Lovebird still wants formula

[Pajarita]

I bought him unweaned 5 weeks ago. But ya I guess he will wean himself.

Somebody sold you a 3 week old bird?!!!!

[JessiMuse]

Rambo and Myrtle are adults but I would feed them if they wanted it. The hand feedings they get now are from my plate. They beg for things just like baby birds.
Everything gets breakfast before I can settle down to mine. Rambo saw my oatmeal and started "huh huh" until I looked up and saw the wings. He was wanting me to share even though he had his own breakfast. Rambo is 30 so I guess they will beg from time to time even when they are old.

I tried to get Alex to eat a bell pepper, and he began bobbing his head and making the feed me cry. I guess he was telling me he wanted something else.

[Archer96]

I bought him unweaned 5 weeks ago. But ya I guess he will wean himself.

Somebody sold you a 3 week old bird?!!!!

Um ya... Its what she does, she shows you how to hand feed a baby and then if your good you can take the baby home. I will never do that again. At first I thought it was fine but then things got a little stressful. I posted about it a while back but since then its gotten better. I just look forward to when the little guy is grown up.

[Pajarita]

I don't know the lady and maybe I shouldn't be saying this but it seems to me that this practice is terribly irresponsible of her part! There are countries where they have outlawed the practice of selling unweaned babies but even here in USA, where the dollar is king and PIJAC its prince, I've never heard of any baby bird sold at 3 weeks of age!

[Superman2016]

Not everyone who buys an un weaned baby is less knowledgeable or incapable than a breeder . I bought my little baby boy at 2 weeks, because I want him handfed, fledged, and raised right his first few weeks ! (finding someone who would not clip the wings, is nearly impossible where I live!)

And I have yet to find a breeder who will raise a baby from the nest to weaning how I want it done. I wanted my little boy to wean onto fruits, veggies, pellets ,and seed. I also wanted him to get used to being outside, and at public places. He doesn't need anyone touching him right now but if he is going to be used to outings, on a regular basis e needs to be used to it. He is still getting used to being outside, because it is too cold to take him out enough. But when the weather gets warmer, he is going to have a good time. We plan to build him an outdoor aviary for play time and flying (not to live outside though).
But so far he loves being where there is action and people. The store, park,etc... When we have company over he gets exited and likes to show off. I have plans for him when he is an adult and so how he is being raised right now is very important to me. I have handfed and raised baby birds, before I was married , about 20 years ago at a privately owned pet store. I also worked at a veterinary hospital back then.
People need to stopped acting so shocked ..it really sounds so backwards to me. So if the bird cant be purchased or even raised un-weaned then who CAN ? The breeder? I think the breeder is not the only person as just because you breed and sell them , although it may make them more of an expert, it does not automatically make everyone else NOT an expert. I like things done my way, and I accomplish what I set out to do. One day everyone will see what a great little parrot I have & my husband and kids will raise. We have had or little man since 2 weeks.

[Superman2016]

I am very thankful toward the two people who have allowed me to buy a bird from them un weaned (the second person has a baby that is not ready yet) so I can have this chance to raise them the way I want.

[Wolf]

You may have the knowledge and skills to raise an un weaned bird, but it appears that the vast majority of people do not. Most of them do not know that a parrot can't eat only seeds or pellets and be healthy. And the pet shops and most of the breeders do not tell them anything. The laws regarding the sale of unweaned birds came about due to people buying unweaned birds and then them dying, not the other way around.

[marie83]

Nobody can raise a parrot the way they are supposed to be raised. In an emergency by all means if someone has the experience then they could be hand raised, in any other circumstance they should be parent raised or a compromise may be acceptable- well handled/Co parented.

It's absolutely disgusting imo that people think it's acceptable to take an unweaned baby. Most are sold too young as it is!

[Wolf]

I think that there are some people that have the knowledge and the skills to raise an unweaned bird in a better environment than many of the breeders are doing. These people are in a minority as most of the people that I come across have almost no knowledge about the birds that they get and in most cases neither the sales people at the pet store nor the breeder take the time to discuss the bird with the people, things such as what type of diet that the bird requires, or what to expect when they take the bird home with them, or that the bird is going to eventually mature and go through puberty and what they can expect to happen at that time or when they can expect it to occur. And the list goes on.

I agree with Marie in that the best way to proceed is co parenting the baby bird along with its parent birds. They also need what is presently referred to as abundance weaning where they in actuality wean themselves.

[liz]

My Cockatiels raised their own babies. As soon as they get out of the nest they become the flocks babies and he can beg and get food from any other cockatiel. I had to rehome him to give my others a break. I think he was 4 months old and still begging even though he was able to eat on his own. He liked the comfort of being fed.