She's not weaning properly and I'm really worried. ll

[Littlbird]

my little sun conure I brought home December 21st is still in a larger aquarium.
but shows no interest in foods, Millet, etc..not even to Play with.
I have a playpen I made for her .No Interest =she wants to cuddle.
it's cold here r.now in FL and she uses the heat pad side alot.
I don't have her in a cage yet because she barely wants to walk and it's not able to be incubated.
I've never weaned out a single baby but yesterday she refused her full 20 (+sometimes ccs )at 2 feedings.
Tucker is with a friend because he was a disaster when I handfed a friend's blacked capped conure. screaming non stop to the point after a week I took her back but she had been eating solids as well just was hanging onto being fed.
this one is not fully featured,almost though.
never knew her exact age.
this is my last baby andr I don't want to mess her up.
I also know the 1st foods they are introduced too stay with them the rest of their lives so I've tried millet, Zypreem n roudy bush pellets. no interest in even water? not even to play with.
today I'm going to try soft veges.
someone, anyone with advice, please help? ?
her refusing of the full syringe of formula says "SOLID FOODS" right, no. ........it says I'm coming to jump on you mommy to be cuddled til I fall asleep *truth* ,that's what she does.
I have no one here to help me.
my one friend owns a bird store,and learned what she did from me and others
and the babies wean out together.
Enclosed are a pic of her when she 1st came home.
her playpen setup.
Thanks for your time,
sincerely!

 

[Bokkapooh]

How old is she? Are you handfeeding her when she begs for it? How often does she get fed?

 

[Littlbird]

How old is she? Are you handfeeding her when she begs for it? How often does she get fed?

as I said I'm not sure of the exact age, neither was the vet on the 23rd of December he estimated 5 weeks maybe?
she is almost fully feathered.
still some bald around the neck and one small spot on the crop.
yes I handfeed her 3 times a day.
she just ate and refused the 20 CCs again and jumped on me under my robe to be cuddled and sleep.
thank you
here's a pic of her yesterday

 

[Bokkapooh]

Sorry if I asked questions that made you repeat yourself. I just wanted to clarify. Your post is a bit hard to understand.

But it Sounds like she is still pretty young to wean quite yet. I think she is going through a fledgling stage. They tend to eat very little as they learn to fly.

How do you offer her real foods?

I always offered my babies a plate with food on top. So they can dig around and walk on it. I offered pellets to veggies. And only put a handful on at a time. And then I did it again in the early evening.

Has she been back to the vet? She could also have yeast issues going on, its very common for handfed babies to have.

 

[Littlbird]

Sorry if I asked questions that made you repeat yourself. I just wanted to clarify. Your post is a bit hard to understand.

But it Sounds like she is still pretty young to wean quite yet. I think she is going through a fledgling stage. They tend to eat very little as they learn to fly.

How do you offer her real foods?

I always offered my babies a plate with food on top. So they can dig around and walk on it. I offered pellets to veggies. And only put a handful on at a time. And then I did it again in the early evening.

Has she been back to the vet? She could also have yeast issues going on, its very common for handfed babies to have.

 

[Littlbird]

View attachment 215944 View attachment 215944 She's been twice.
they said
she was healthy. has not been recently.yes all she does is flap her wings or want to be held or curl up and sleep.she likes the heat spot and also where I keep the blanket over 1/4 of the aquarium.
I've heard that about fledging. not eating as well to loose weight
before they fly. I just didn't expect it to be before she's fully feathered.
I over worry about her for the reason I've never dealt with handfeeding a single baby except for the black capped but she was eating solids and still on 3 feedings a day.
also have never had a young sun conure.
yes when I offer her food I spread it around.this morning she was playing with millet but not eating it.
I wonder if I should move her to a small cage I have? I was hoping she'd learn to perch in the playpen and she seems to be secure in the aquarium. the cage is small but much bigger than where she is now.

attached is a picture of it.

thank you for your time

 

[Diesel13]

If all she wants to do is cuddle, that's alright. She's still a very young baby and still has at least another 5 weeks till she weans.

I recomend leaving a dish of the dry food and pellets in her enclosure. Sprinkle some on the ground around the bowl as well. This may entice her to play with the food and then eventually eat it. While it's good she starts eating dry food, the most important part of her diet will be fresh food and if you start offering a variety now she'll grow up to have an awesome appetite. When weaning my nanday I would bring out some pieces of veggies and fruit that were chopped in different sizes on a small plate. This was usually done right after I fed her her afternoon feeding. You need to make eating this yummy food a bonding experience, sit with her and play and eat the food in front of her. This will entice her to try to the food since she sees you eating it.

 

[melissasparrots]

She looks pretty young to me. I'd be monitoring her weight with a gram scale. Her weight is likely going down right now. I've never weaned a conure before, however most species start seriously eating on their own shortly after their first flight. If she hasn't flown yet, I wouldn't be too worried about it. I give a very shallow bowl or paper plate with food on it. I leave food in there all day. Pellets during the work day or if I'm going to be gone a while. Then at least once a day I pile a bunch of veggies on top of the pellets. I don't just try one or two things at a time. Getting a baby used to eating an assortment of food is wasteful. They like to sort through the food in their bowl and it stimulates them to eat and try different things. Make sure to always have food near where she hangs out in her brooder. Don't clip her wings until a few weeks after she is fully weaned. Being able to fly naturally helps drive them to become independent. She should be flying within the next couple weeks or so. Then you should start noticing that food is actually being eaten.

 

[karen256]

Sometimes a small feeding can help get them more interested in trying new foods - once they've had enough to feel comforted and secure but not stuffed. You might try offering 3/4 her usual feeding, then offering her some soft warm foods like weaning pellets and soft veggies to see if she shows a bit more interest in them. But of course if she won't try and and is still acting hungry after awhile, you would still need to make sure she gets her fill of formula.
But I think suns don't fully wean til 10 weeks or older so you have awhile still. And they do lose some baby weight to start flying before they wean.