"weaned" ringneck asking to be spoon fed

[Lisa83]

I bought a 12 week old ringneck parakeet last week. The breeder said he was weaned but liked to be spoon fed with the other birds. He is currently asking to be spoon fed three times a day. Thank God I've spoon fed birds before. I spoon feed him when he asks for food. I also provide him with a seed mixture, a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, and a mix of beans and veggies that the breeder said she fed him. He will play with the fruit and veggies and the bean mix. Suggestions?

 

[Laurie]

Hmmmmmm, it is always difficult to give advice on weaning baby birds. You definitely do not want to force wean them but on the other hand I have heard of people who are still offering supplemental feeding months or years after a bird should be weaned.

Those extra spoon feedings may just be for fun and a bonding experience for the birds and owners and suspect may be more for the owners rather than the birds.

If you have a scale it is best to weigh your young parrot each day before he eats anything. If he is truly ready to wean he will be maintaining weight without spoon feeding.

Is he flying, fledging and weaning typically come close together with fledging coming first. If he has not fledged then he is surely not ready to wean.

Does he beg when he sees you or when he is alone? A bird who is begging when alone in a cage is very likely hungry and in need of a feeding. Young handfed birds associate being fed with people, so if he only begs when he sees you it may be filling more of a social need then a physical need, in which case you could offer treats by hand or see if he responds to other social interactions. Again, this should be along with weighing your bird so as not to deprive him of needed food.

An occasional head bob and begging noises which are quickly abandoned may also not call for spoon feeding, but persistent begging or begging along with frantic actions is definitely the sign of a hungry bird.

If you unsure of what your birds begging means then go ahead and feed him.

When your bird indicates the time is right then you can drop the middle feeding and feed first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

Always feed him if he is hungry, every bird is different and a weaned parrot can revert when moved to a new home so a little supplemental feeding doesn't hurt

 

[JLcribber]

Your bird has "regressed". Very common. The reason being babies aren't really allowed to wean at their own pace. They are force weaned. Even if they aren't. The baby is plucked from its surroundings (and everything it knows). A lot of (extra unneeded) stress and anxiety causing it to regress.

Abundance weaning and fledging

 

[Begone]

The breeder said he was weaned but liked to be spoon fed with the other birds. He is currently asking to be spoon fed three times a day. Thank God I've spoon fed birds before

He will play with the fruit and veggies and the bean mix.

He is not weaned. Trust me. So just continue feeding him.
For me they are weaned when they stop begging for food several times/day.

 

[Rolanda]

When I brought my 'Beaks' (Mustache Parrot) home he was weaned and was fledging. He still asked (begged politely-bobbing and baby noises) to be spoon fed some. I softened some of his pellets (what he had been fed at the shop) and gave them to him warm morning and evening. I knew he was eating the pellets and seed he had in his cage, and he wasn't losing weight. I started with them watery at first and then added less and less water. Eventually he ended up eating it from a little dish while I held it. Then he stopped entirely.
I don't believe, in his case, it was all necessarily for sustenance, but some was for comfort.
If your baby is truly begging for food three times a day then feed him. When he's not in need of the food or the comfort or whatever, he will stop.

 

[Birdbabe]

He will wean when he's ready, use this as a bonding adventure.