New baby! please help!

Hi everyone,

recently purchased an adorable baby cag ,Sora, from a breeder that I often purchased my gccs from.

We were told Sora hatched 3-3-15. When we first got him he was eating some sprouts just fine but a friend at my usual bird shop told me that he was still too young and needed formula.

We've been feeding him formula,3 times a day, and some fresh fruits, he'll eat bananas but not apples. He also eats his sprouts sometimes but I still have to peel them for him- I leave them in his cage but it looks like he's just not interested in them.

Is this normal at this age? When I saw him around April 12, he hadn't even opened his eyes yet. So I was thinking maybe he hatched 4-3-15.

So I guess what I'm asking is...

is this normal?

How much longer should I feed him formula?

How do I ween him off the formula?

Did I make a mistake by giving him formula?

Also sometimes I swap out the formula for the RoudyBush Soak & Feed.

Ive attached a photo too =]

thanks in advance!

Holy crap! He's a baby baby!
Will the breeder take him back until weaned?!?! He can't have learned to perch yet either.

He can actually perch , he cleans, and stuff but we keep him in a small cage right now with some baby toys...(a small big bird, bird bead toys, and a birdy chew rope)

I don't know if he will but do you think he was actually hatched on 4-3?

Here's a photo of him in his little cage. He's way too small for the big cage we got him. He has more feathers on his tummy he's just pinning a bit on his crop

Precious! My only suggestion is to abundance wean him/her. Continue with the formula. That's a very young one.

OMG! I have a new baby CAG who was born on the very same day that your breeder said he was hatched. I'm sorry but that baby is nowhere near 3mths old!! This is what a 3mth old looks like that was hatched 3/3/2015 he flies, is totally weaned eating fruit and vegetables, nuts, grains pulses and a mix of seed. Definitely no formula needed.

Sorry, I should have posted this with my previous post. I was just so shocked when I saw your pics. I can't believe a breeder would do this. You need to learn quick how to do the weaning yourself as I wouldn't want that breeder anywhere need the poor thing.
From what you have said so far, you are doing a good job.

I agree about abundance weaning it's a good approach which give a baby a much less stressful start in life. Google it for instructions.
Depending on whether you intend a seed or pellet diet later on, try adding some to the formula.
Too much fruit is not good for them a bigger emphasis on vegetables is better. I would start off blending it up like baby food and try it on a spoon if not successful mix some of it in the formula so he gets a taste for it.

OMG that's a really tiny BABY! I also can't believe any breeder in this day and age would allow a bird that young to go home with someone who is not experienced at hand feeding/weaning baby parrots. We have some very experienced breeders/hand feeders on here who will hopefully see this thread and give you their expert advice on this subject.

Weaning a baby bird properly is difficult, and until you get some solid, good advice from an experienced hand feeder, please don't give him anything but the specific baby bird formula. If in doubt, contact your avian veterinarian for advice. Just like human babies, I don't think baby birds are suppose to have other foods besides the formula before a certain age, and that bird is just so young, you should probably wait until someone who knows what they're doing can gauge his/her age and give better advice.

I agree with you kiwibird. I am having trouble gauging how old it really is. As you say, it shouldn't have weaning food until a certain point. I am even doubting it is only four weeks younger than she was told. I have only hand reared a conure and cockatiels. I had a good breeder raise my new baby. He refuses to allow any of her birds to leave her until fully weaned and having taken their first flights.

Read about the abundance weaning, it looks like that's what I'm doing currently.

I alternate the food in cage between sprouts and pellets.

I also hand feed him 4 times a day at different times each day just keeping an eye on his crop and making sure he doesn't go too long with out food. I also switch between formula and the roudybush soak and feed, both in between 103-105 degrees, during those feedings.

I give him the formula with the syringe and give him the soak and feed with a spoon.

I'll try to blend in some veggies tonight and see if he'll take it.

Thank you for all the info!

Yea I was surprised by how young he was when we first got him and since it was my first grey I thought that it was normal =[

On that note I'm happy I'm a stay at home wife and this is making great practice for a baby!

I think the problem is this baby might not even be old enough to be in the weaning process. You don't want to stunt or cause problems for it.
Labell should know as her baby CAG just went through all of this and she's experienced period.

I would just be concerned to wean a baby that is so young it is still supposed to be only eating baby food. The breeder was a jerk for not giving you accurate age as that can make for an unhealthy bird.

That baby looks to be between 6 and 7 weeks old. Please keep feeding the formula though I would bump the temp up to between 105 to 108 the lowest you are going to (the 103) imo is too cool and could cause issues.

Willow my CAG was hatched on 2/2/15 she still gets a morning feeding of about 25cc's about 15cc's in the afternoon, it isn't much but it stimulates her to eat all the yummy stuff in her cage. Her night feeding is still the largest at between 35 to 40cc's. There are a lot of breeders out there that get babies weaned at 12 weeks or around there. IMO that is too young and is not abundantly weaned. A baby should never be stressed over being hungry I waste a lot of food right now but I don't care offering her lots of variety now is going to make a huge difference in what she will eat as an adult. She does eat a lot of the other foods, fruits, veggies, rice, quinoa, sprouts, pellets, small amount of seed, dried fruits and veggies and nuts.

She flies extremely well can turn in mid air, she will not be clipped so she is learning recall right now. Looking at her she seems independent but the fact is she is still a baby. Wild greys have been observed feeding their YEARLING young. Now I wouldn't let a grey push out their hand feeding to a year old after all we are supplying an abundant amount of other foods unlike in the wild where sometimes the foraging may not go well. But I strongly believe it is very important to let the bird wean at their individual pace. I really hate when people put parrots on a weaning time chart and force a baby that isn't ready this can and does cause long term issues of insecurity.

I also would not add anything to the formula, the formula should be fed as is but offer lots of other foods in her cage. Finger type foods, large and med cuts so she can play with it as well as eat it. As she gets older you can lessen the amount of formula in the feedings provided she is eating enough of the other foods provided and not losing too much weight (you should be weighing her daily on an empty crop to get each days weight). She will lose some as she begins to learn to fly. I would strongly encourage you to let her fully learn to fly and land before you consider wing clipping if you are going to.

http://www.parrotforums.com/questio...irds-fly-one-baby-step-time.html?nojs=1#links

Take a look at this post when it comes time to let your baby learn to fly.

Oh ok! Thanks! I'll leave the veggies out of the formula.

I tried to give them to him in cubes and strips and he just wont touch them.

I leave pellets and dried fruits in the cage and constantly offer fresh veggies and fruits (since I'm always home).

I did blend some of the veggies into the roudybush soak & feed and he was very happy with it. he was wiggling his wings with excitement and such.

Also before I go to bed I make sure to fill up his cups with water and pellets.

I also make sure to give him plenty of outside of the cage time and let him socialize with everyone in the house.

Thanks for the heads up about the formula temperature. Ill def bump it up and he'll probably like it a lot more.

He actually came a long way after one week. He's up and walking steadily and more active than before. He still takes baby naps which I absolutely adore watching