[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!!

 

[tielfan]

He's at the age where baby cockatiels leave the nest and start learning to fly. They eat a lot less at this age, because (1) their growth has slowed down a lot and they don't need as much food, and (2) it would be harder for them to fly if they were weighed down by an overstuffed crop.

So don't try to force feed him, he'll eat what he needs. At this age my chicks DO NOT want to be restrained, so I switch to feeding them from a spoon instead of a syringe because it's less messy and gives them more control over what they're doing. I don't use the bent spoon technique where you tip the food down their throat. I put the formula on a regular spoon and hold it level so the chick has to take the initiative and eat the formula off the spoon.

In the beginning you have to sort of shove the formula on the spoon up against their beak, so they get some in their mouth and realize that it's food. It can take some time for them to figure out what they need to do, so you may need to encourage him to eat off the spoon and then switch to the syringe if he's frustrated because he can't get enough off the spoon to satisfy his hunger.

It's good that you're giving him millet spray and other foods to nibble on, because this is also the age where they start learning to feed themselves. Give him other healthy soft foods too. This is a great time to introduce seeds/grains that are soaked or lightly sprouted, healthy cooked foods, leafy vegetables, other veggies like peas and corn kernels. My chicks do really well with picking pieces off of Nutriberries too. Pellets and loose dry seeds are harder for a chick to manage than soft foods, but they'll eventually get the hang of it.

Serve everything foraging style, because eating from a deep food bowl isn't natural and chicks learn better with foods that are on the ground, in a shallow dish, or hanging up to resemble a plant. Provide a shallow dish of water that's big enough for him to stand in it and splash around, and he'll learn to drink water this way. Wild cockatiels drink by wading out into a pond.

 

[Mhoshi]

Thank you!

This page puts my mind at ease when people actually reply. Lol he's eating bits at a time age flying around the house. He seems to like the spoon but omg it's WAY messier than the syringe lol I can't seem to clean him off properly.

He's chewing on millet, figuring out broccoli. He seems to love alfalfa grass yo forage through ahe chew on.

He's 32 days old and was 70g this morning. It freaks me out that his keel bone feels skinnier than it did 2 weeks ago. But he's full of energy and calls for me in early morning when he's hungry
(he's caged in the bed with me)

Any further advice is welcome! I have a vet visit in 2 weeks to give mama a Lupron shot but i may change it and get him looked at instead. What do you think?

 

[tielfan]

When they're old enough to eat from a spoon, they clean themselves by shaking their head and flinging bits of "chick porridge" all over the walls lol. I scrub it off after the chicks are weaned.

It sounds like he's healthy, and it's good that he's letting you know when he wants food. He's smaller than average, but what really matters is that he's healthy and energetic .