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He's here!

Leanna

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Leanna B
So about a week ago my boy came home. He seems to be settling in really well. He wanted to come and hang out the second day, which is a lot quicker than I expected. He is fascinated by his toys and is bouncing around his cage, one side of it at least. His cage is 40 in by 30 in and you can tell he's never had anything that big before. I'm shocked at how quiet he is but I can't complain about that. I decided on naming him Milo, and he's honestly been a delight personality wise.
He is very sweet and curious about everything especially his caique siblings. I haven't introduced them yet, but he can hear them.

However, we have a problem. He's underweight and a little too young to be weaned. Apparently, his hatch date was the 20th of July. I didn't know that he was that young until the vet called the breeder himself and he admitted it. I know that's a little young to be weaned, and he's still pretty small. My vet said he was likely the runt of the clutch to begin with. The vet wanted his diet to be supplemented with hand feeding formula, but Milo is uninterested. I've had success with the fresh meals I make for him and since I've had him, he's gained 8 grams. I've upped the protein in his diet with beans, some boiled egg and muffins with pea protein mixed into the batter, but I could use help on what to feed to up his weight.
 

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Miss Annamarie

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So glad he's loving his new home! I hope all turns out well, congratulations! My baby gets here on Friday.
 

Mizzely

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What was he eating at the breeders?

Ripley is underweight, and I'm giving him a mash made with handfeeding powder that is moistened with baby food (just veggies, no added vitamins except C which is sometimes used as a preservative). I mix in what he will eat (seeds ), almond butter , red palm oil, and Avitech AviGain.

Almonds are a good treat to give him too.

8 grams in a week though- that's fantastic. Ripley has gained 10g in 2 months! So you might not need to change anything :)
 

Fergus Mom

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He's a doll! I hope he will continue to gain weight and progress.
 

Leanna

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He was eating kaytee hand rearing formula but the breeder claimed he weaned a week before I picked him up. How I don't even know. He just turned three months old five days ago. Right now I give him about 10 cc of harrisons juvenile formula twice a day in addition to his regular food. I also bought kaytee just in case he didn't like the harrisons but he seems fine with it. I know 8 grams is a lot but he actually needs to put on about 20 more. He was really thin when he came to me, with almost no fat on his keel.

Does anyone have experience raising eclectus babies? Does handfeeding need to be different with them such as blended fruit mixed with the formula? Do I still need to worry about over supplementation when he's this thin and young?
 

Birdbabe

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Well, the black edges of his feathers could point to a protein deficiency, so what your doing is great! Maybe try some peanutbutter or scrambled eggs. Keep gaining weight little guy! Try giving his formula from a spoon if hes not keen on syringe feeding. Definitely get him checked for parasites, a bird can eat and eat and not gain weight from this. Sure is a cutie!
 

iamwhoiam

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Very cute. Congrats!
 

EkkieLu

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I would take mashed garbanzo beans, carrots (cooked to mushy), and whip into 3 raw eggs til well blended. Then cook like scrambled eggs. When I got my ekkies they loved this - still do! It's soft, easy to digest, and high in protein.
 

EkkieLu

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He was eating kaytee hand rearing formula but the breeder claimed he weaned a week before I picked him up. How I don't even know. He just turned three months old five days ago. Right now I give him about 10 cc of harrisons juvenile formula twice a day in addition to his regular food. I also bought kaytee just in case he didn't like the harrisons but he seems fine with it. I know 8 grams is a lot but he actually needs to put on about 20 more. He was really thin when he came to me, with almost no fat on his keel.

Does anyone have experience raising eclectus babies? Does handfeeding need to be different with them such as blended fruit mixed with the formula? Do I still need to worry about over supplementation when he's this thin and young?
I feed my ekkies fresh fruit, cooked veggies, boiled chicken, baked fish, scrambled eggs, and my homemade ekkie muffins.
 

Love My Zons

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He's a pretty little baby! I am sure in no time, he will fill in nicely. You will get great advice here with the wonderful Ekkie owners.
 

Leanna

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Milo has been getting a bowl of fresh fruit and veggies everyday. He does eat some of it but he's taking to the formula much more. At first, I thought he wouldn't but it turned out to just be the spoon that was turning him off, once I switched to the syringe he was interested. While I know what to feed a weaned ekkie I'm somewhat confused on what to feed an unweaned one. Everything I've read just says hand rearing formula. But all hand rearing formula is grain based not fruit and vegetable based. If that's not what the adults are supposed to be eating I'm confused as to how that can be what the babies need.

For now, I'll stick to what I'm doing as it seems working. Milo is doing much better on it. Aside from his weight gain, he's been more active and less stressed. He even whistled back at his caique siblings today.

@EckkieLu Thanks, I'll have to try that recipe. I've never given eggs scrambled, only hard boiled.
 

EkkieLu

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Sergei would eat scrambled eggs at every meal if I let him!
 
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