Weaning

[TeenyCalla]

Hi everyone

My black winged Jardine baby is 6 weeks old and is showing signs of wanting to eat other foods (I say this because s/he uses their beak the way they do when they eat seed… hope that makes sense.)

My question is, when can I start introducing other foods to baby’s diet. I would obviously still mash the food (example I would cook and mash sweet potatoe and hand feed).

Thank you

 

[TeenyCalla]

Hi everyone

My black winged Jardine baby is 6 weeks old and is showing signs of wanting to eat other foods (I say this because s/he uses their beak the way they do when they eat seed… hope that makes sense.)

My question is, when can I start introducing other foods to baby’s diet. I would obviously still mash the food (example I would cook and mash sweet potatoe and hand feed).

Thank you

Need to add: when do I start offering a bowl of water?
I put baby into a low level warm bath in basin to remove caked poop and he went to drink the water twice. Successfully

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Hi everyone

My black winged Jardine baby is 6 weeks old and is showing signs of wanting to eat other foods (I say this because s/he uses their beak the way they do when they eat seed… hope that makes sense.)

My question is, when can I start introducing other foods to baby’s diet. I would obviously still mash the food (example I would cook and mash sweet potatoe and hand feed).

Thank you

Your baby is absolutely adorable! Keeping in mind that parent birds regurgitate whatever they eat to feed their babies, any food that you would feed to an adult would eat is fine to mash or chop and feed to your baby. At this age it's fine to offer him other foods to learn to feed himself but don't start to reduce hand feedings until his feathers are almost all grown in and he's making serious efforts to fly. Until then he needs all the nutrition that hand feeding formula provides. When he's almost "adult sized", his growth rate will slow dramatically and he will begin rejecting hand feedings, and by the time he's flying well he should be mostly feeding himself. If you have a gram scale, weigh him at the same time, preferably before his morning feeding, every two or three days until he's weaned. It's normal for fledglings to lose a small amount of weight but it should stabilize in the range that's normal for adults of his species. Consult with your avian vet if you have any concerns.
Handfeeding a baby parrot can be nerve racking and dangerous if you aren't very careful but it's an amazing experience when successful. I hand fed my budgie Rocky from hatching and I enjoyed it so much. The next few weeks will be fun while you watch your baby explore his new world and gain his independence. Don't force wean him- let him wean at his own rate. Offer him a wide variety of nutritious foods because now is the time to start getting him accustomed to a varied diet. I never used a syringe when hand feeding- I used a tiny spoon from day one- and I mixed very small pellets into Rocky's formula during the last couple weeks of hand feeding so she would get accustomed to their flavor and texture, and at eight months old, these pellets are still an important part of her daily diet. The bedtime feeding will likely be the last one to drop. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[TeenyCalla]

Your baby is absolutely adorable! Keeping in mind that parent birds regurgitate whatever they eat to feed their babies, any food that you would feed to an adult would eat is fine to mash or chop and feed to your baby. At this age it's fine to offer him other foods to learn to feed himself but don't start to reduce hand feedings until his feathers are almost all grown in and he's making serious efforts to fly. Until then he needs all the nutrition that hand feeding formula provides. When he's almost "adult sized", his growth rate will slow dramatically and he will begin rejecting hand feedings, and by the time he's flying well he should be mostly feeding himself. If you have a gram scale, weigh him at the same time, preferably before his morning feeding, every two or three days until he's weaned. It's normal for fledglings to lose a small amount of weight but it should stabilize in the range that's normal for adults of his species. Consult with your avian vet if you have any concerns.
Handfeeding a baby parrot can be nerve racking and dangerous if you aren't very careful but it's an amazing experience when successful. I hand fed my budgie Rocky from hatching and I enjoyed it so much. The next few weeks will be fun while you watch your baby explore his new world and gain his independence. Don't force wean him- let him wean at his own rate. Offer him a wide variety of nutritious foods because now is the time to start getting him accustomed to a varied diet. I never used a syringe when hand feeding- I used a tiny spoon from day one- and I mixed very small pellets into Rocky's formula during the last couple weeks of hand feeding so she would get accustomed to their flavor and texture, and at eight months old, these pellets are still an important part of her daily diet. The bedtime feeding will likely be the last one to drop. Good luck and keep us posted!

Thank you for this awesome reply. I appreciate it so much!