[Mhoshi]

Ok. So ive been posting here about my baby cockatiel Ichi and our struggels. Everything was going well with hand feeding until now. I typically feed him in the kitchen. He's in a little box for safety. Same routine every time. He's 28 days old, is keeping his weight at around 73/75 grams. His food intake fluctuates. Any feeding can be anywhere from 4cc of Exact baby formula to 8cc. He's been good until now. He's getting distracted in the kitchen, climbs out of his box and starts walking away like he wants to be elsewhere and won't take the syringe. Ive had to hold him on my chest to get him to eat and then he barely takes in 4cc of food. He makes a mess and i clean him up which he hates so I'm trying to wait until we're totally done before i clean him up.

Im afraid because everything Im reading says he should be weighing more and taking in at least 10cc of food.

He's pooping good. Active. Feathers are good. Keel bone is a little skinny but not too bad from what i can tell.

He is starting to nibble on millet and on our alfalfa grass in our play area.

We're currently in a cycle where I feed him around 930 at night when im home from work. We try again at 1am. Then around 5am or 6am, again at 1pm before I leave for work.

Im so scared of these changes. Please help!!

 

[ninfatiel]

He is beginning the weaning process. They do eat less by 4 weeks of age. As long as he is active reducing the number of CCs shouldnt be a problem

 

[Mhoshi]

He is beginning the weaning process. They do eat less by 4 weeks of age. As long as he is active reducing the number of CCs shouldnt be a problem

Thank you so much!

 

[Vickitiel]

Sounds like you are doing everything right. You're keeping a close eye on his weight which is good, making sure he doesn't rapidly start dropping grams but I think he'll be fine (also, when they fledge, they lose a bit of weight in preparation for learning to fly). He shouldn't necessarily be heavier, 'tiels come in all different shapes and sizes just like people. The healthy weight range has a lot of room to move in. He might just end up being a naturally smaller 'tiel. Keep offering him new foods to take a nibble at, sounds like his curiosity is getting the better of him. Good luck and please keep us updated!

 

[legacypgmr]

Rather than start a new thread I'll tag onto this one.

My youngster(?) won't eat.

My little girl is about 3.5 months old. Got her home about a month ago and in the first week or 2 she ate everything she had at the store; broccoli, corn, etc along with some seed and pellets. She was never that big on pellets. She'd only crunch a couple once in awhile and then ignore them.

Couple of weeks ago she started ignoring any veggies.

Recently she's been almost totally ignoring the seed as well as the pellets.

I've been giving her a little sprig of millet, about once every couple or 3 days since she got home. She LOVES millet; it's like birdie crack.

But I know she shouldn't be eating all millet and that millet should be an occasional treat, certainly not her main/only food.

But that is pretty much ALL she will eat now. This morning she'd eaten virtually none of the seeds. I can't let her starve.

Any suggestions ?

 

[Vickitiel]

legacypgmr, are you giving her the same foods that she was eating before or have you changed her diet? Have you taken her to an avian vet for a check up? Have you checked her weight? If she is not eating it's an emergency and you need to get her to a vet, something's not right with her.