saddlebredgirl Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I have a 7week old african grey that im handraising. He gets formula 3times a day. after i fed him he keeps screaming for about half an hour is this normal? i give him 50cc of formula at a time. during the day whenever he sees me and i talk to him he also starts screaming. and he keeps on screaming for very long why is this? i raised a ringneck and he never screamed so much. please help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I would imagine it is normal for them to be vocal and I have never hand fed a baby bird before but it might help if you put some kind of small stuffed animal in with him to keep him company since he is an only chick, something he can cuddle up to and not feel alone, just a suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddlebredgirl Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 thanks for the tip. i put a small teddy in with him a few days after i got him and its not helping at all. Well as soon as i try to have cuddles with him he thinks im going to feed him and then he starts screaming like mad and grabs my fingers because he thinks its food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Well at this stage of the game thats all he is thinking of is food, is he warm enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddlebredgirl Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 yes he is warm enough. he nearly has all his feathers except for his neck and i always make sure that he isnt too cold. my guess is also that it is normal because he is just thinking about food now. i just wanted to make sure if so much screaming is normal but hopefully the screaming will end when he can eat on his own Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalINSPIRED Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 That doesn't sound normal if you ask me. I spent a lot of time with Averi pre-weaning and she never screamed. She made noises but not like a typical bird scream... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 (edited) I think you're confusing screaming with squawking. A 7 wk old grey doesn't have the vocal strength to scream. I don't know how many feedings you're giving but if you're feeding certain amounts each time because you read that it was the right thing to do, that may not apply because every bird is individual and has different needs. Add on one more feeding to the schedule. Add on a little more formula each time you feed and wait until your bird won't take anymore and spits it out. That's a full feeding. If the bird squawks when you're coming around, that means he's hungry. If he swawks for a 1/2 hr after you feeding, that means he hasn't gotten enough. Don't decrease the amounts of feeding a day untill your bird absolutely refuses one of them. How much time will this take depends upon your bird. Some need formula for short periods or long periods of time. That's the time to decrease the amount of feedings each day. A full bird won't squawk, he'll fall asleep afterward for about 2 hours. In general, a 7 wk old bird should be given 4 feedings a day with some very soft veggies laying around so they can be picked at if the bird chooses to do so. Edited February 26, 2011 by Dave007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddlebredgirl Posted February 27, 2011 Author Share Posted February 27, 2011 thanks dave for the information. I am going to feed him more today but im scared that his crop will stretch or that he will suffocate if he eats too much? Im already putting apple and moistend pellets down for him between feedings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 (edited) The only way that the bird's crop will stretch abnormally is when you take a syringe and put it way down into the mouth. That rarely happens because a bird will spit the excess out. The crop isn't the stomach. It's a holding area and the food gently goes into the the stomach. A syringe shoulldn't be pushed deep intothe mouth. 1/2 inch should be used. Syringe shouldn't be aimed to the center of the mouth. It should be aimed to the cheeks. If you're worried about using a syringe, take a teaspoon, bend it lengthwise into a half funnel and let your bird take it in by himself. The important thing here is that he eats as much as he wants and has formula available to give him as much as he wants. Some wean at different times. There's birds that can take as much as 4 to 5 mts before weaning. It's not the person's choice. That's called *abundance feeding* The bird will tell you that too much formula is in one feeding and the bird will also let you know when too many feeding are being given. Take the fruit out and replace it with Cheerios and a variety of veggies ( stringbeans, carrots, broccoli.that haven't been moistened. A chicks gets fluids from formula. I'll tell you now that I don't like giving out advice about hand feeding unweaned chicks but since you already have one, I'll try to do it to help you without hurting your chick. Parrots should be fully weaned before purchase. There's been too many accidental deaths concerning unweaned birds. Empty crop waiting to eat http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v50/DaveVP/CopyofCopyofCHRIS1-1.jpg Full crop after eating. Crop should look like a golf ball http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v50/DaveVP/May22b-1.jpg Edited February 27, 2011 by Dave007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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