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Red Belly Weaning Trouble

HeatherD

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7/10/18
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Hi,

A bird shop that I trust, which has bred birds for a long time, is trying to wean the first red belly they have worked with. I put a deposit on the bird. It is taking a very unusually long time to start eating solid foods, to the point that the bird apparently seems a bit weak and they were concerned enough to take him to the vet.

They have a very good vet, who ran all testing (disease, cbc, chem) and it came back fine.

The bird apparently will sometimes pick up solid food and put it in his mouth, but they said that they check his crop and it's empty, and it seems that he's not actually eating any solid food. He started fledging over a month ago.

These are people who have many years of experience weaning birds successfully, including other poicephalus like capes and senegals. So, it's very puzzling. I was wondering if maybe you guys are aware of anything special for weaning a red bellied parrot, a condition that might cause this to happen, or have any advice.
 

HeatherD

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Ah okay, good to know. I knew that some birds take extra time to fully wean, but I thought they all usually start eating solid food a bit when they begin to fledge, even if there is no "nest competition" / only bird situation. That's reassuring that you think he is just a slow weaner, these people never force wean so he should probably be okay then, thanks :)
 

iamwhoiam

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@HeatherD How old is the baby? One of my red-bellied babies didn't wean until he was about 5 mos. old whereas his siblings (clutch mates and non-clutch mates) weaned when they were about 12 weeks old. As long as he is maintaining a good weight things should be OK. What are they weaning him onto? How many times a day are they feeding him? Does he have any clutch mates who he can watch while they eat on their own? What do they mean by weak? Is he lethargic, having difficulty moving around, etc?
 

HeatherD

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I'm not sure of the exact age, but pretty confident it's less than 5 months. I previously guessed April, but that could be wrong, I would have to ask. I only know that he's been fledging for about a month.
They didn't say that he exhibited any scary indications (i.e. not being able to hold onto a perch), just in general he seems pretty low energy. It could be just that he has a very calm personality, it just worried them when also considering the fact that he's not eating solid food yet. But he is successfully fledging. They didn't mention any weight issues, so I'm 90% sure he's ok there, but it's something I could double-check with them. He seemed healthy the last time I saw him, although I definitely wouldn't describe him as active or very energetic.
He's in a cage next to a lot of other birds that are being weaned, so he does see other birds eating solid food. The last I heard was that he was getting 3 feedings per day, I think they still might be giving him 3, although I could check if they've reduced to 2. They typically wean onto a fresh mix of a lot of different types of vegetables, sprouted grains, and fruit, and they also offer a high quality seed mix, almonds/walnuts, dried fruit, and pellets. Pretty sure they're not doing anything special/different for the red bellied parrot, aside from specific offerings of things that he seems to be a little interested in checking out, like the dried fruit.

That's really encouraging to hear that you had a red bellied parrot wean at 5 months. I was really worried when they said they took him to the vet, but it sounds like he might be fine. I will let them know that some red bellied parrots apparently take an extra long time to wean, and double check with them that he's weighing in ok, which I'm pretty sure he is. Thanks for the help, it is much appreciated :)
 

iamwhoiam

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I had red-bellied parrots fledge as young as 6-7 weeks of age and then be fully weaned at 12 wks. I was surprised when Sophie took flight at 7 weeks and then her younger sister, Claudé, copied her. If I remember correctly they were fully weaned at 12 weeks.
If your red-bellied parrot hatched in April, I really wouldn't be concerned that the bird is not fully weaned yet.
Good idea to check with them on his weight. I assume they are weighing him daily. My babies were weaned onto fruit, veggies, pellets, and seed mix but they also got millet and Cheerios (just a few). Millet and Cheerios are foods that are easy for the baby to eat.
Do they think the baby is a male based on appearance or did they have him DNA sexed?
 

HeatherD

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Ah ok, good to know. They listed the bird as male, but I've heard them alternately use he/she, so I'm not sure lol. I'm not particularly worried about it, and will find out by the first molt anyway I guess :laugh: I will suggest trying millet and cheerios to them. Thanks for all your help!
 
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