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Help with New Tiel Please! =D

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Anny

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Sunny (about 6 weeks old) came home only last night and is already very tame because he was always hand-fed by humans at the pet shop until he learned to eat by himself completely. That's fine and I'm happy but the only problem is that Sunny has not touched any of his food or water or millet or cuttlebone in his cage. I was feeding him millet and Cheerios this morning by hand and that was the only time he would eat anything! Why would he not eat and drink on his own? Is he just being a spoiled little brat who refused to eat unless hand-fed by mommy? :confused: Should I stop hand-feeing him so he'd be forced to eat on his own? Please advise. Thanks.
 

Birdiemarie

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Did the pet shop give you any of the food they were feeding him? The tiel experts will be along shortly to help. :)
 

Anny

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Yes. They gave me the pellets and millet which was what Sunny was eating at the pet shop all along so it's nothing new to him. So far Sunny has been pretty open to trying new foods. I just gave him some broccoli and he did give it a few nibbles...
 

J*M*L

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I don't think tiels are completely weaned at only 6 weeks. You might have to give him hand feeding formula for a while longer. I don't have any experience with that, though. Hopefully someone like Tamara or Thugluvgirl/Miriam will chime in soon.
 

Anny

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I'd be surprised if he's not exactly weaned yet as Michael at the pet shop is very experienced with birds and he makes sure all his birds are completely weaned before they are sold. He picked out Sunny for me because he seems to be the smartest and most vocal of the lot, and when I wanted to take him home last week, Michael made me wait another week because he wanted to make sure Sunny was completely weaned. Even at the pet shop, I saw Sunny eating on his own so I think it's just the change of environment....or is Sunny so incredibly smart that he knows I will keep feeding him if he doesn't eat on his own so that's why he's deliberately not eating?:confused: Bird experts please come to my rescue!!! Mommy is going insane...
 

Anny

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Sunny started eating on his own a few hours ago so I think he's fine...thank you so much for your advice. :dancing:
 

Renae

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He'll most likely be eating.. but, not while you are around. Usually that's how it goes with Cockatiels, some won't eat right away, others will dig in and go for it.

Great to hear he's eating though, you may be able to see if he'll have a try at some veggies too.
 

birdman78

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Sunny started eating on his own a few hours ago so I think he's fine...thank you so much for your advice. :dancing:
Yea, :dancing: Sometimes it takes a while for the bird to get use to the new home and get settled in. Sounds like he is on his way now. Congrats on your new fid. Tiels Rock.
 

Anne & Gang

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Listen for staticy chirping....which means he has regressed and I hate to tell you this but six weeks is way too young..way too young...blow on his dish to see if he is eating..huskies will float up if he is. at the first sign of that staticky chirping..hand feed
 

Thugluvgrl187

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Sounds to me like he is wanting a comfort feeding. He is still young at 6 weeks and changing his home might have made him feel insecure. I would find out what formula they had him on and give him some feedings. You can also try taking warm water and letting pellets soak in it until they are mushy and try giving these to him. I would also try giving him things like scrambled eggs, rice, mashed potato, mushed veggies etc so that he has something warm and soft to eat. Test them before you give them to him to make sure they are not too hot. You can also try dipping your fingers in the water and try getting him to drink it off of your fingers. It might take him a few days to get use to the household too. If you have any other questions you can pm me :)
 
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Thugluvgrl187

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I am bumping this up
 

Sharpie

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I agree with what others have said: Just because he's eating at the store doesn't mean a) he's eating enough to maintain his weight and b) the stress of moving to a new home causes many birds to regress back to needing to be hand-fed and c) budgies are barely weaned at 6 weeks, that's pretty young for a tiel to be weaned. I'd offer lots of mushy foods and soaked pellets on a spoon two or three times a day until he's eating enough on his own that he's not interested when you offer or eats only a very little of it.
 

robin's my baby

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just keep on eye on him some baby's can revert back to "baby hood" and want to be feed again if this happens rack him back to the store and tell them he's needing feedings again
 
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