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How much do you feed a 6 week baby macaw?

Itsr2r

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I was looking for that brand but it's not available for me.... I weigh him this morning before his first feeding n he's 617g... he also sleeps after his feeding..? Is that normal ?
How are you weighing? Sounds like a stupid and basic question but you did say you are new at this so establishing basics is where we are all starting. Basic questions/guidance is not meant to offend or insult you so please keep that in mind.

Best time to weigh is first thing in the morning before feeding, when the crop is empty. Put something size appropriate (that the baby can sit in) on the scale, zero the scale out then put the baby in. That will give you your most accurate weight. That’s your starting point for the day.

Keep a daily log of the weight, the amount fed and the number of feedings. If something is going wrong, you’ll start to see it in your notes first and the notes will be helpful if you need to see a veterinarian or seek help from others more experienced than you. A daily log is a simple task that just takes moments to do but can save you tons of heartache later. I think just about everyone else here will agree with this statement.

@Macawnutz gave you an excellent feeding schedule to start working with. The only thing I want to add in is that since you’ve been under feeding Aruan, he may not accept that much food at one feeding without fighting it or vomiting it back up. If he fights it, don’t force it. Make a note of how much he ate and how long it took his crop to empty about 75-80% Then feed the same amount. If he vomits, definitely stop! Make a note of how much he ate before vomiting and how long it took for the crop to empty about 75-80% then feed about 10ml/cc less than the last time (to prevent vomiting).

While you’re increasing his volume of food from what you had been feeding to what should ideally be feeding, you may end up doing an additional feeding for a day or two at most. If you stretch the crop too much, to fast it can create other problems so going a little slower in this circumstance is not a bad idea.

Another point is that the “10%” rule is not engrave in stone, it is a general guideline. Some birds do like a little less while some like a little more.

Lastly, to answer your question about sleeping. Baby birds sleep a lot, some more than others. Every bird is different though. This is something you can add to your notes. If you haven’t noticed, I’m real big on keeping track of everything.
 

Zara

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Blue's mom

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How are you weighing? Sounds like a stupid and basic question but you did say you are new at this so establishing basics is where we are all starting. Basic questions/guidance is not meant to offend or insult you so please keep that in mind.

Best time to weigh is first thing in the morning before feeding, when the crop is empty. Put something size appropriate (that the baby can sit in) on the scale, zero the scale out then put the baby in. That will give you your most accurate weight. That’s your starting point for the day.

Keep a daily log of the weight, the amount fed and the number of feedings. If something is going wrong, you’ll start to see it in your notes first and the notes will be helpful if you need to see a veterinarian or seek help from others more experienced than you. A daily log is a simple task that just takes moments to do but can save you tons of heartache later. I think just about everyone else here will agree with this statement.

@Macawnutz gave you an excellent feeding schedule to start working with. The only thing I want to add in is that since you’ve been under feeding Aruan, he may not accept that much food at one feeding without fighting it or vomiting it back up. If he fights it, don’t force it. Make a note of how much he ate and how long it took his crop to empty about 75-80% Then feed the same amount. If he vomits, definitely stop! Make a note of how much he ate before vomiting and how long it took for the crop to empty about 75-80% then feed about 10ml/cc less than the last time (to prevent vomiting).

While you’re increasing his volume of food from what you had been feeding to what should ideally be feeding, you may end up doing an additional feeding for a day or two at most. If you stretch the crop too much, to fast it can create other problems so going a little slower in this circumstance is not a bad idea.

Another point is that the “10%” rule is not engrave in stone, it is a general guideline. Some birds do like a little less while some like a little more.

Lastly, to answer your question about sleeping. Baby birds sleep a lot, some more than others. Every bird is different though. This is something you can add to your notes. If you haven’t noticed, I’m real big on keeping track of everything.
Thank you so much for the info and no I'm not offended. The more info is better. I did all of the above before weighing him. I definitely take notes... Little Blue is eating well .. sometimes he wants a little more, how much can I give him? He eats well so I'm not worried. Also I wanted to know if I can puree fruits and veggies for him and feed him instead of only the formula?
 

Itsr2r

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Little Blue is eating well .. sometimes he wants a little more, how much can I give him? He eats well so I'm not worried. Also I wanted to know if I can puree fruits and veggies for him and feed him instead of only the formula?
A pretty good rule of thumb is to not feed more than 12% of body weight per feeding. Rather, judge by how fast his crop empties. If Little Blues crop is down by 75-80% in less than 4 hours then bump up the food volume a little at a time. Be mindful of how tense the crop feels so as to not overfill it.

For now you have a very underweight baby that from what you say is otherwise doing well. I’d lean towards sticking with just the formula until you get the weight up into at least the minimum range before diluting the formula down with additives Or supplementing the formula intake. That’s my opinion and others may feel differently.
 

Blue's mom

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A pretty good rule of thumb is to not feed more than 12% of body weight per feeding. Rather, judge by how fast his crop empties. If Little Blues crop is down by 75-80% in less than 4 hours then bump up the food volume a little at a time. Be mindful of how tense the crop feels so as to not overfill it.

For now you have a very underweight baby that from what you say is otherwise doing well. I’d lean towards sticking with just the formula until you get the weight up into at least the minimum range before diluting the formula down with additives Or supplementing the formula intake. That’s my opinion and others may feel differently.
Thank you and will do :) he had his last feed at 4pm following the feeding guide provided by macawnuts.. his crop is still full n he's asleep... so I don't know I will do the 8pm feeding.... normally if he's hungry he makes noises.. so I'm gonna let him rest and feed him at 8am..
 

Macawnutz

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Thank you and will do :) he had his last feed at 4pm following the feeding guide provided by macawnuts.. his crop is still full n he's asleep... so I don't know I will do the 8pm feeding.... normally if he's hungry he makes noises.. so I'm gonna let him rest and feed him at 8am..
4pm to 8am is a really long time for him to go without food. How full is his crop?
 

chad84

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Hey,
I live in Trinidad and Tobago and have had lots of success rehabilitating Macaws and also have Macaws of my own.

Feed around 90ml every 6 hrs or about 60ml every 4hrs with a big break between morning and night to allow the crop to empty completely. No food should be in the crop by 6 am the next morning. All baby birds should be fed a Lactobacillus Bacteria in powder form as a friendly bacteria (antibacterial) and also ketoconazole or fluconazole antifungal powder; as a preventative method to sour crop.
The In Tune formula you are feeding doesn't have enough fat content for Macaws. Weight gain would not occur. If you intend to use that formula, add peanut butter to it to increase the calories and fat content. Or order Harrison's Juvenile Hand-Feeding formula online.

Need more info? Let me know.
 

Blue's mom

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Hey,
I live in Trinidad and Tobago and have had lots of success rehabilitating Macaws and also have Macaws of my own.

Feed around 90ml every 6 hrs or about 60ml every 4hrs with a big break between morning and night to allow the crop to empty completely. No food should be in the crop by 6 am the next morning. All baby birds should be fed a Lactobacillus Bacteria in powder form as a friendly bacteria (antibacterial) and also ketoconazole or fluconazole antifungal powder; as a preventative method to sour crop.
The In Tune formula you are feeding doesn't have enough fat content for Macaws. Weight gain would not occur. If you intend to use that formula, add peanut butter to it to increase the calories and fat content. Or order Harrison's Juvenile Hand-Feeding formula online.

Need more info? Let me know.
Hii so nice to meet someone from the same country :) can we mgs directly? I will definitely like to get some advice
 

Hankmacaw

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Hi @chad84 - good to hear from you. How's everything going.
 

Itsr2r

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@Blue's mom how‘s Blue doing? What’s the current weight?
 

Fia Baby

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How is Blue at this point? One easy way to increase the fat content of baby food is to add a bit of almond butter to the formula. I did this with mine, and she was a pretty happy and healthy baby. At this age I'd only add a very small amount -maybe 1/4 teaspoon.
 

Blue's mom

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How is Blue at this point? One easy way to increase the fat content of baby food is to add a bit of almond butter to the formula. I did this with mine, and she was a pretty happy and healthy baby. At this age I'd only add a very small amount -maybe 1/4 teaspoon.

He's doing good. :)
 
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