seem to get away from it:rofl:

[bharing]

One egg was a dud. The two first babies where fine, fed and doing well one morning when I went to work and when I came home, they were dead. I don't know what happened. Maybe more than one baby was too much for the mother to handle. Gidget is doing fine. The parents at this point are sharing the feeding. They have plucked most of the baby clean but only the fuzz, they haven't touched his/her new feathers that are coming in. Besides the plucking they are taking wonderful care. I check every two hours to make sure everything is okay and sometimes if Gidget (the baby) is really making a fuss I will take him out of the cage and just sit with him on my chest and he/she sleeps undisturbed. He/she is three weeks old today. Is there anyway to try and tell the sex of the bird without DNA testing?