Handfeeding my new 2 month old eclectus parrot!

[duckncover]

I've been feeding her 3 times a day lately. Once in a while she will be fussy about a feeding and get maybe half of the formula she normally would for that feeding but it's made up for in the other 2 feedings. I've been giving her oatmeal, apple sauce, and crushed pellet mash, all with a little formula added in as a treat or the middle feeding. She still picks at her food dish regularly but I don't think she's swallowing much of it. I've been giving her millet spray and peanuts lately as well. She will actually take the shell off and chew up the nut all by herself. She's been very loud the last few days with the begging for food noise which is extremely loud. Her and the amazon parrot still get along but all she does is beg at him. Every once in a while he'll try to regurgitate but he never actually feeds her. I keep reading different things in different places about when they wean. Some said 3-4 months, others said 3-3 1/2 months, and a few even said 4-5 months. She isn't interested in fresh fruits and veggies and this worries me that if she won't take it now she may not like it later on. What can I do to get her interested. Should I try heating them up or something? I will post a picture tomorrow to show how different she looks (if any at all). She is standing more upright and loves to walk around and explore the house, before she barely moved if set down on the floor. She is starting to mumble when she's in her cage. I think she might start saying "hello" soon if I keep up on the repetition. She loves crunchy things, like pellets that break into smaller pieces she can pick up and fool around with after she breaks up the bigger ones. Just figured I'd update. Thanks everyone!

 

[Alkonost]

Aw, she sounds so sweet! The fact that she is begging and crying loudly, though, indicates to me that she is still hungry and is experiencing some distress. I would totally ignore everything you read about when is the right time to wean a bird. Anyone who is putting a timeline of when they "should" wean believes in force weaning, which is an outdated, ignorant practice that does more harm than good. Yeah, it's great for profit-based breeders who want babies in and out as fast as possible, but it can do pretty long-term nutritional, physical, and psychological damage to the bird. I strongly encourage you to learn about abundance weaning. This is an article I found through a quick search that is a good place to start: http://www.itsagreysworld.com/articles/abundant.htm and here's another good one: http://www.companionparrot.com/Abundance%20Weaning.htm

As for her not eating fruits and veggies, baby birds have to be taught how to eat a variety of foods. In the wild, parents start by offering less-digested chunks of various foods. Then, once the babies have fledged and are flying around with the parents, the parents show the babies how to forage, locate, and eat a variety of foods whole. The babies are clumsy and not very good at it at first, so the parents continue to feed the birds throughout these stages of development, until a time that the baby is fully eating on her own and no longer comes to them asking for food. You can approximate this in captivity by adding chunks of fruit and veggies to the formula or to the cooked seed/grain/legume mash I mentioned in an earlier post, and then also by offer pieces of them to her by hand. Birds are also highly observational learners, so if you want her to eat something, let her watch you eating a piece of it first. Act like it's delicious, say "yummmm!", and then offer her a piece of the same thing that you just ate. You can also do things like weaving leafy greens in her cage bars, hanging a partially peeled banana from the top of her cage, and putting chunks of veggies on a kabob toy. All foods start off as toys to babies in the wild, so it makes sense to do the same in captivity.

Can't wait to see more pictures of the cutie!

 

[duckncover]

she does it right after I feed her so I think it's also for attention and communication with my other parrot.

 

[redhen]

How much is she eating each feeding? Are you making sure that her crop is full?
The begging could just be an emotional/security thing.... She may be wanting comfort.
If she still doing that alot..its too early to wean her... let her wean herself when shes ready.

 

[NaomiSarah]

Quote:

Wonderful information, thank you for this, all parrot hand-feeders should read this!!!

 

[duckncover]

I think it's for security. She takes the formula until her crop is full and she looses interest. She seems to be quieter once she's out of the cage and on you or at least near you. She also does it when my other bird Paco starts vocalizing. I anyone wants I could get the sound on a video. She's great otherwise though. She lets me pet her head and neck and loves being on my shoulder. What age should I start potty training her? I try here and there to say a word when I see her getting ready to go but no luck yet, she must be too young. I just want that so I can let her on my shoulder without getting pooped on. (as much) She likes to crunch up crackers and millet spray and those other hanging treats. I have to go to the store and buy the stuff for that that mash you were talking about. Here is a recent picture of her.

 

[NaomiSarah]

She's looking lovely!

 

[Alkonost]

The key to training anything is consistency and contiguity. In other words, if you want to potty train her, you need to pair your cue word or phrase every time, immediately after she poops. Then it's important to reward her after, so she begins to associate the cue with the behavior with the reward. As you get to know her, and as she gets older, you will begin to anticipate when she's going to poop: some birds shake their butts, some lean back, some make a hilarious pushing noise, some just freeze--you get the idea. The point is that, when you can tell when she's about to poop, put your cue right before she actually poops. Then reward her big time. Keep doing that, then you can start to pay attention to how long her poop intervals are. Say she poops every 15 minutes. When it's been 13 or 14 minutes, you can give her the cue and see if she'll poop on cue.

As for how old she is when you can start, I don't think it would hurt to start the first phase of training this behavior now. She's clearly cogent enough to have those basic interactions!

 

[tplummer]

Looks like you have had many replies. I am currently feed a blue quaker. It was getting about 6-8 dropper fulls. These droppers are for handfeeding. It is now down to about 3-4 droppers full. The temp of the food should be 105-110. I usually keep mine closer to 105. If you have questions, please email me privately, and I would nbe glad to give you my number. Also, make sure the food is just a little runnier than pancake mix. If it is to thin, the nutrients are lessened.

Tonya