Feeding grown sun conure formula. How many mL Daily?

[BluJay]

My gold cap conure is unable to eat most foods currently. He tries his best but his beak was trimmed too short, so he is unable to eat any types of seeds or pellets and is struggling with chop. I started feeding him 10ml of Intune.

I have not hand fed in many years and the last bird I did so was with a weening lovebird: so this is major change and challenge. He is currently being offered the same foods in hope that he will learn to overcome this, but it is evident from watching him try that he can't currently.

I don't know what a full crop feels like on a conure. I am looking for a rough figure to go by as I learn. His formula is mixed 1:2

Also how often should he be fed?

Any advice would be welcomed.

Thanks,
Jay

 

[April]

@BrianB @Mockinbirdiva @melissasparrots @Zara @webchirp @Pixiebeak @Milo any ideas?

 

[Milo]

If you don’t know what a full crop feels like I wouldn’t advise doing any sort of force feeding. Voluntary feeding can be done as the bird wants it and they’ll refuse if they’re not hungry.

really advice on nutritional support snd assist feeding in adult birds should come from a vet because a lot of things can go wrong including aspiration pneumonia.

 

[BluJay]

Contacted the vet's office. Thanks..

 

[BrianB]

I would use a feeding spoon instead of a syringe in a case like this. It will take longer but you have far less danger of aspiration. As he's already weaned he would refuse the food when he's had as much as he wants and you don't have to worry about overfeeding him. There are plenty of videos on YouTube that cover the basics of spoon-feeding. It's messy but worth it. I would still offer soft foods that he can eat on his own.

 

[BluJay]

I would use a feeding spoon instead of a syringe in a case like this. It will take longer but you have far less danger of aspiration. As he's already weaned he would refuse the food when he's had as much as he wants and you don't have to worry about overfeeding him. There are plenty of videos on YouTube that cover the basics of spoon-feeding. It's messy but worth it. I would still offer soft foods that he can eat on his own.

I used to do this with my lovebirds but something traumatic regard a spoon most of happened to him before I homed him. No worries everyone, after his second feeding we are doing well. Contacted some regional avian vet offices and was able to get unofficial advice on amounts to feed and how often. We are set. I finally have a happy conure making conure clicks. Following up with vet early next week, first opening.

 

[April]

I used to do this with my lovebirds but something traumatic regard a spoon most of happened to him before I homed him. No worries everyone, after his second feeding we are doing well. Contacted some regional avian vet offices and was able to get unofficial advice on amounts to feed and how often. We are set. I finally have a happy conure making conure clicks. Following up with vet early next week, first opening.

That's great that you found out the proper amounts and that he's satisfied now good job!

 

[Pixiebeak]

Adult crops dont expand like babies do. My vet recommended for my quakers , ( 104 grams- 125 gram birds) to start small 2- 4ml. Then wotk up to the max they wanted to take at a time . The max I ever had taken was 14 ml st time. They averaged 6-12.

Your bird is larger I think . 10ml sounds ok. But you don't want to feel a full crop on adult. St least not the size crop you see in babies.

So when in doubt with adults go smaller more frequently. With my sickest it was every 2-3 hours during their normal day, stopped st night

 

[BluJay]

Tikal had his beak fully fixed at the vet office today! He kept saying, "I Love You" on the way home. The first thing he did was dive into his normal food dish and go to town. His beak is still sore so I will be keep feeding him a bit here and there. It was only a few days of feeding but he hated it, and really disliked me for doing so as well. Thanks for your help!

 

[webchirp]

Woo it’s been a long time since chya regressed but Dr. Orosz said a cheekie at 70 grams can live off of 4 ml. But again if your baby is eating some, you don’t want to overfill the crop.

 

[BluJay]

Woo it’s been a long time since chya regressed but Dr. Orosz said a cheekie at 70 grams can live off of 4 ml. But again if your baby is eating some, you don’t want to overfill the crop.

He's eating some seeds and pellets but is still vocally requesting about 4ml twice a day. I keep a log of his weight daily in the morning after he does his biz and has an empty crop. He normally is 108, but is holding steady at 106. I stop feeding when he wants to, and recently became comfortable checking his crop. He was putting down at least 15ml daily when he couldn't use his beak!

 

[webchirp]

He's eating some seeds and pellets but is still vocally requesting about 4ml twice a day. I keep a log of his weight daily in the morning after he does his biz and has an empty crop. He normally is 108, but is holding steady at 106. I stop feeding when he wants to, and recently became comfortable checking his crop. He was putting down at least 15ml daily when he couldn't use his beak!

I had Chya regress when I bought her and let her decide how much she wanted to. Although that was almost 20 years ago so I can’t remember amounts. Sounds like you are doing well.

 

[BluJay]

Update regarding the amount of formula my gold cap needs per day. It isn't 10mL three times a day. It is 10mL total a day. I wanted to make sure that no one attempts feeding their conure that much without consulting a vet. He has been holding his weight at 106-108 grams every morning since this post was created. Most of the time he takes 3ml; but if he is really hungry he can do 4.5ml.

Thanks!
Jay