Urgent HANDFEEDING

Zara · 2/9/19

What food is available inside Miltons space?

Lbond664 · 2/9/19

He is picking at millet I have had it with him in his box for about a week and noticed tonight before I tried to feed him he had a little stuck on his face. The water makes me nervous encouraging him t to drink I haven’t weighed him in about 2 days I’ll do it in the morning. I can’t believe all of a sudden like this he’s refusing formula

Lbond664 · 2/9/19

Zara said:
What food is available inside Miltons space?

I have a stick of Millet I sprinkled some of the zupreem and the sample I got today on the ground for him

Zara · 2/9/19

He will figure it out. Don´t fill the dish too much, just enough so he can get his beak in. Then put your finger in the water and touch his beak so a little goes in. Just so he knows what it is.
Don´t move stuff either, not ´til he´s eating and drinking.
I like to put food in a jam jar lid next to the water, and the millet in the sleeping area.
If you weigh him, remember he will lose weight as he stops eating formula.

Bokkapooh · 2/9/19

I personally would limit the millet if you want him to wean onto pellets and grated vegetables. Keep offering dry and moistened pellets along with cut up veggies for weaning

iamwhoiam · 2/9/19

Sometimes they stop eating the formula slowly and will still take some and sometimes one day they are taking all of their feedings and the next day will take one or two ccs and nothing more. You try again and same thing or they will just push away the syringe.
Check to see if there are millet hulls or if the seeds are still intact. Is he interested in eating any formula on his own or eating some moistened pellets?
Offer cooked warm vegetables (not hot) rather than cold raw vegetables. They are softer and may be easier to eat. Also some babies when weaning prefer warmer foods.

Lbond664 · 2/9/19

iamwhoiam said:
Sometimes they stop eating the formula slowly and will still take some and sometimes one day they are taking all of their feedings and the next day will take one or two ccs and nothing more. You try again and same thing or they will just push away the syringe.
Check to see if there are millet hulls or if the seeds are still intact. Is he interested in eating any formula on his own or eating some moistened pellets?

He hates the pellets when they’re wet. He loves the roudybush crumbles and it appears he is eating them. All of a sudden tonight he seems like a different bird. Refusing formula flying and extremely curious!

iamwhoiam · 2/9/19

He is growing up. Make sure everything is bird proofed and bird safe for him. Cover windows so he doesn't fly into them.

Lbond664 · 2/9/19

iamwhoiam said:
He is growing up. Make sure everything is bird proofed and bird safe for him. Cover windows so he doesn't fly into them.

He wasn’t like this 4 hours ago! What happened lol! I’m happy though. I’m happy he’s growing and thriving

Zara · 2/9/19

Birds grow quick

iamwhoiam · 2/9/19

I was very surprised by Sophie and Claudé when they fledged. I was taking a video of them while they were playing on the floor and suddenly Sophie takes off. Then a few seconds later Claudé copies her. Sophie was at least 7 weeks old but I don't think "C" was even 7 weeks old yet. Major surprise. They still wanted to be hand fed, though. My red-bellies usually weaned at about 12 weeks of age although Zack took longer and I think one of them weaned at 10 weeks.

Lbond664 · 2/9/19

I don’t want to slow down any progress with weaning so at this point how often should I offer formula?

Lbond664 · 2/9/19

He was on about 4-5 feedings a day

iamwhoiam · 2/9/19

I would probably offer him the formula about 3 times a day and then drop to 2, etc. Even if he pushes it away or takes a little keep offering but keep weighing him and make sure he is at a good weight. You need to be sure he is eating enough on his own before you stop altogether. You will know based on how he is doing overall.

Crazy4parrots · 2/9/19

Lbond664 said:
He is picking at millet I have had it with him in his box for about a week and noticed tonight before I tried to feed him he had a little stuck on his face. The water makes me nervous encouraging him t to drink I haven’t weighed him in about 2 days I’ll do it in the morning. I can’t believe all of a sudden like this he’s refusing formula

They can autowean themselves! I handfed 4 lovebird chicks and 1 of them at week 8 decided he wanted my food he didnt wanted his formula anymore but his sisters did went with formula until they were 10 weeks old. For more that i offered him formula he wanted veggies and fruits now and seeds. So yeah he auto weaned himself he was getting 3 feedings per day when he suddenly began refusing his formula and begun eating food like a big bird! They grow up so fast.

I forgot to add that they learn to drink water on their own.. my Kiwi boy learned by himself to drink water after i placed a shallow dish with small water quantities in it.. Kiwi he autoweaned himself when he was down 2 feedings of formula per day. He was about 12 weeks old..

Crazy4parrots · 2/9/19

Prepare for disaster! Kiwi did many once he learned water meant baths i had to clean his cage 2-3 times per day due to him splashing water around and he thought it was super funny by nodding his head and saying hahaha..
That was until i changed his water dish for a water bottle which he hated and let me know by pushing it, making a mess and laughing.

Kodigirl210 · 2/10/19

I’m glad he likes the crumbles. If he doesn’t like them wet, then don’t give them to him wet. They may remind him too much of the formula. You can offer him soft veggies like peas & corn. Cooked yams or mashed potatoes that are warm would probably be eaten. Or fine chopped veggies like carrots, broccoli & kale. Try to make the pellets the largest part of his diet (70-80%) as this contains almost all the nutrition he needs & it is the healthiest food for him even though there are no pellet trees in the wild :coffeescreen:

Lbond664 · 2/10/19

Ok! He refused his formula again today for his morning feed. He acted excited head bob and took a quick taste and that was it. Weighing him he’s between 26-27g right now. He was moving all over so I couldn’t quite get an extract on him. I’m worried he isn’t eating enough. This almost feels more stressful than the formula. His crop doesn’t look full

Zara · 2/10/19

As bird get older the crop doesn´t fill as much.
Mine do that too - running around in circles, running backwards.. none stop moving. My Adelie has just started over the last day or so

Just make sure the food is avail. He will eat it, hense, not wanting formula. Just keep offering.

iamwhoiam · 2/10/19

The weight does drop when they fledge. You won't see the crop looking as full as when the baby was being fed. Try not to stress because Milton will probably sense this. He is experiencing the joy of flying and being more independent from "mom". I wonder if he would like some Birdie Bread. You can add some unsweetened applesauce to that if he likes apples.
I used frozen mixed veggies (green beans, peas, carrots, corn) which I would nuke and then cool a bit. Sometimes I would even mix a small amount of unsweetened apple juice into the veggie mix. Make sure he has a good selection of food available.

Urgent HANDFEEDING

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