Hand feeding question

[dragonlady2]

I have had Willy (SI) since Christmas. He is 6 months old and still wants his nightly feeding, 4 to 7 cc's. If I try to not give it to him he will end up doing the Ekkie screech. Do I let him screech or keep feeding it to him? He does eat two huge bowls of fruit and veggies, plus mashed sweet potato and some millet. He has a good appetite and likes to play with his toys and is generally quiet.

 

[Pinkbirdy]

Doesnt he need some pellets and seed too [or try beans] . Maybe the fruits and vegs are not filling him up enough. He should start refusing formula.

 

[sodakat]

One of my parent fed babies begged to his mom until he was 10 months old! And she gave him a bit when he pestered her enough. He would stand right at the food dish with her as she was eating, begging. She let him beg for quite a while before she gave in. He just took a small bit of regurg to quiet down. I think it was more of reassurance/comfort that he needed and not the food since he definitely was able to eat well on his own at that age. One day, he stopped!

Now other clutches she had she stopped feeding about the time they fledged when the male took over the feeding responsibilities. He offered food for a long time, then he only fed when they begged and finally as he was weaning them, he made them beg for a long time before he would feed them. It seems to be individual according to each bird.

 

[vinnyb123]

It will not hurt to continue to hand feed your baby. It will re enforce her security and will build a positive environment. Birds in the wild will feed their your for a long time. Some birds need some reassurance and security. As long as the variety of food is given there is nothing wrong. I have heard of some members feeding their babies for years as a snack.

 

[antoinette]

It will not hurt to continue to hand feed your baby. It will re enforce her security and will build a positive environment. Birds in the wild will feed their your for a long time. Some birds need some reassurance and security. As long as the variety of food is given there is nothing wrong. I have heard of some members feeding their babies for years as a snack.

Another advantage of continuing with formula feed with a syringe, if your bird ever need medication he would be used to the syringe.

 

[antoinette]

I have had Willy (SI) since Christmas. He is 6 months old and still wants his nightly feeding, 4 to 7 cc's. If I try to not give it to him he will end up doing the Ekkie screech. Do I let him screech or keep feeding it to him? He does eat two huge bowls of fruit and veggies, plus mashed sweet potato and some millet. He has a good appetite and likes to play with his toys and is generally quiet.

IMO I would continue feeding him the formula at night. He is eating well, just asking for more. Perhaps offer him a smaller amount of formula, say 5ml at night.


Mishka is 5 years old and I still feed him formula each morning 20ml. It has lots of nutritional value in it and he absolutely loves it.

 

[CathnPoe]

I'd think of it like kids wanting a specific blanket, or dummy. They get to an age when they don't want it anymore, but otherwise it's just comforting. He's probably just a little insecure and you wouldn't want to exacerbate it by denying him the formula before he's ready.

 

[MikeyTN]

Here's the thing about hand feeding and while they eat their food. IF they have not digested their food that they've ate and mix the formula within, it is a high possibility they will get a bacterial infection. I will not feed if there is food within their crops already even if they beg.

Vinny, it varies out in the wild, sometimes the males will pester the babies away while he will try to mate again! I used to study wild birds and I used to foster them too.

 

[dragonlady2]

Here's the thing about hand feeding and while they eat their food. IF they have not digested their food that they've ate and mix the formula within, it is a high possibility they will get a bacterial infection. I will not feed if there is food within their crops already even if they beg.

Vinny, it varies out in the wild, sometimes the males will pester the babies away while he will try to mate again! I used to study wild birds and I used to foster them too.

I have been giving him the hand feeding formula all along while he has his 2nd bowl of food in his cage. Yesterday, he hadn't asked for it so I was letting him go as long as I could, but the little bugger would go back into his cage 2-3 times and sit on his boing looking at me as if to say..."okay, here I am, now feed me". When I ignored him he started with a soft screech and finally got to his loud level to make sure I was hearing him! Lol.
So now I am concerned that he may get a bacterial infection. Should I be taking his bowl of food out and waiting to give him the hand feeding? He does have about 2 teaspoons ofTOPS pellets along with an almond as well in his cage. I am pretty sure he is not hungry, I have never had a bird eat so much in a day...his bowls are macaw sized bowls as I have him in a double macaw cage.

 

[Peeker]

At times when I was feeding other babies I would offer my adult Eclectus a bit of the handfeeding formula as a treat. They all enjoy it and I just see it as a comfort thing. I figure it also keeps them willing to accept a syringe if I need to administer medication at some future date.

 

[Parrotdise]

You should be able to tell when the crop is closed off because the syringe will not go down. Feeding a bird with a closed off crop can cause infection. Some people use a spoon to hand feed but i was taught that is dangerous and syringe should be used. He is probably close to the end of his hand feeding, i think it is normal for the larger birds to hand feed longer. I can't remember for certain but i think my sister's male was around 6 months old when he stopped hand feeding. I would start offering fresh foods he might take to liking those better making weaning easier. Also, you could try adding a little bit of water to the pellets until he gets used to eating them. Just remember not leave the wet pellets in the cage too long =)

 

[dragonlady2]

I should clarify, I do not syringe feed directly into the crop. Willy opens his mouth and basically I squirt the formula into his mouth. It's like spoon feeding but not using a spoon. As well, Willy is eating all fresh greens and fruits, he just likes his "baby food" as I call it. I just wanted to ensure that it would be okay to continue with this extra feeding or did I need to stop. I'll just keep feeding him until he doesn't take it. Thanks everyone for the answers.

 

[Pedro]

Helena I haven't been around for a few months however, there is nothing wrong with giving your boy a sooky feed. He will tell when he doesn't want it anymore. I have given my eclectus a night feed of formula if they want it. One of my boys gave it up at 12 months. Have 3 young ones 6 months old will still have their formula every day. One of my breeding hens when she has chicks in the nest will feed from the spoon for me.

It has nothing to do with being insecure they just are sooky lala's. IMO if you both enjoy it then why stop.

 

[crimson]

I agree with Mikeytn, you have to be very cautious when feeding a young bird.
there is nothing wrong with feeding them formula, or him eating on his own(which is what you want him to achieve) but combining the two together to fill him up, is a recipe waiting for disaster. It is almost a certainty he will get a bacterial infection if his crop is not totally empty when you hand feed him.
what you could do is remove his food 3-4 hours before bed time, so his crop will empty, then feed him his formula. return his dish the next morning.
Having said that, when I finish hand feeding my babies, all of my birds come around for what is left over. they all love it, and it's good for them.
each one of them only get a little bit...just a ml or so, from a separate syringe.
they all wait for their turn, once fed, they fly off.

 

[Pedro]

A healthy youngster won't get crop infections if given different formulas or other foods through the day. That is a myth. I have personally found out that is untrue. In fact a healthy baby only gets crop infections due to human error or mismanagment. Or if already got the infection from it's parents.

 

[MikeyTN]

Pedro, although I do agree with you to a certain extent but it's happened to me while there's seeds within the crop and I missed it. I proceed to hand feed only to find the chick getting a sour crop after 12hr interval. When I did the crop wash is when I found the seeds mixed with the formula. After the crop wash I used apple cider vinegar then proceed to feed again several hours later. And that took care of it as the following feeding time comes around he was fine digesting properly again. I'm only speaking from experience. I'm usually more careful about not feed when there's seeds within the crop.