Has anybody come across babies feeding babies.....if so would the do okay without there parents at around 6 weeks old....

Has anybody come across babies feeding babies.....if so would the do okay without there parents at around 6 weeks old....

 

any ideas

Hi Paul, I have seen babe's looking after each other. I assume there is a reason you need to remove some from a nest. At six weeks they have usually learnt to crack seed themsleves. Soft food and millet sprays would be a good option. They would possibly be fine, but you would need to keep an eye on them to make sure they are eating. I recently put some toddlers into a nest with other similar aged babies and left the cock in with them. The cock was feeding all of the chicks.

 

 

Feathers.

Not being a breeder myself but will offer a common sense opinion. I would wait until they are eating on their own because even if the chicks are feeding each other they could be feeding what the cock fed to them and not what they ate on their own. Make sense?

 

I love the toddler rooms and not taking them right to the aviary so in there you can really keep an eye on them to ensure they are doing well.

A six week old chick should be eating on its own or about to begin eating on its own Paul. Some are slow to learn how to eat, so a "kindie cage" where other chicks are is a good place for them to be for awhile. Some older brothers and sisters will feed the younger ones. But the ones I find that are too slow to learn to eat occasionally need a crop feed for a few days until they learn to fossick for their own food by being hungry and watching others do it.

Paul I have had this experience lots, I mentioned it before in some of my other posts. From what I have seen I have a theory, but it would be hard to prove it, that even chicks in the same batch share food after being fed by their parents. I’m a lot tougher than lots of people on here, I often throw chicks straight from the nest into the young birds aviary. As in cabinets I have found it impossible to keep them from going back into the nest & fouling the next batch that some of my hens seem to start so quick. It’s take them out or spoil the next batch, which often causes so much trouble, if that happens. I watch them carefully & some have a couple of tough days, but I have seen older young from the same batch, which a day or so before could hardly feed themselves feeding younger siblings. Also I have seen unrelated young birds that have been feeding themselves only a few days, feed unrelated birds. The thing I have notice too, is that the ones that get this type of feeding seem to struggle the longest, as they spend so much time begging for food from others, while others that didn’t get help are feeding themselves like experts. I haven’t lost any young through this treatment & I think it’s a normal occurrence in nature & they are sort of programmed for a short period of difficulty after leaving the nest.

Thanks guys for all your advice.....

Two of my babies kiss and feed each other.

i have seen my babies feed each other a few times. i think the dad feeds extra to the oldest baby and that baby shares it out. dont know if true, just my theory