I will probably be hand rearing a couple of chicks sometime this year. My brother is very keen on having a pet budgie for himself and he has shown that he is very responsible ( he has a fish tank ) with pets. I have been researching my butt off and I have a brooder and the feeding tools. I will get a heat lamp ( my usual one has finally busted ) and I have a bit of hand rearing formula for an emergency ( will get another pack ).

Any advice/experiences would be great!

 

PS: I will hand rear in school holidays.

Edited January 31, 201114 yr by Ratzy

What birds will you be handrearing? I find that budgies are a pain in the neck to feed with a syringe, so I crop needle them. Cockatiels are hungry little monsters, and easy to feed with a syringe.

Just budgies

I personally would never hand rear a bird unless needed... Health wise, budgies should stay with their mother/parents until they fledge and can feed themselves... then from there you bring the little guy/girl inside and start full on taming. That, combined with the fact that you handle the chosen chick from hatching... more and more as they grow, and you will have a very well tamed budgie. I don't believe there is any need to hand rear a budgie, just to get it tame. Hand rearing is HARD WORK too... better left to the mummy and daddy, where they will get the 'best' start in life.

Edited January 31, 201114 yr by maesie
spelling

I personally would never hand rear a bird unless needed... Health wise, budgies should stay with their mother/parents until they fledge and can feed themselves... then from there you bring the little guy/girl inside and start full on taming. That, combined with the fact that you handle the chosen chick from hatching... more and more as they grow, and you will have a very well tamed budgie. I don't believe there is any need to hand rear a budgie, just to get it tame. Hand rearing is HARD WORK too... better left to the mummy and daddy, where they will get the 'best' start in life.

I agree with Maesie. I also know that pulling chicks from parents affects how the parents raise chicks in the future. Some mothers who have to raise their own chicks in the future stop caring for and feeding them at the age where previously their chicks were removed from the nest. Its learnt behaviour. They think their job is done too early if previous batches of chicks were pulled out of the nest at around 2 wks. I have experienced this.

I wouldn't take the whole clutch, I will have a re-think now

I wouldn't take the whole clutch, I will have a re-think now

 

If you only took one, then the mother may not be affected by this... but the one you remove still wiil. Good luck and please let us know what you decide.