some concerns with a new baby...

[beetlebird]

More-or-less against my will I have obtained a baby Indian Ringneck. he'll be 7 weeks this coming friday. We are gonna make the best of this!

He came home Sunday (it is now Tuesday) and hasn't been eating super reliably. The breeder said he was doing 3x a day feedings, but that he'd be ready to move to 2x a day before long. I've watched countless videos and read many guides and the babies in those always act like they're starving! He does gentle head bobbing sometimes and this morning I got about 7mL of formula in him before he lost interest. He puts his head back and seems excited for a brief bit, then just kinda closes his mouth and goes "eh" at any further attempts; but then will act hungry again 40 minutes later! I don't know if it's good to feed him SMALL meals like that; as I've only seen people do their full meal all at once? Ringnecks are new to me as well so I hope I'm not just misunderstanding his body language & noises...

He's about 125 grams currently. He's had healthy poops, but I haven't seen him eat at any of his pellets yet. You can see he's interested, he'll poke them around. He did nibble some veggies yesterday but not a remarkable amount. I keep leaving him around my cockatiel hoping that he'll see her eat and go "oh that's what I do!"

This is my first experience with hand feeding so it very well could be user-error. I've read that you should ONLY feed on the left side, but then I saw another guide that said ONLY the right side and it's been making me confused. He seems to take the food comfortably on his own, as in I just pour a little at a time into his mouth and let him swallow it before giving him a bit more. As for the formula itself I use the Kaytee Exact, mixed to an applesauce-like consistency, and try to aim for about 104 °F but I do need to grab a more reliable thermometer (everyone says use a digital thermometer, does that mean the kind you would check yourself for a fever for?! I know that's a stupid question but that's what pops up when I go to search them?!)


Basically my questions are ... How can I get him to eat more reliably? Am I doing something incorrectly?

 

[beetlebird]

aside from the above concerns he seems to be doing well. A bit awkward, as I think is par for the course with babies; grips too hard and wants to climb as high as possible even if that means trying to climb my face.
A little jumpy when moving rooms, especially, but really loves sitting in the sun, so I try not to cage-bound him too much as long as I can supervise. Big on preening! Very curious and wants to nibble anything and everything.
Opens his mouth and does the littlest 'eeps' when he sees me and is very fixated with my mouth? Doesn't seem fearful and even comes up to me and steps up on his own, which is a nice thing to not have to teach.

 

[Emma&pico]

@BrianB

 

[BrianB]

Is he maintaining his weight? You should weigh him first thing in the morning before the first feeding. That will give you the most accurate weight. Use a digital kitchen thermometer like you would use to stick in a roast or something. The formula should be 104-105. At his current weight, a feeding of 10 - 12 ML each feeding is about right. If the little one is slow to eat, you might dip the tip of the syringe in water a little warmer than the formula before you touch it to the beak. The temperature difference can sometimes stimulate the feeding response. You could also try dipping your fingers in the warmer water and touching the right side of the beak before putting the syringe to the left side of his beak. Always feed into the left side of the bird's mouth. Doing it the other way can cause aspiration. Try making the formula a little thinner and see if that helps - a consistency like apple sauce is too thick.

 

[beetlebird]

Is he maintaining his weight? You should weigh him first thing in the morning before the first feeding. That will give you the most accurate weight. Use a digital kitchen thermometer like you would use to stick in a roast or something. The formula should be 104-105. At his current weight, a feeding of 10 - 12 ML each feeding is about right. If the little one is slow to eat, you might dip the tip of the syringe in water a little warmer than the formula before you touch it to the beak. The temperature difference can sometimes stimulate the feeding response. You could also try dipping your fingers in the warmer water and touching the right side of the beak before putting the syringe to the left side of his beak. Always feed into the left side of the bird's mouth. Doing it the other way can cause aspiration. Try making the formula a little thinner and see if that helps - a consistency like apple sauce is too thick.

Wow thank you for the super quick reply!

His weight seems to flux a little throughout the day but he's staying in the same range thankfully! I weigh him after his morning "bomb", and again before lunch & dinner. I've been doing the left side, thankfully! I'd just seen a guide that said the right and got a little panicky. It's about time for his "lunch" so I'll try a thinner consistency and setting the syringe in hot water for a bit before feeding; we'll see how that does. I'll report back in a bit! Appreciate the input!

 

[beetlebird]

... You could also try dipping your fingers in the warmer water and touching the right side of the beak before putting the syringe to the left side of his beak. Always feed into the left side of the bird's mouth. Doing it the other way can cause aspiration. Try making the formula a little thinner and see if that helps - a consistency like apple sauce is too thick.

This worked GREAT! The thinner consistency was a lot easier on both of us and he immediately responded to a warm syringe! Ate an entire 10mL for lunch; eager head bobbing and all! Horray! His breeder said he was on three meals a day, moving down to two, but is there any harm in giving him more? Like, if he's clearly asking for food and it's not meal time would it hurt to allow him some? Or is it one of those "gotta wait 'til dinner, bud" moments?

 

[Emma&pico]

I meant be wrong but I think you drop it when they are ready if he’s asking for it I would give as he’s in a new home too so may regress a little

 

[BrianB]

I try to keep chicks on a schedule as they age, but if their crop is empty and they are crying for food, I feed them. There is no hard rule for weaning. Some chicks will quickly, and some will drag it out. Let them set the pace and make sure you have plenty of their future diet available to them at all times. It will start with the chick taking less formula and wandering off to do something else. Sometimes, they may not want an afternoon feeding, but they will be ravenous by the evening feeding. Don't force the chick to eat if it isn't interested, and you see it is eating independently. I've had chicks that will drag it out to where they are eating plenty on their own, but still want a few ML of formula in the evening. They don't need it for nutrition, but it's a routine and comforting. Once they are entirely refusing the formula, continue to weigh them daily and observe their food intake to ensure they maintain their body weight. Weaning and flight usually happen together, so it's natural to see a quick drop in weight, and then it goes right back up. This is the bird burning off fat and replacing it with muscle. It is normal, but it can be concerning if you don't know it's coming.