Having problems with Murphy & his eating

[reggieroo]

Murphy seems to have turned into the fussiest parrot on the planet & will hardly eat his food. He just picks at it & chucks it all over the cage floor. We have tried all the foods recommended by our breeder inc Tidy mix as his main seed food along with all kinds of fruit & veg in his bowl for the morning. Then in the eve he gets tropical soak mix from Rob Harvey & various tit bits like cheese or something we are eating. We have also tried him on the cooked pulses which like everything else he will eat for a couple of days then won't eat it again. So we have gone through all different foods & just when you think you have cracked it he stops eating it!

 

Now he is kinda screaming/calling all the time which is starting to get real loud & ear piercing. He seems to be going hungry even though he has loads of food in his cage. The food he has is all the food he was brought up with & weaned on by the breeder. Every morning as soon as I take of his sheet he erupts into this screaming noise until I get him a fresh bowl of seed, even though yesterdays is still three quarters full & mostly on the floor. That settles him sometimes for a short while, sometimes not.

 

As soon as he sees me or one of us goes into the kitchen to make a cup of tea, empty the dishwasher he erupts again indicating he wants food. I look in his cage & he has plenty of food :confused: He has done this since we got him home & it was getting better, last week was a real good week & it virtually stopped & than came Saturday & it started all over again, now he's worse than ever.

[Jane08]

Just wondering if you are still feeding him the formula that he was on as an infant. I know with both of ours when we got them home that young we still continued to hand feed them once a day with the formula, even though they were weaned and eating solid food. They would also scream in the evenings for their formula until they got it. Must admit we continued with this one feeding in the evening until they were 1 and then suddenly they didn't want it at all anymore.

 

If it doesn't get any better though a health check at the vet would also be a good idea.

[reggieroo]

Hi there Jane,

 

When we got him home, the next day he was screaming for something which we didn't know what. I contacted the breeder who suggested as well as a few other people that I should give him a spoon feed in the eve of something like weetabix, porridge etc as sometimes baby parrots regress in new surrounding & owners. It so happened that we had some baby rice for our 6 month old baby daughter so we gave him some of that. I gave that for about a week & then stopped as I didn't know how long to give it for, then the screaming started again. Contacted the breeder again & was told to give him some twice a day for three days & cut it down to one in the Eve until he refuses it himself. Did that until he didn't really want it one evening, the next day we took him to my parents for the day where he was totally fine & was eating great & not crying for his spoon feed. The next day back home he was fine for a few days then started a little bit so again on the breeders advise we got him some tropical soak mix & that stopped it altogether for a couple of weeks.

 

Then on Saturday he has started the screaming again after over a week of nothing, not even the chicken scratch. I had also contacted a local avian vet the first time he was doing it as I was a little worried & wanted to make sure it was nothing to worry about. He told me his baby grey did the same & it would pass, he also said if I continue to give the spoon feed when begging/screaming I would be in danger of patterning him to beg & scream for food which I might not be able to stop.

 

As Murphy decided himself he didn't want the spoon feed anymore I thought happy days, he's on the right track & feeding himself fine but like I said Saturday he started again for some reason. Today hasn't been too bad but that could be because I have been fussing over him more than normal in a effort to get him to take food from me & eat. I read that I should give him food by hand like parent birds would in the wild, been trying that rather than go back to spoon feeding.

[Jayd]

This baby should be on 2 feedings of formula a day, REAL FORMULA!!! It can take up to 20 weeks or longer for a baby Grey to wean. He's hungry...Feeding formula stimulates them to eat other food and gives them all the nutrients they don't get in solid food, Baby rice cereal is loaded witn Iron which they shouldn't get to much of...If they don't receive the proper nourishment at this age it can cause all kinds og health problems, even death. I pray all will be ok...

Jayd

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?73409-Handfeeding-a-Baby-Grey./page4

Edited April 29, 2010 by Jayd

[danmcq]

Jay is right.

 

Also, many birds will continue wanting a spoon feeding of formula or other warm substance like infant baby food etc.

 

Some even continue wanting it for months or years.

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with giving it to them.

 

They at times ignore the spoon as you say. But other times, love it and consume it.

[Jane08]

I also agree that you should feed him the formula and also the solid food. The screaming for food is a very distinctive scream and I don't agree that it should be left in the hope that it will pass.

 

I also wouldn't worry about him becoming a begging bird if you give him the formula, I myself have never experienced this with our 2 and as I said we fed them formula until they were 1 year old. We also continued with the feeding to help with the bonding process.

 

You should have set times when you give him the formula so he knows exactly when he will receive it. I know when we did this it stopped the screaming, but if were were a few hours late in giving the feeding then they would scream for it.

[reggieroo]

I'm beginning to feel a bit stressed out with all of this, I don't know anything about hand feeding & didn't think I'd have to when considering getting a baby grey. I thought I was prepared, I read as much info as I could about CAGs but nothing about hand feeding babies. You think that when you buy a fully weaned baby parrot that you don't have to worry about weaning & hand feeding. I wish that I knew that they can take longer than 12 weeks to wean properly & I would have left him with the breeder for a lot longer. I got him at 12 weeks old & he is 19 weeks old tomorrow.

[danmcq]

It's ok. It's is not that hard to spoon feed them, it's a little messy at times as the wildy bob their head up and down, but you'll get the hang of it.

 

You can find Kaytee Exact on the shelves of your local petstore.

 

There is also a great tutorial on doing this at kaytee's website:

 

http://www.kaytee.com/pet-birds/general-care/hand-feeding.htm

[Jane08]

Don't stress about it, I can also tell you it's not hard to spoon feed. I was also a beginner when we did it. One tip I can give is if you use a teaspoon bang the sides up so they are folded up to make the spoon narrower and it is easier for them to take the food and less messy.

[reggieroo]

I have given him some spoon feeds when I first got him using baby rice but was worried about giving him too much & getting swollen crop etc as I did some reading on it & read an amateur shouldn't do it. I also found this article about abundance weaning just now http://www.companionparrot.com/Abundance%20Weaning.htm

 

Is it likely that he has regression weaning as in the article?

 

I was given some egg food by an ex breeder at a local garden nursery a few weeks ago when I got talking to her about some of the issues with feeding etc. I was there looking for some pulses as they sell some types of parrot food. She wrote down a mix to give him instead of formula if I needed too give him more spoon feeds.

[danmcq]

I would reccomend the exact formual, as Jay indicated as well.

 

I would also recommend you go to the kaytee link I provided and not browse the web looking for information. There is a lot of bad advice out there, in my opinion.

[Jayd]

Thanks Dan and all of you, If I may, get " Exact Macaw formula or Zupreem Embrace plus," they have more fat and protein that a Grey need's try for 50 to 60cc' per feeding. What doe's your baby weigh? Jayd

[reggieroo]

Hi guys, just been out to the pet store & couldn't find any Kaytee, maybe I need to try a chain store, I have never seen it before though. I got him some standard parrot food as a change from his tidymix once in a while to give him a bit more variety & something different to get his beak into.

 

I haven't weighed him before, whats the best way of doing it, can imagine he would just fly off the scales?

 

Since me posting earlier he has been stuffing his face no problem, in fact right now he has his beak buried in the food bowl which I'm glad about (pets always make a liar out of you don't they?). I won't disturb him right now, I'm just glad he's eating.....& mumbling away to me at the same time

 

I'll see if I can weigh him when he's finished.

[reggieroo]

I managed to weigh him & he is 516 grams. I put him back on top of his cage & gave him some tropical soak mix & he went straight in within seconds of spotting it & is stuffing his face again.

[Jayd]

That's a good weight, a large a Grey. Try to get your weight the same time each morning, right after the big "POOP".

Jayd

[reggieroo]

That's a good weight, a large a Grey. Try to get your weight the same time each morning, right after the big "POOP".

Jayd

 

OK I will try & get his weight every morning for a while to see if it stays consistent. I must admit he looks very healthy, bright eyes, good plumage, lots of tail wags, pruning, flying around & alert. Maybe It's me being over sensitive, I'm looking over at him now & he is hanging upside down looking at me as if to say "what's the problem?"

[Jayd]

That's Grye't....Jayd

[reggieroo]

Ok I may have just found a pattern, after speaking to my breeder she said "are you sure he is not screaming for attention instead of food?" I thought not but said to myself bear it in mind that it could be.

 

All day I have been with him, feeding him bits of food, changing his food dishes for different foods & generally giving more attention than normal. He has been eating well all day with no screaming apart from first thing this morning after taking off his sheet. So it seemed after all to be a good day, I was just finishing up on the PC when Kate said can you go check on Ella-Rose as she is crying. So off I went to see if my daughter was ok & actually the first time I have spent any time with her today as all the attention has been on Murphy from me & you can guess the rest. Murphy started screaming, worse when I spoke to my daughter even though he could still see me! Kate said "maybe it is attention" So I went back to the study which is opposite his cage & sat down & Murphy shut up, went back to see my daughter & he started again. Anyway did this about 5 times & the result was the same every time:(

 

Have I got it all wrong, is he actually screaming for more attention & not food?

[JillyBeanz]

First and foremost I would like to point out that it is ILLEGAL to sell a bird that hasn't been weaned in the UK. Murphy clearly hasn't. It's not your fault - it's your unscrupulous breeder's fault. I am no authority on hand rearing - but the guys who have given you advice are. I feel so sorry for you. This is a position I definitely wouldn't like to be in myself - it's not like weaning Ella-Rose - kids are easy!

 

Right - I can't offer any weaning advice - but I can tell you where to get Kaytee - Harvey eats it. I get mine from Midland Parrots (http://www.midlandparrots.com) - this is the link to their Kaytee page:

 

http://www.midlandparrots.com/kaytee-foods-50-c.asp

 

I don't think for one minute it's attention though - I don't think Murphy is fully weaned.

 

Can you PM me with your breeder - I know a few who are "black listed" and would like to cross reference yours with those.

[Elvenking]

Issac is 23 weeks and still loves his morning and evening feedings. During the day he goes through veggies and I will give him some pasta with red palm oil sometimes. I would try to go get some Exact formula or something and a syringe or spoon...which ever you are comfortable with. I am willing to bet that will curb the beg calls. I microwave water for 30 seconds, mix, and cool to 110-108 F and serve Issac from a syringe. He was fussy exactly like you say at first, but now he grinds up his veggies during the afternoon. It takes a lot of experimenting and repeating. What he wants one day he won't on another...but keep leaving it for him even if he doesn't plow through it all. Those formula feedings will take care of that begging noise for sure. Issac does the same thing, but its a cute little microwave sound...lol....letting me know what he wants me to use. Your bird is just a little behind mine and you are experiencing the same things I did. I post every week about Issacs progress, and you might find it interesting to read the post of what ever week your baby is on. Cheers and good luck with Murphy.

 

[reggieroo]

Issac is 23 weeks and still loves his morning and evening feedings. During the day he goes through veggies and I will give him some pasta with red palm oil sometimes. I would try to go get some Exact formula or something and a syringe or spoon...which ever you are comfortable with. I am willing to bet that will curb the beg calls. I microwave water for 30 seconds, mix, and cool to 110-108 F and serve Issac from a syringe. He was fussy exactly like you say at first, but now he grinds up his veggies during the afternoon. It takes a lot of experimenting and repeating. What he wants one day he won't on another...but keep leaving it for him even if he doesn't plow through it all. Those formula feedings will take care of that begging noise for sure. Issac does the same thing, but its a cute little microwave sound...lol....letting me know what he wants me to use. Your bird is just a little behind mine and you are experiencing the same things I did. I post every week about Issacs progress, and you might find it interesting to read the post of what ever week your baby is on. Cheers and good luck with Murphy.

 

 

Thanks for the words of encouragement, it does seem that a lot of babies still like to have their spoon feed for quite a while so glad I'm not alone. I've just looked for some of your posts & could only find Issac week 21 but nothing before.

[Elvenking]

Ohh phewy...I thought i would be able to go back and see them myself. They must have removed some of the old posts when they updated the site.

[Talon]

Ohh phewy...I thought i would be able to go back and see them myself. They must have removed some of the old posts when they updated the site.

 

The old posts are still here, you just have to use advanced search and make sure your settings are correct. :cool:

[kittykittykitty]

It is hard for me to believe that your baby Grey is not hungry. It may be for mor than physical food. Jay, Dan, Dave and some others are real experts. Our Greys require LOTS of time, patience, care, attention and love. If they don't have the attention they can become neurotic, withdrawn and develop all kinds of problems.

[reggieroo]

It is hard for me to believe that your baby Grey is not hungry. It may be for mor than physical food. Jay, Dan, Dave and some others are real experts. Our Greys require LOTS of time, patience, care, attention and love. If they don't have the attention they can become neurotic, withdrawn and develop all kinds of problems.

 

Well since putting this post on he has been eating like no tomorrow, he went through around 5 days of very fussy eating where he just picked at everything I gave him with most of it ending up on the floor of his cage. That seems to have passed now & his weight has been steadily going up since I started weighing him on Jayd's advise, he is now 522 grams.

 

He definitely gets lots of the above, patience, care, attention and love & lots of out of cage time inc flight time.