[Help] new eclectus baby

[eclectus]

hi all,
a few things I need help/advice on:
Got Ingrid (8 weeks baby) 3 weeks ago and have been hand feed since. This week, she started to refuse feed, but she only eats very little/slowly on her own, she is not maintaining her weight.

1) what can I do to get her to eat more. she seems like seeds, but i don't want to wean on her seeds. I tried strawberry, cucumber,peas, capsicum, kiwi fruit, broccoli, corn, carrot, mango, watermelon, banana, grapes, passionfruit and Pomegranate, brown rice and quinoa. not much luck on most above!

2) she becomes very dependent on me, wouldn't stay in her cage, always want to sit next to me, when i leave on in the cage at night to sleep, she tries to get out.

I am not sure if it's relevant, she starts to fly in the last couple of days, still learning landing,and she always wants to step up on me...

 

[labell]

Have you ever hand fed before? How many feedings is she on currently? 11 weeks is much too early to be completely weaning. If she is not maintaining weight then she needs to see a vet ASAP. Have you talked to the breeder you got her from, where are you located?
Eclectus babies can be very needy, it is important that you spend lots of quality time with her.
We are going to need more info to help so please fill in more details about her and the situation.

 

[eclectus]

I don't have any experience hand feed the baby. The breeder I dealt with was very keen to sell her at 8 weeks even after I try to get him to wean the baby. But I quite like her when I saw her, so I decided to take her home with me.
The breeder told me she was on 2 feeds, I did see her nibble on some vegi when I was at the breeder's place. After I took her home, I realised she wasn't really eating the vegi, prob just trying/playing. so I kept feeding her twice, 7AM and 6PM. But I did try to give her fruit & vegi, which she started to eat the 2nd week I got her, the best she did was having half strawberry on her own. Her weight was around 360-370 in the morning, to 390-400 after each feed. It was all fine for the 9th & 10th weeks.
but start from this week(11th week), she refused to be spoon fed, push the spoon out with beak/tongue. VERY fussy with fruit & vegi & she started to fly around in the house. she trys peas, pom a bit, then refused to eat them again.
I managed to use syringe to feed her around 15-20ml last 2 days, still twice daily, she is eating fine with syringe, but she hasn't been eating on her at all during the day.
now she only weights about 320g in the morning and 340 after feeds. she loves flying around in the house, still learning landing and windows/glass etc.
My concern is she is not eating enough, as evidenced by the weight loss. also, I do spend hours playing with her, she used to be fine playing around by herself out of the cage. but last 2 days, she became SO needy, she has to be sitting next to me or on my arm/shoulder, otherwise, she starts to get upset. it is so hard to get her back to the cage at night time, I put her in the smaller cage and put her in the bedroom with me so she can see me, that helps a bit. But I am not sure why/how the behavioural change all of the sudden.

The only solid food she is still interested was seed, but i haven't been given her much, not sure if I should give her during the day so she won't be hungry, but don't want her to wean on seed either...

 

[labell]

Gotta say I am HIGHLY upset by the actions of the breeder in this case. Eclectus are one of the hardest parrots to hand feed, not kidding, I know this because I have hand fed just about every species of parrot! To hand her over at 8 weeks to a person with no experience is so beyond irresponsible it's hard for me to wrap my mind around someone caring so little for a baby they are supposed to be responsible for! Everything is different for a baby when they are taken away from a home and hand feeder that they know! I am not surprised at all that it took some time for her to eat well. The breeder knew this as well be assured of that and didn't care obviously, shame on them!!

Okay now that I am over my rant! Babies lose some weight as they are heading toward weaning and learning to fly. They must be a little leaner than a baby to fly around and begin foraging for food on their own. Right now it is absolutely imperative that you provide as much fresh food with a big variety as you can. Even if it feels as if you are wasting some it is important for her to have many different things to choose from. Is she eating from bowls placed on the floor of her cage or is she eating out of higher bowls?

What temp are you feeding her the formula? Are you away from home and her 8 hours per day working? Or are you home? In the morning in a pan I heat up a little organic coconut oil with some either brown rice or quinoa and add fresh veggies (lots of variety) I find mine have always preferred that warm meal in the morning, not hot and never use the microwave imo. A separate bowl with lots of cut up fruit as well.

Many times with eclectus babies giving them less formula in the morning feed now that she is trying to fly will stimulate her to eat more of her solid food then give her the full feeding at night. It is still important to keep a close eye on her weight and add back more food (formula) if she wants it and will take it.

I am going to scare you here so listen PLEASE.... baby parrots go down FAST, if you become alarmed at ANY point get her to a qualified avian vet asap or you WILL lose her! Is there one close to you that you could call and get a consult, see if you could bring her now. Here is the thing, I feel very knowledgeable about eclectus but I am not a vet and I am not looking at or feeding this baby myself so I can't say with any certainty that everything is going along as it should and frankly I am very worried for this baby at this point. It sounds as if you are trying to do the right thing by this baby and that you are attached to her so please don't think I am saying you aren't. Over the years I have just seen too many people with no experience and only good intentions kill unweaned babies.
Please keep us updated I will keep my eye on this thread, ask anything you need and please answer the questions I asked you in this post so that we can further help you with Ingrid.

 

[Scott]

There is no better advice than what has labell posted thus far!

My mom, who has extensive hand-feeding experience, purchased an unweaned Vos Eclectus from a trusted breeder. "Angel" was by far the most difficult as compared with Goffins and Timneh Greys. The moment we got her home and opened the carrier door she puffed up, darted with her beak, and was generally feisty and occasionally refused feeding. 23 years later she remains temperamental and full of character!

While your breeder's motives are may be uncertain, your dear baby has been placed in a compromised situation. Some states in the U.S. have a ban on selling very young pets, and at a minimum the breeder should have comprehensively assessed your experience. A visit with an avian vet will help determine whether any issues exist and guide you in the critically delicate skill of hand-feeding.