weaning

[funkmaster100]

I drove to N.Y a few days ago and pick up a lutino indian ringneck . the guy says the hatch date was Feb 28 2012 . he says he's on 2 feedings a day and was starting to eat corn . for the first few days i fed 3 feedings a day while leaving a bowl of zupreem pellets along with some millet spray in the cage with him . he really didn't bother the pellets because they are so hard but he loves the millet . i found a sweet potato mash mix with corn ,carrots ,broccoli , string beans , peas , cucumbers and a strawberry . i chopped the veggies and mixed with the potato then put it in ice trays to freeze . once frozen store the cubes in a freezer bag . heat a cube and serve . he's been eating this on his own for the past 3 days and he loves it . do i still need to do the hand feedings

 

[henpecked]

Hey funk, yeah he should be about weaned, you can always stretch out the hand feeding to help with taming,if necessary. The best thing to do when weaning chicks ,is to buy a small digital scale. Weigh your bird every AM before feeding . their weight should level off as they wean but a drop of much over 10% would have me supplementing with formula. Hope that help answer your question. Be sure they are drinking water on their own,sometimes they depend on the handfeeding formula for water and don't learn to drink. PS welcome to the forum,sorry but i usually hang out in the zon section.

 

[funkmaster100]

thanks for the reply . i have seen him drink from the bowl once and i give him a nice little shower after feeding where i notice him drinking . i have to order a bird scale

 

[henpecked]

Go to kitchen gadget store and get digital scale that weighs in grams.(20$) and build a simple perch that fits on it. Train your bird to step up on it first thing everyday and it will be a big help later in life when you can monitor his health by checking his weight. My bird weighs 510 grams, i can look at her and can't tell if she's lost 50 grams. This simple "trick" can save your birds life later on,because you could tell something is wrong before the symptoms appear.Make a game out of weighing him, give him a special treat when he steps on the scales. Good luck

 

[funkmaster100]

took him to the vet about 2 or 3 days ago . he was 108 grams . thanks for your input