Feeding changes

[QuakerCraz]

So my little JoJo has started nibbling on solid food. I've been giving them millet spray bits, plain cheerios, sweet potato baby puffs(recommended by another bird keeper that has used them successfully for weaning birds) and frozen mixed veggies(peas, corn, carrots and green beans) that is defrosted and warmed with hot water from the tap. I'm going to start giving moistened pellets(going to go with Zupreem Naturals as I feel it's a good middle of the road choice).

Now my question is about formula. I know things will start to change as JoJo learns to eat more on their own but I want to get more of an idea of what to expect as far as feeding changes go. Right now they get 3 feedings a day, each with 2 tsps of dry formula(averages about 13-14 cc according to the syringe, they eat about 7-10cc of it depending on what time of day it is). JoJo is quite active and getting more vocal. I love watching them play with a cheerio or figuring out what a vegetable is.

From your experiences, what did you find were the changes in your baby's eating habits once they began eating on their own? This way I can get a general idea of what to expect to happen with my little guy. I do understand not all experiences will be the same and will differ greatly between both same species and different species. This is just so I can get a general idea of what COULD be so I can be prepared and not be confused or worried.

 

[melissasparrots]

I didn't notice much in the line of change in feeding habits when the babies started eating adult food. The changes I saw in baby quakers happened long before. Usually when they were about 35 days old. They would become picky and "mouth" their food more. Roll it around in their mouth and let it dribble down their front. They didn't want as much food and there was a lot more start and stop to syringe feeding. As little babies, I could feed 2-5cc all in one shot. At about 4-5 weeks old, they would just let that stream down their cheeks and feathers as it dribbled out their mouth if I didn't stop. And even if I did try to slow it down, they were still very messy eaters. I usually just fed less. If they were being picky, obviously they weren't that hungry. I'd stop that feeding short and put them in front of a bowl of adult food. The next scheduled feeding may or may not go any better. Then suddenly, they'd hit a certain point of being ravenous and slurping down 12-14cc like they were desperate. In short their feeding response went from "I couldn't care less" to "OMG, feed me I'm starving." Once they start actually eating (not just crumbling) adult food, you can make a decision to try to eliminate a formula feeding. If you eliminate a feeding and they are suddenly acting very babyish and desperate, or their weight drops more than just a little and doesn't stabilize after a day or two, then you need to add that feeding back.

 

[QuakerCraz]

JoJo is about 6 weeks old or so now and almost fully feathered. The first week home they would act like they haven't been fed all day then now they are less energetic about eating. Still very active, vocal and nibbling at veggies and the crunchy stuff like they should be. Even flapping more often. Getting more and more curious about things and more willing to nibble at things I offer. They're starting to eat less per formula feeding so maybe that's them being picky. JoJo already didn't eat much in the morning, maybe about half or so as much as the second and third feedings. I'm going to get them pelleted food and start giving them some of that with a bit of water to soften it so it's not so intimidating. I'll see what happens in the next few days once I add the pelleted food and see what to do from there.

 

[QuakerCraz]

JoJo is getting flight feathers, or at least I'm pretty sure they are flight feathers. They are about an inch or so long and there's two of them on the very ends of both wings. Could I take away the morning formula feeding and see how things go based off this? I'm not exactly sure what if anything, JoJo is eating as far as the adult food I've been giving. I'll check during the day today to see what, if anything, they are eating and if I can actually tell what's in their crop besides formula. But JoJo is definitely nibbling a lot more and seems to really like the baby puff things since I see quite a few with chewed spots on them. Maybe I could try making some plain oatmeal that's not too mushy and put some apple sauce in it and see what they thing of that. I have applesauce pouches that has other fruit in it and that's all it is is the fruit, nothing else added. I've been offering a dish of veggies with a bit of water in it but they poop in it more than they seem to want to dig in it.

 

[melissasparrots]

How old is JoJo now? As a general rule, they will tell you when its time to take away a feeding because they will not be interested in food when you offer it for several days in a row. Or, they might only want a little bit. If he cries or acts hungry in the morning, then he probably isn't ready to reduce the number of feedings yet.

 

[QuakerCraz]

I'm thinking about 6 or so weeks. Tonight JoJo actually pretty much ignored their evening feeding and decided they wanted to climb all over me and fly instead. I just introduced them to a small temporary cage where they will stay to get used to being in one so they can learn to climb and perch and find their food so when I get the big cage, they can adjust to it easier. They are taking less formula than usual for their morning feeding and have for a few days now. Normally it's about half or so of a full syringe(between 13cc and a little over 14cc depending on how much I put in and how much comes back out when I get the air out). I keep food in with them all the time. Moistened and dry pellets, the baby puffs(sweet potato flavor), mixed veggies(will be getting another variety to give more options), and now I'm offering some softened but not slop plain old fashioned oatmeal. I might add a bit of apple sauce to it to introduce a bit of fruit but the oatmeal will be a once a day offer. Maybe in the morning.

 

[melissasparrots]

Before just eliminating a meal, try doing half a feeding or maybe just 5cc and then put JoJo immediately back in the cage with some fresh veggies. I always do sweet potato mixed with boiled until soft rice, quinoa and beans. Maybe a SMALL amount of banana mashed in as well. Its a thick paste and can be fed at hand-feeding temp. If I have time, I'll let the babies out to fly for 5-15 minutes while I'm mixing up formula, then if I'm thinking about skipping a feeding soon, I'll give about 1/2 or 1/3 of the usual amount and put the baby back in the cage with its very tempting soft mushy sweet potato mix. And then I walk away so the baby can't stare at me and cry for formula. If I notice that the chick is redirecting its attention to the sweet potato and bean/grain mix and eating enough that it isn't crying for formula 2 hours later, then I might start thinking about skipping a feeding. If I notice after a few days of this that it has lost more than very few grams of weight, or lost and hasn't leveled off, or it's back to crying less than 4 hours later, then it isn't ready to skip the feeding.

 

[QuakerCraz]

I made a quinoa medley thing and offered a couple dishes of that. It's quinoa, mixed veggies and a bit of plain oatmeal. I saw JoJo nibbling on it a while ago. I used an external feeder/waterer thingy that attaches to the outside of the cage usually and is held by the wires as a small food dish to put up at the very top perch so there's something up there for JoJo to get to. I put some off the medley in that.

I really weary about taking away a formula feeding right now. I'm not seeing JoJo move to the bottom of their temp cage much where all the food and the water dish is so I don't know if they are actually eating anything. I'll add various dishes off food but none of seem to be touched. Before JoJo was nibbling on pretty much everything I offered but now that they are in a proper cage, they aren't doing that as much. However, I did feed them their formula in the cage and they accepted it fine. Maybe I could include some of their formula into a bit of quinoa with maybe some pellets and leave a small dish of that?

 

[melissasparrots]

I would sometimes transition babies slowly to their cage. In the cage for 12 hours during the day and in the brooder for 12 hours at night. Also, my weaning cages were short. I had feeder stations scattered all over the place, but they still did not have far to go to get to food. Most of them started out eating from the floor bowls. But, the cage as a whole was only about 16 inches tall or less inside. Ideally, put food in the bowl holders that come with the cage, at the end of each perch and one on the floor of the cage as well. Make it so they can't get away from food. At 6 weeks, he's really in a transition stage. He might not be eating much now, but things could progress quickly from here on out. Most of my baby quakers weaned somewhere between 8.5 and 10 weeks. Between 6 and 8 weeks they would go from barely touching food, to really starting to eat it and progressing through self weaning. Be ready to just go with whatever his behavior is that day. Also, piles of food to sort though. Lots of variety and be willing to waste 99% of it right now. Offer fresh or cooked food twice a day. In between fresh feedings, give pellets with a few seeds in all bowls. Always put something new in their bowls after a hand-feeding. It really doesn't matter what it is so long as its new. It will make them want to continue foraging. You will be dumping out a lot of waste.

 

[QuakerCraz]

I've noticed the waste. Most of what I give gets tossed. But I try to change things up and offer a different mix of things. Now that I have quinoa and I also have a sweet potato, I can make other mixes. JoJo is like going through these flip flops of not very interested in formula to 'holy crap food' like they did for the final feeding for tonight. Could not get to the food fast enough and leaped at the front of the cage. I think right now JoJo is nibbling at the medley or at least trying to figure out what it is. Or just being a silly. JoJo is flying now so I can't really do a transition thing since what I had them in was a glass tank. Maybe I need another dish to make another variety mix. I'll have to come up with other ways to mix what I have up. Maybe I can do something clever like string up some cheerios. I have pellets with a few millet bits along with a bit of water in the dishes the cage came with. I'll see what clever mixes I can come up with. Maybe I can find some freeze dried stuff. Maybe get some freeze dried fruits I can attach to the side of the cage like little chews.

 

[melissasparrots]

Rather than buying freeze dried fruits, go to the grocery store and get actual fruits. Berries are good. I often do the lazy version and get a bag of frozen (no sugar added). berries. The favorite seems to be the "cherry berry blend" that has raspberries, blueberries and blackberries with cherries. The bird will make a mess, but they are in it for the experience right now anyway. Check ingredients, make sure its just the fruit. You can help my cutting the berries into smaller pieces. Shallow wide bowls that the birds can step into and wade around in seem to be best.

 

[QuakerCraz]

I was thinking about frozen fruits. Berries even. Might consider that next time. Will still try some freeze dried stuff since I can find some small bags of fruits and whatnot at the dollar store that's just the fruit or veggie and nothing else(I looked before as I was looking for something to give to Sweetie to try). I'll take a look next time I go to the store and see what I can find.

 

[melissasparrots]

Check that the dried fruits and veggies don't also contain sulfates, sulfites or other chemical preservative. A lot of them do. Also, over the long haul, there is a strong benefit to actual fresh or recently cooked food. Feeding only dry food stresses out the kidneys. One of the reasons I feed cherries is that it's good for kidneys and I have an old amazon with kidney issues. I also try to keep plenty of moisture in his diet. Most of the time, about half of my bird's food is wet. Sprouted seeds, fresh or cooked veggies, cooked beans and grains etc. Way better for the bird than anything you can buy that might be labeled as a "treat." Also, quakers are prone to fatty liver disease which comes from feeding a lot of seeds or just too much fat in comparison to protein. Quakers are one species that tends to do well on pellets, but they do benefit from plenty of added fresh foods to counter all the dry. I'd recommend only a moderate amount of seed now and push the pellets and fresh or cooked foods. Seeds are fairly high in fat and tend to unbalance the protein. He needs to know what seeds are and they can always be a part of his diet. But, dry seed should be a small amount of his total diet. Exceptions to seeds would be a really well thought out sprouted seed mix. Not like you buy from the grocery store. But one that has several different types of seeds and legumes in it. You usually have to buy online from a specialty bird store. Maybe the people on the food and treats board can fill you in more about sprouts if you decide to go that way.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

I think there are plenty of people here who order from China Prairie Products... here's the website ( USA)

Avian FRESH Diet™ Parrot Food: China Prairie Products

www.chinaprairie.com

 

[QuakerCraz]

I've been working on a sprout mix that I think would be good. I'm going to limit JoJo's seed intake to a very small amount, maybe a little bit a couple times a week as a bit of a side dish so to speak. I'm already very aware of the sulfates and check every package for any of that if I think it would be good to give as a munchie for JoJo. If it has sulfides in it, it's a nope. I'm careful about that. I've done a lot of research as far as food goes and I'm aware of Quakers being prone to fatty liver. I'm just a bit confused as to what to do with a weaning baby. Never done this before so I'm just trying to get things figured out. JoJo seems to have taken a liking to the quinoa though. This morning I mixed veggies, pellets, and oatmeal in it and after about half a syringe of formula they dove right into the mix and have been picking it apart and seems to actually be eating quite a bit of it. Though it seems broccoli and green beans are tossables and I watched JoJo pick up the bits and just drop them to the cage floor. Same with carrot it seems. They're nibbling on everything else, even the pellets. So I guess this is a good sign they are getting the hang of things.

 

[melissasparrots]

Its normal for birds to have preferences. Broccoli is usually not a favorite in my house. But, I still offer it a few times a month and periodically I'll throw some into the food processor along with a kale leaf and then mix a small bit of it in with sweet potato and most of them will eat it that way. Sometimes if they don't like it raw, they'll like it cooked. Right now, feed a mix of raw and cooked foods so that going forward you don't have a bird that only wants soft food for veggies. Feed a little bit of everything you might want him to eat later. Things like dry seeds that are good but in small quantities should be also given in small amounts. Enough so he knows what they are and knows how to crack seeds, but not so much that he can eat them and skip pellets entirely.

 

[QuakerCraz]

I can make a birdie bread with things he doesn't particularly like and offer that a couple times a week. I don't have a lot of stuff I can offer and I have to be light on what I get since I do have to watch money. I could find a small bag of good bird food that's a seed mix to offer a small amount of. I do offer millet bits and he has nibbled on that and was trying to figure out and I do have a few bits in with him but I don;t think he's realized there's food in the one dish the cage came with yet. I'll see about getting some greens since I haven't tried any of those yet. ANything he doesn't particularly like I can put into a birdie bread.

 

[QuakerCraz]

Trying a new mix today. Mixed berries(strawberry, blueberry, raspberry and blackberry) with quinoa and a bit of plain oatmeal. Tomorrow I will try taking the morning formula feeding away as JoJo barely eats any of it but eats like a hog the afternoon and evening feedings. I'll replace the morning feeding with something else like a sweet potato mash, berry quinoa mix or some sort of oatmeal mix(or a mix of those every morning to keep things switched up). I may also make a mix where it has a small amount of formula in with the quinoa. I still haven't seen JoJo come down to find food at all as the dishes I leave down at the bottom are untouched. Maybe I should leave only food at the bottom now and take away the small feeder I've been giving them near the top perch to get them used to solid food. So far, JoJo seems to be figuring out solid food quite well and is taking to the various mixes I make.

 

[melissasparrots]

Babies are not smart enough to go in search of food. Make sure you have food everywhere. Especially where he hangs out the most.

 

[QuakerCraz]

I was beginning to think the feeder by the top perch, where JoJo is usually, wasn't a good idea but I feel better about it now. It's not a big dish but it's enough to last the few hours between feedings and there's usually some left in it when it time for the next formula feed. I'm attempting on teaching him that he'll have to come down to find food and so far he's starting to get the idea as he does climb down when it's formula time. But I have to chase him with the syringe back up the perches after a little bit to give him the rest of whatever he wants to eat. But he's starting to get the idea that he's got to come down for food and water. I'm making sure the solid foods I give him has as high a water content I can get without turning everything into slop so he stays hydrated