Advice on weaning

[Pheonix Rising]

Hi all
my Alexandrine chick will be 7 weeks on Wednesday
he is currently on 4x 30cc feeds a day and I have started him onto pellets and f/v for the last week
he has a decent pick at them but I'm not sure how much he actually eats

The thing is as he is crop feed he has no feeding response
he dosent bob his head or even call etc when hungry
the only way I know when to feed is via looking at his crop

How do I know when he's ready for 3x feedings since I get no responce from him towards food ?

One other thing quickly also is that when I go to take him outnof his brooder or cage he moves as far away from me as possible
he will not try to bite but I can tell he Is frightened

I talk to him when walking past the brooder and also when coming to get him out
he is fine once he's out and likes to be with me
how can I combat his behaviour about thr brooder and cage ?

Cheers Jess

 

[Pheonix Rising]

Any advice please ????

 

[antoinette]

Great link below

Alexandrine

Good luck

 

[greycloud]

At 7 weeks your baby should be able to go to 3 feeds a day. Between feeds, offer him warn chopped veggies and fruits, brown rice and cooked mashed sweet potato mixed together. You can offer in a low bowl, by spoon or even your fingers. Praise him for any interest he shows. Leave him some millet in his cage to pick at. You can also offer his pellets soaked in warm apple juice and see if it sparks his interest. Birdie bread is also a favorite of babies.
If he has most of his feathers you can start to let him spend days in a cage. Keep perches low. Offer a stuffed toy to cuddle and foot toys to play with. Hope this helps.

 

[Pheonix Rising]

Thanks grey cloud
I'm doing all of the above and he is having a decent pick at things now

I feed him at 7.30am , 12pm , 6pm and 10.30pm

Which feed should I drop 1st or should I change it to a feed say about 2pm

Thanks ant going to check out the link now

 

[greycloud]

Keep the morning and evening and move the mid day to 2 pm. See how does on this.

 

[Pheonix Rising]

Thankx sooo much for your advice I'm just lost on how to proceed with this guy since it's my 1st( and only ever ) time tube feeding

Have a great day/ night whichever it may be there and take care

 

[greycloud]

I was wondering if you would be interested in trying to spoon feed your baby. This way he becomes accustomed to actually tasting food and weaning will be easier.

 

[Pheonix Rising]

I try to take 5-10 mls of the feed before tubing him and also after and just syringe it into his mouth in very small amounts at a time

He will take about 2 little mothfuls and then just spits rest out
he's doing well with his food and will take almost anything I offer him but it has to be from my hand or me standing their with him
he won't eat from the bowl if I just leave it in cage which is annoying but I guess by dropping 1 feed it should also help spark his appitite a little more

I'll be keeping a real close eye on him and monitoring his weight to so if any negative I'll bump him back up

 

[greycloud]

Sounds like you have everything under control! That's great!

 

[Pheonix Rising]

Thanks
I'm so annoyed at the breeder himself
there was no need to do this to this little boy
just his own greed

Him and the reputible breeder who recommended him to me to
grrr

I love my boy to bits and am glad I got him out of a bad situation but I really wish things could have been different