weaned but technically not weaned....?

[Codyandme1]

I'm sorry if I'm repeating a thread but I can't seem to find anything that will help me with this.

Okay, well, I have a baby teil, about 6-7 weeks old now, he LOOOOVES this special mix give him.... Egg/biscuit mix with some formula mixed in with some water(so it's all sloppy) very (very) finely chopped cucumber and a little lettuce and a variety of seeds sprinkled on top.
Loves it and eats it all, sometimes I'll vary it a bit and add some sprouts or the tips of broccoli or corn or peas.
The thing is.... If I give him a dish of seeds. He'll attack it like be hasn't eaten for a month and doesn't dehusk them at all, he won't touch the veg if it's any bigger than 5mm big :O, wont touch water, and flies around nonstop!:O

Okay, so I've got a few questions....
- anyway I can teach him to 'dehusk' or something
-any other way of helping/making him eat veg
- what to do about the water
-anyway to calm him down!? :O
-and should I keep feeding formula
( because it seems like he will never ever ween )

Sorry again if I'm repeating and thanks in advance!

 

[Jazzysmama]

Did you handfeed him? Or did you get him from a breeder or pet store? I'm sorry, I don't remember seeing your original post. My birds are picky and only like their fresh foods in small pieces, but some prefer larger ones. I'm not an expert on weaning so hopefully one of our experts here will be able to help.

 

[Codyandme1]

Yes, I did

 

[Bokkapooh]

Keep feeding him formula and offer fresh foods at the same time! Most tiels are not ABUNDANCE weaned until 10-12 weeks! Please don't force.wean your baby 'tiel.

 

[GlassOnion]

I agree with Mercedez, DON'T STOP FEEDING him unless he absolutely will not take it anymore. Birds in the wild are NEVER forced to wean

 

[Codyandme1]

I will, I could not force a baby to wean, I'm really against that.

 

[andor]

I'm very confused as to why you would buy another unweaned bird so soon after losing one due to aspiration =\

Best of luck in getting this one to eat, though.

 

[Codyandme1]

I'm very confused as to why you would buy another unweaned bird so soon after losing one due to aspiration =\

Best of luck in getting this one to eat, though.

I'm talking about his brother :/

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

Why are you using egg and a biscuit mix? Aren't you using a commercial handfeeding formula? If you aren't using a formula, it is no wonder you had a problem; biscuit mix is flour and baking soda and baking powder and additives and not sufficient for a bird's nutrition. Handfeeding formula is not that difficult or expensivie to buy. Cockatiels will often pick up seeds without hulling them and swallow them whole. Sometimes they will regurgitate them and 'snap' them open, but they can digest them whole. Is he passing in tact seed in his droppings? If not, he is digesting them.

It really does not sound he is getting enough to eat if he is yelling a lot. And he is entirely too young to wean. Is he eating at all on his own? My tiel parents fed their kids up to 10 and 12 weeks before cutting them off. Even then they would relent and feed a baby who begged at bedtime; usually daddy tiel would do that.

 

[Codyandme1]

Of course I'm using a formula!
But I also prepare the platter that I posted earlier to let him explore other foods other than just having the formula in a syringe!

And he is not passing them in his poop.

He does eat on his own as he eats the platter that I prepare.

Thankyou,and sorry, as I always thought teils wean early than that.

 

[Daisy's Mom]

My little Daisy was sold to me as a unweaned baby as 7 weeks old.. When I set out to adopt a tiel, I asked for weaned tiel but unknowingly thats not what I got.. When I got her home all she did was cry 24/7 and she would not touch her seeds (same seeds she ate at the breeder). I knew something was wrong but didn't know what as I was a inexperienced owner. I called my one bird friend up and she told me Daisy was just crying because she was being a cry-baby and looking for attention.. So then I was eating oatmeal and she looked like she wanted some so I gave her some and she ate that right up. So then every morning and after work, she got oatmeal and then soon after she started eating her seeds. So maybe try offering some oatmeal.. Get the plain kind and not the flavored ones as they have too much sugar in it. Please let us know how he is.

 

[Codyandme1]

Is oatmeal like...um....porridge?

 

[Daisy's Mom]

I don't know, I never had porridge before.. But this is what I gave Daisy.. Product: Oatmeal - Old Fashioned Quaker Oats | QuakerOats.com

 

[Codyandme1]

Yup, looks quite similar to porridge,
Porridge I think is some oats mixed with milk and then warmed up to become all sloppy( or something like that) I don't eat porridge so I'm not quite sure either.

 

[melissasparrots]

I'm trying to remember way back. I believe my hand-fed 'tiels used to wean at about the 8-11 week mark. They were not force weaned. At the time(25 years ago) books would have you think they should be weaned by 6-7 weeks. I just kept feeding mine until they weren't begging for it and/or seemed uninterested. My parent fed babies were usually weaned around 7-8 weeks if memory serves.

Formula isn't intended to be mixed with other things. Personally, I'd feed formula like you normally would out of a spoon, syringe or whatever your using. Not mixed with anything else. And then keep edible food present in the cage at all times. Baby birds can be strange. They might start out really obsessing over a certain kind of food and not seem to be eating a healthy diet. A lot of my smaller species babies really hit the seed hard and only a few weeks later really get into the veggies. Personally, I'd keep him on 1-3 hand-feedings a day depending on what he wants. Then have loads of food scattered all over the cage. Mix in seed and sprouts with heaping veggies. If your really worried about him eating whole seeds, you can start him on pellets or sprouted seeds that don't need to be hulled. Cooked grains are also good. I always said if I were to get into 'tiels again I'd feed a sprout based diet anyway.

A lot of people think abundance weaning is feeding them formula as long as they want. That is a good part of it. But personally I think original intent was to offer them an abundance of food so they get used to sorting through everything which actually stimulates foraging and interest in food. Food should be everywhere he looks.

 

[Codyandme1]

Mmm....I'm just getting different numbers from every source... One said they should wean earlier, another later, the other thinks he's late to wean..... Well I guess you can't put it in a schedule.... Schedules don't work with birds sometimes...
Thankyou everyone, I'll keep you posted.

 

[featherbabies]

Please, no biscuit mix. Baby needs to be fed formula, at least twice a day. In addition, you can offer seed and millet. Finely chopped fruit and veggies are good too. You can also offer soaked pellets. Good luck!

 

[Bokkapooh]

Mmm....I'm just getting different numbers from every source... One said they should wean earlier, another later, the other thinks he's late to wean..... Well I guess you can't put it in a schedule.... Schedules don't work with birds sometimes...Thankyou everyone, I'll keep you posted.

If your baby isn't weaned then he isn't weaned. What's the rush? He'll wean and be weaned when he is ready

 

[GlassOnion]

Yep, don't put his weaning on a schedule. He'll wean when he's ready and that's how it should be no matter what anyone says (those people don't know what they're talking about)

 

[Margaret]

I agree with everybody to not rush weening! When it come time, baby will refuse formula. I hand feed only one baby tiel: my Chico. I bought her not weened and I hand-feed her by myself. At the same time, I introduced her to veggies, and she started to eat a bit. At that time, I didn't give her any sweet treats, because she was too young to take it! She stop asking for her food shortly and when I tried to give her baby formula, she started to refuse. I knew it was time.

Here is a picture of her begging for a food(I'm sorry, pic is not sharp):



And here is another picture of her made at the same time
(You can even see, that her feathers are dirty from formula):



Believe me, when she stop begging for a food, you'll know. Good luck!