Help for Baby Black Too

[Juliejet]

Hi all
Is there anyone out their that has a black cockatoo I have a few baby issues,Jet was fine when we bought him home we have had him for 5 weeks and the last week he has started the baby call crouching down fluffing feathers only with me I know that he is hungry he will only eat a little of what he likes,the only time he stops it is when he has his potato mash,rice and pumpkin at night that lasts about a hr of quietness lol,been to vet and he is healthy but could put on more weight.i have tried so much he has plenty of toys and he does play with them but still crystal a little while playing,loves nuts but he can only have about 7 a day loves sunflower seeds but he cannot have more than a teaspoon full a day I try fruit ,veg meat,chicken every day and he will eat about a tablespoon of that,we are all going crazy with the crying can anyone help pls.

Julie

 

[MikeyTN]

How old is he???? That is something babies do. Have you fed any formula for the time being since he won't eat much?

 

[Mekaisto]

Is he weaned? And what variety of cockatoo is he?

I don't understand what he's doing exactly - screaming, or food calling?

I would suggest trying him on a greater variety of food. My blacks love casuarina, pellets, corn, apple and gumnuts, but they also get eucalyptus wood to chew on, which keeps them happy. In my experience, blacks love chewing toys more than colourful or puzzle toys. They love anything they can rip apart or chew to shreds. Yucca, dried bamboo, eucalypt, other safe woods are great. If the baby is still too young however, it might not be keen to chew anything too hard yet.

Can you take a picture of your setup?

 

[Juliejet]

Hi Maria
Jet is 5 months old red tailed black cockatoo I have tried lots of food and it is the baby crying a little squark. not to keen on pellets will nibble on beans peas in pod chilly snow peas.I went and got some Cheerios ,shredded wheat today and that worked for about a hr he loved eating and chewing it he can chew hard things cause he can eat nuts in shells and loves them as well,I have all sorts of things for him to chew on branches wood cardboard toys and he does a lot of chewing ,he has a mat as well and a stand his cage has things I have made from wood and wooden beads I'm confused as to why he is doing it I know he thinks I'm his mum which I am I guess .ATM he is on his cage calling with high squark.the vet told me in the mornings to leave him in cage with his food for 2 hrs but he just cried for that 2 hrs didn't eat much at all then let him on his stand and give more food but he just went all day till I gave him his potato mash,rice ,pumpkin and that satisfied him for about a hr ,I'm feeling really helpless and am feeling for him cause I have done this myself .hope u can understand what I have tried to say.i will try and figure out how to put pics up

 

[MikeyTN]

As far as I know about Black Cockatoos is that it can take up to 9 months or more to wean them. Yours is a bit young yet so no wonder for the begging behavior. You need to get yourself some hand feeding formula and feed him cause that is what he's doing is begging to be fed.

 

[Juliejet]

Hi
thats what i thought but the vet said to try his way,as well he said not to give him food via my hand and to put it in his bowl im doing that,lets say if i give him formula wouldn't he want that forever ?and not eat solids?thanks for the replies i have read so much over the last month or so putting pic up of cage,floor and stand all the stuff on stand is from today lol floor is a few days

 

[Juliejet]

Hi
Well this is what I did I gave him his potato mash,rice,pumpkin he scoffed it down wanted more I gave him pasta in the mean time he totally chewed the wooden toy I gave him that is good,then I gave him baked pumpkin and baked potato from our dinner and he loved that too Q is I know all this isn't the best for him but he has stopped crying and is content I will still try him with the good healthy stuff as time go by is this a way of making him happy or should I still not feed him the not so health stuff and have him crying all the time till he eats the good stuff what do ppl think

 

[Mekaisto]

Unfortunately, cockatoos are famously difficult to wean.

Your setup looks fine, the more chewable items the better.

He is around the right age to be fully weaned - 120-150 days is the norm, although I have known blacks who have taken longer. If you are worried that he is not eating enough, just check his poo. He should be producing lots of healthy-looking poos every day.

You should be trying to get him to eat as many different foods as possible at this stage. I suggest giving him no sunflower seeds at all while he's being weaned, they can get a taste for them and start refusing any other foods.
Try a whole lot of different foods - passionfruit is a good one because the seeds are fun to crack. Soft foods like grapes, melon and banana are also good, and you can mush them up into a mash which he might like better. Try to introduce vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, corn on the cob and carrot as well. Try to chop up his food into little pieces, and mix it into a soaked pellet mash. The diet you plan on feeding him when he's older is your choice, but I advocate feeding pellets over seed. Pellets have the right balance of nutrients for a bird. If you do not want to feed him pellets when he is older though, try mixing bits of fruit and vegetables with his potato/pumpkin mash.

Leave chunks of food in his cage between mealtimes. They will usually be curious enough to have a nibble. Make sure you take out old or bad food of course.

Another possibility is that he is just asking for attention. Many baby parrots do not know how to ask for their parents attention other than using their baby call. When he cries, go give him a scratch or a cuddle, and try hand feeding him a bit of fruit.

 

[MomtoPercy]

Oh wow, what a beautiful bird!! I'd love to see more pics of him!

Good luck with the weaning and feeding.

 

[thekarens]

I can't see where giving him a little formula can hurt him (esp if he's underweight) It's not all that unusual for baby toos to regress when they go to their new homes.

Mekaisto has given excellent advise on how to feed your baby. Good luck and be sure to share more pics.

 

[Juliejet]

Thank you Mekaisto I have tried all the things you have suggested as for attention when I try to give it to him he cries as I'm walking up to him I talk to him pet him and I think that just reinforces the crying the pellets are always on offer I have come to the conclusion that he doesn't like fruit ATM and same for veggies he does like the chilli snow peas peas in pod I have the sprouted seeds in cage as well he will nibble a few guess that's better then nothing ,I guess I just have to keep offering different things as time goes by,just a quick Q u know the leafy part of the cauliflower and broccoli can Toos eat this and the seeds of a fresh pumpkin.again thank you for your responses

 

[Mekaisto]

Yeah, it's a fine line between consoling a bird, and reinforcing a bad behaviour.
Just keep trying, even if you need to mix the fruit/veggies up with formula, soggy pellets or mash.

Yep, those are safe for cockatoos to eat

 

[Juliejet]

Hi all
Just a update the last 2 days I have been out most of the day and my adult kids said he didn't make a sound all as soon as I walked in it started I have a cam on to check during the day and he seems to be nibbling a little not enough to survive on I let him out as soon as I got home and he still cries I'm hanging out to dinner when he will have his potato mash and stuff prob 30 grams then his nuts later on but I will put his dinner in the cage this time and see how that works out back to vet tomorrow for a weigh in lol.

 

[Jenny1]

Hi all
Is there anyone out their that has a black cockatoo I have a few baby issues,Jet was fine when we bought him home we have had him for 5 weeks and the last week he has started the baby call crouching down fluffing feathers only with me I know that he is hungry he will only eat a little of what he likes,the only time he stops it is when he has his potato mash,rice and pumpkin at night that lasts about a hr of quietness lol,been to vet and he is healthy but could put on more weight.i have tried so much he has plenty of toys and he does play with them but still crystal a little while playing,loves nuts but he can only have about 7 a day loves sunflower seeds but he cannot have more than a teaspoon full a day I try fruit ,veg meat,chicken every day and he will eat about a tablespoon of that,we are all going crazy with the crying can anyone help pls.

Julie

Hi ,

 

[Scott]

Hi ,

FYI this thread is seven years old, last response from January 2014.