# some questions.....



## Fortunate (Oct 31, 2011)

Me again - sorry for the countless post and silly questions, I just feel like I have no idea what im doing and I dont want to jepordise the babies in anyway....im already so attached to them!

I know all the theory of what to do and when, but I still feel lost when it comes to raising these little guys!

The oldest was 2 weeks today and the youngest will be two weeks tomorrow.

if you could give me some answers i would greatly appriciate it:
when do I take them out the brooder? 
at what age can they go into a cage?
Its pretty warm here (around 30-35 degrees celcius; thats 86-96 degrees fairenheight if im not mistken) is it ok to take them out of the brooder now? i am battleing to keep the temps cool enough for them, i know they have to be at 30-32 degrees at this stage now.

Also their behaviour is concerning me as i dont know what it means:
when out together they bite each others beaks and bash each other to the ground, is this them playing? I have been stopping it, im afraid they fighting.

Can I house them together? right now they are all divided beacause im worried about the "fighting" as mentioned above.

Do they need playtime outside the brooder? 

How much should i handle them?

Do i need to socialise them? like one would do with a puppy. so they dont scare easy as adults. if so when do i start this?

Two babies are being homed together and one is staying with me, should i let the two bond and keep the one to stay with me away so he doesnt create a bond with the other two?

is it normal that they are all growing and developing at different times?

Again sorry for the silly questions (and the vast amount of them) i just dont want to hurt these babies and I am stressing so much that im going to do something wrong as I have never raised birds before!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Socializing all of them would make them tame, if you don't socialize them they won't be tame and that can be hard on the person taking the two together. You can start holding them now, for about 15 minutes at a time so that they don't lose body heat. The beak biting may be them trying to feed each other, my older ones would attempt to feed the younger one though they didn't have to coordination to do so. You can take them out of the brooder when they are fully feathered, this is usually around 5 weeks of age. They need to be in a cage where the perches are low so if they fall off they don't get hurt. Wider is better than taller. Letting them all bond together will be fine, you'll have your other birds to let your baby hang out with once its siblings leave.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

*Also their behaviour is concerning me as i dont know what it means:
when out together they bite each others beaks and bash each other to the ground, is this them playing? I have been stopping it, im afraid they fighting.*
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What they are doing is trying to pump (locking beaks) and feed from each other. I used to think it was cute until I learned that if you have one baby that is more aggressive than the other, that if they have food/formula in their crops it can force 1 baby to regurgitate and the other eating it's food. I wasn't aware that this was occurring until I was finding 1 on the babies never gaining weight, then getting stressed and sick because it was not getting enough nutrients. I have also had 1 baby lock onto anothers beak and pump so vigorously that it ripped the upper beak off the other baby.

You might want to keep each separate until they are older and start to pick on millet and seed.


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## Fortunate (Oct 31, 2011)

Srtiels: I will keep them separated, Thank you!
Its stressful raising these guys, I dont know how you do it all the time! Hats off to you!

Roxy: thanks for the tip on the cage - should I add toys at this stage?

Thank you both for taking the time to read that super long post! much appriciated!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

At this point they're going to be learning to perch and stuff so a toy or two wouldn't hurt but they may not have the balance yet to play with them.


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## morla (Aug 15, 2011)

Good luck!


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## Fortunate (Oct 31, 2011)

roxy culver said:


> At this point they're going to be learning to perch and stuff so a toy or two wouldn't hurt but they may not have the balance yet to play with them.


Hedwig as already learnt to grip onto my finger  he loves to hold on to my finger when I put him back into the brooder, he knows my heart melts and i will hold him for longer 

Their little personalities are already shining through!
Already trying to make up an excuse to keep all 3! 

Thanks Morla - its been an up hill battle so far, but they worth it!


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## Aadil (Oct 29, 2011)

LOL!My chicks are the same age and they try and do the same things.They are super cute
Hope all goes well


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## romeo juliette (Nov 17, 2011)

those r not silly questions cause i will soon be in yr place and i did not know those things ,a owner that is not stressed or wanting the best for thier little ones is like a mother that should not be one lollll.u will see me here alot as i am try to change from seed to pellets and i am completly lost searching for help.keep up the good work and hopefully we can help each other out on this amazing trip


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