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Hungry noises, but not hungry?

Xoetix

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Hi y’all!
My (still nameless) little poop machine today is making noises like he’s hungry (the aaaaaah!aaaaaah! noise) but he’s already eaten, and isn’t interested in more, once it’s offered.
What else does this noise mean? He’s on my shoulder and I’m talking/whistling to him, so it can’t be lack of attention.
 

macawpower58

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Tell us a bit more. Age? What is the feeding schedule now? Weaning, and if so how is it going?
Baby begging can be for many reasons, hunger is not the only one.
Once we know a bit more, you'll get some responses and advice.
 

Xoetix

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Tell us a bit more. Age? What is the feeding schedule now? Weaning, and if so how is it going?
Baby begging can be for many reasons, hunger is not the only one.
Once we know a bit more, you'll get some responses and advice.
He’s about 7-9 weeks, eating formula 2-3 times daily, he’ll nibble at food but still seems to prefer the mix. He’ll nibble at some veggies, especially if I’m eating it too.
 

macawpower58

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@Zara, @Laurie
I've tagged a couple of members that I know can give you some advice on your cockatiel.
 

Zara

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making noises like he’s hungry (the aaaaaah!aaaaaah! noise) but he’s already eaten, and isn’t interested in more, once it’s offered.
I have read that is a cockatiel thing to do - begging for food even though they have eaten and don´t want more food.

Crying like that can be a sign of infection, malnutrition or lack of sleep.

Sorry I don´t have a better answer.
 

Xoetix

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Crying like that can be a sign of infection, malnutrition or lack of sleep.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, I guess), those wouldn’t make much sense - he’s eating well on the Kaytee Exact formula and gaining weight appropriately, he sleeps a good amount of time (generally 12 hours/night), and has no signs of infection (I’m a vet tech, I promise I’m not just pulling that out of my butt).
 

sunnysmom

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Static noises usually is a sign of a hungry baby or sometimes they just want comfort feedings. I don't have baby tiel experience but this is a good resource: www.ask-noodles.com
 

macawpower58

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I think your right on time for weaning.
I'd slow down some on the formula, perhaps just a small bit to take the hunger edge off, and then try and offer some interesting chopped up veggies, fruit, nuts, pellets, or whatever you're adult diet will be.
Eat some with him, help him to investigate the new foods.
I've not weaned a cockatiel, but googling does say 6-8 weeks is their weaning age. I know some can take longer.


@melissasparrots
 

melissasparrots

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Cockatiels are criers. But many other species will do the same thing during weaning. At the age you listed, he's probably in the weaning process and may or may not be ready to wean completely. I think sometimes they cry if they are a little insecure. Also, the loudest mouth get's fed first, so it may be a survival thing. In his mind, he may default into cry mode when in doubt about what to do.
Is he flying yet? Weaning usually kicks off in a major way a few days or a week or so after they start flying. Before flying, they want to loose weight and may cry intermittently and then only take a little bit of food. I usually continue to at least offer a little bit of food after they start refusing a meal or only eating a little bit. Weaning babies are very on again/off again about food. Sometimes, its good to just let them out to fly around and then after they've had their flight practice, they will be ready to eat a little bit.
It also helps to just freshen the food. You don't necessarily have to prepare a grand meal, just add a little more seed, a little more pellets or a little more veggies to the bowl to get him interested in trying to eat on his own. If I have a baby that cries, and then only wants a minuscule amount of food, I will either freshen the adult food or give some soft veggies to eat. A cockatiel may or may not be interested in cooked soft sweet potato with beans and rice which is what I give all my amazon, quaker and parrotlet babies as a comfort food. If I had a cockatiel, I'd probably try putting some fresh sprouted seeds in his bowl in order to direct that feeding impulse into appropriate adult foraging behavior. It also helps to give a partial hand-feeding meal (whatever they will eat without persuasion) and then put them in their cage with some fresh food and walk away so you are out of sight. If there is no mommy to cry at, but a bunch of interesting adult foods to investigate, they will often start eating their grown up food. Especially if they've had a couple cc's of formula and the edge of hunger is off so they feel a little more confident to investigate other things rather than sit and cry.
 

Xoetix

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I’ve tried a few different veggies, even eating them as well to see if he’ll give it a shot - no dice. I’ll try putting him up and leaving the room to see if he’ll start really eating adult food. So far, he’ll nibble at it, but still prefers formula.
 

melissasparrots

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The trick is to feed a little bit of formula and then leave. So he's not super hungry. For a cockatiel, it might just be a couple of cc's or less if he's determined not to eat. If I was trying to wean cockatiels onto a healthy diet and knowing that they are picky about eating veggies, I'd be pushing the home grown sprouted seeds. I usually get a seed mix from chinaprairie.com specifically for sprouting. All my birds except the macaw go crazy over it. It can be a challenge to get a cockatiel to eat any soft/wet food but they do often like sprouts. I'd give him free choice of whatever seed/pellet combo you want to wean him to and then add some veggies and sprouts. That way you aren't holding back weaning by insisting he eat something he doesn't want. But, he's still getting exposure to veggies.
 
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