Hand feeding for the first time, when to wean?

[ashleyace]

Hi! I am currently hand feeding a 7 week old sun conure. Going great, he's a great eater and very easy to feed, eating 12cc three times a day. He's already a character, clumsy and curious. I plan to finish out this week with the hand feedings, and start offering him some fruit, softened pellets, etc, next week.

I just wanted the opinions/advice from anyone who has weaned a sun conure before, and make sure I am on the right track. Thus is my first time hand feeding, so i'm trying to find everything I need to know!

 

[cdog]

If he is still eating formula three times a day he isn't close to weaning yet. He will let you know when he wants to drop a feeding. He will start to refuse formula and start to eat the fresh food, that's when you drop his lunch feeding and offer fresh food(you should have been offering food since he could move around). Then once you are sure he is eating lunch on his own you can offer 3cc for breakfast and 12 at night, then once he starts to refuse that drop his morning feeding too. Then once you see him eating breakfast and lunch by himself only offer 3cc of formula at dinner. Offer the 3cc for dinner for as long as he wants, soon you will see him eat dinner before you give him his 3cc, that's when you drop his dinner too. He may still beg, check his crop, but this is the only way he knows how to get your attention so he may just want to play.
Weaning takes about 2-3 weeks, you can't just drop all of his feeding at once, you have to go at his pace. He will let you know when he wants to start weaning so until that time just keep feeding him three times a day but keep a dish of fresh food in his brooder/cage at all times.

 

[ashleyace]

Thanks, that helps a lot. There is a lot of conflicting information out there.

 

[wenz2712]

Welcome to the forum

 

[greycloud]

Hi Ashley and welcome!! Your little baby is adorable! I would be remiss if I didn't point out this link to you: http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/19049-hazards-buying-unweaned-baby.html

Please read it through as a safety precaution.
Your little baby has about 3 weeks to go before weaning. Cdog gives good advice. It is iportant to remember to let baby wean him self. This is called abundance weaning. It helps to shape a baby's personality and physically develop. Force weaning can cause insecurities and behavior problems down the road so it is important to not rush this process.
The last feeding to go will be the bed time feed as baby will need that food in his crop over night to hold him till morning.
Handfeeding is very time consuming and expensive. When taking it on you must be in it for the long haul and let baby decide. I wish you much luck and hope to see this baby grow!

 

[ashleyace]

Thanks! My biggest fear is over-feeding, since Rico (newly named is a terrific eater. I am weighing him every morning, and keeping with the 12cc, feeding again not until the crop is empty. I have been looking for a chart of body weight to cc ratio, to help me with what he should be eating, but havent been able to find anything, although I know they exist. Can anyone help point me in the right direction to finding one?

 

[cdog]

When feeding them before they start to wean, they should be eating about 10-12 percent of their body weight. But some babies crops are bigger, my first clutch were full at 10 percent, but my second clutch weren't full until 15 percent(the parents over fed them while in the nest which created over sized crops). I don't go off of body weight because all birds have different sized crops, just feed until his crop is nice and full or until he starts refusing the formula, which ever comes first. Just make sure you aren't feeding him when he doesn't want to be fed, when he starts weaning he will lose a lot of weight, don't panic and try to give him more food then he wants. Babies are programmed to lose weight at the weaning stage because that's when they learn how to fly, and they can't fly when they are fat. They start refusing formula to shrink their crop, which means they will lose weight rapidly. Babies become more interested in playing and learning how to fly at the weaning stage so they lose weight, just don't force food down their throats because they will never lose weight that way and you could asperate him and kill him.

 

[ashleyace]

Thank you cdog, you've been so helpful!