# Is 4 weeks too old to pull for handfeeding?



## type.rst (Oct 17, 2010)

Hello guys i have a outdoor aviary an a pair had only one chick in their cluth so i thought i would let them raise it. Now i have a work mate who found out i keep cockatiels an he really wants a tame cockatiel.

The thing is that the chick is now 4 weeks old. Do you think that it is too old to pull for hand rearing? I am worried that it will refuse the syringe as the chick has not had any human contact.

Would it be a better idea if i just handled the chick for 15 mins a day an try to tame it in this way?

Thanks


----------



## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

it might be a better idea to handle the baby every day. it will be tame, just gotta work with it a bit more since most people start younger.


----------



## Bird Junky (Jul 24, 2012)

Hello. I quite agree. Under the circumstances Your idea of handling
the baby on a daily basis would be your best bet....B.J.


----------



## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

It's difficult to get a chick to accept a syringe at that age. But this is also fledging age, where babies start to experiment with eating food by themselves. So while you have the baby out to work with him, you can offer him warm mushy food (handfeeding formula or something reasonably similar to it) on a spoon and he might decide to go for it. You'll have to sort of shove his beak into it at first so he can get a taste.

I co-parent my babies rather than pulling them, and sometime around fledging age they start resisting the syringe. But they eagerly take to spoon feeding once they figure out what it is. It might be harder for your baby to adjust to it since he was never syringe fed, but his natural desire to eat like a big boy will give you some help.


----------



## type.rst (Oct 17, 2010)

So do i take it out the aviary as soon as it has left the nest box and move it to a cage? 

My worry is that it wont know how to eat by itself as im only planning to take it out the nest box an to handle it for 15 mins a day. 

What would be the bet way to go about this?

Thank you.


----------



## Bird Junky (Jul 24, 2012)

Hi When it first leaves the box it's still fed usually by the cock
as hen will be busy. for a few days when you see it eating for 
itself & not just picking then it's ready to go. If you want the 
hard work of hand feeding it then go ahead It's your choice.
Is he paying you double money for a tame bird? If you want to
let parents feed it. Just take it out for 15 min. play with it 
& put it back.....B.J.


----------



## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Leave it with the parents and start handling it several times each day.  leave it in the aviary until it is weaned (likely at about 8-10 weeks)..then take it inside in a cage for a few days to make sure it doesn't regress before you give it to your friend.  that is what I would do.



> Is he paying you double money for a tame bird?


Why does this matter? He could be giving the bird to his friend without any payment and that doesn't make a difference in this discussion. Please stay on topic.


----------



## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> So do i take it out the aviary as soon as it has left the nest box and move it to a cage?
> 
> My worry is that it wont know how to eat by itself as im only planning to take it out the nest box an to handle it for 15 mins a day.


When the baby leaves the nest it will definitely NOT know how to eat by itself. It takes a month or so after fledging for babies to become self-sufficent at feeding, so you will need to leave the baby in the aviary with the parents until weaning if you aren't planning to take over the feeding yourself. 

You need to get the baby as tame as possible BEFORE it leaves the nest. After it leaves the nest and acquires some flight skills, you may have a hard time getting hold of it to handle it if it is completely wild. If you can get the baby to accept some kind of food from you (warm food on a spoon for example) it will speed up the taming/bonding process. Clipping the wings of newly-fledged babies is undesirable; developing their flight skills is important for both their physical and mental health.


----------

