ujwaldignified Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 This is Ujwal, And i have brought my new Congo African grey chick of 6.5 weeks old. My wife has named him 'Pingu'. Feeding him with Kaytee exact handfeeding formula. I am adopting Abundance weaning. Can someone explain to me the right method of adopting abundance weaning? No internet source is giving me the right explanation of it. P.S.I have no handfeeding/weaning experience, however i have raised chicks of budgies and pigeons along with their parents when they themselves took care of the clutch. So i would be glad to here advices and support through my raising my chick - 'Pingu'. Here is a video where am handfeeding my new chick for the first time when i got him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoom Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 It looks like his eyes haven't opened yet. Is that right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 The only advice I am going to give you is return this baby to the breeder and let them handfeed and wean it for it doesn't look as if you know what you are doing and so much can go wrong that I fear for this baby's life, this is not a job for the inexperienced but at the very least please do read thru some of the threads in the nursery room as it will give you lots of information. Please any new novice bird owners, do not try handfeeding a baby bird, this is for someone who knows what they are doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara2 Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I was in another forum where someone inexperienced was handfeeding their baby grey. They came seeking advice because they got the formula too hot and the baby had crop burn. From the description it sounded very bad. Everyone said to get the baby to an avian vet immediately. We never did hear back from the poster so I fear it ended badly. I know that the other issue is that the baby can aspirate the formula and die as a result. Good luck to you and I hope it works out. (Also, if you are handfeeding you must have a scale and weigh the baby daily before feeding. Keep a diary of the weights to make sure it is growing properly!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbie21187 Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I handfed my Eva about once a day at the store and let them do the rest, I was doing really well, and they offered to let me finish at home when she was about 8-9 weeks, but I opted not too. It was my first time hand feeding and I didn't feel confident doing it by myself at home... Before making my decision I did research and found that there are many things that can go wrong if this is not done by a professional. I recommend bringing it back to where you got and find out if you can do what I did and hand feed your baby supervised by a professional. This way you will still get this bonding experience with your bird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ujwaldignified Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 (edited) He has already opened. He looks into my eyes and can turns around as i move around his box in which i have placed him. It looks like his eyes haven't opened yet. Is that right? @All I cannot give him back in India. Pets once sold will not be taken back in India. This is a different scenario now. I have no other go than to raise him myself. So please don't let me down and just help me. I am following the Hand feeding method shown in the nursery section, exactly. And, i have gone through several websites talking about the possible dangers of Handfeeding by a novice. I am somehow confident that i will put my cent percent to take care of this kid through its journey of life and will not lose out with my moral and ethical values and let this kid die for sure. I am an animal lover and love to sit for hours in front of them and observe very keenly their behavior, instincts, growth cycle etc etc about any pet i bring home. However i have been keeping Fish since 20 years and am a moderator for many Fish communities. Guys am not boasting myself here....just that i want you guys to trust my confidence in learning the whole thing here and work on my Pingu and bring him successfully. Rest is left with you guys in this community to get it done by me. Thank you. P.S. Please let me know if i am doing anything wrong in the way i am feeding the chick in the video i have posted. Thankyou. Edited June 30, 2011 by ujwaldignified Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 Judy is right. So many members have lost AG babies because they are a novice at hand feeding....PLEASE find a VET who can do this for you. This bird is too young..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara2 Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 There are members here who are experienced and should be able to help you out. I know the temperature of the formula is important. I know that things need to be kept very clean to keep from introducing bacteria into the bird. I'm sure with the help of some of our experts they can help you on your journey to have a happy and healthy bird! Please keep us up to date and show us pictures as your baby grows! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ujwaldignified Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 Thanks a lot for that moral support. I have bred number of Fresh water aquarium fishes in the past 15 years and i understand/feel the importance of the basics and expertise of captivity breeding of a living being in general ...... There are members here who are experienced and should be able to help you out. I know the temperature of the formula is important. I know that things need to be kept very clean to keep from introducing bacteria into the bird. I'm sure with the help of some of our experts they can help you on your journey to have a happy and healthy bird! Please keep us up to date and show us pictures as your baby grows! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoom Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I wish you and your baby much luck. I have to admit I'm scared for him though. Is there any way you can find someone there who has experience hand-feeding baby Greys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cupid Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 (edited) Anything new? ? ? Edited July 6, 2011 by Cupid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cupid Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 (edited) GOOD LUCK I HOPE ALL TURNS OUT WELL, AND DONT LEAVE, KEEP US UPDATED PLEASE....... We love PINGU! Edited July 6, 2011 by Cupid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cupid Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 (edited) Sorry for the triple posts, I dont knwo why my computer did that? anyway, any word on Pingu? Edited July 6, 2011 by Cupid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cupid Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I can only send you all the positive vibrations that I can, but I have been reading here a lot and found this useful info from a smart man named Dave007,. he knows what hes talking about. I get that you cant take back the baby bird, so I pray that you can make it work... Good luck and please keep us updated on PINGU... Again these were copied from other posts and I thought that this advice might be able to help you and Pingu: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. The item you're thinking about is absolutely wrong for any african grey be it very young, adolescent, adult or mature and old. The main reason is that the product is a dairy item. No african grey can eat dairy products, especially white dairy products. That product contains milk. It will make any grey very sick and if given enough, it will kill the bird. This is a basic formula to use. It doesn't have all the things in it that it should but for the short amount of time you'll be handfeeding, it should do the trick 1---cook some peas until they're very soft or buy some at the store. They should be the kind that says sweet peas which are bigger than early peas 2---get a package of small carrots in the store. Overcook them until they're extremely soft. 3---get some white rice and cook it until it'very soft. That usually means that it will be softer than a person likes it. Put all the items together and mash them thoroughly until it's very lumpy and gooey. Make some oatmeal--any kind. use 3 tablespoons of oatmeal and add 3 tablespoons of the above mixture all together and stir. Make sure that the mixture is warm. At this age, syringe feeding isn't necessary because any type of soft formula type food that you give has to be lumpy, not creamy and lumpy soft food doesn't go thru a syringe very well. Fill a teaspoon with the mixture and let him scoop it out with his own mouth. Do that 2x a day, maybe 3x if he'll accept it. When the evening comes, dump whats left over. Each day make the same amount of fresh mixture and repeat. ***i only feel bones, there is no meat on him, is this normal?**** I can't answer that. He may be undernourished and actually I'm not surprised. Right now, it's important to focus on getting him to eat a variety of different things. Fill a teaspoon with the mixture and let him scoop it out with his own mouth. Do that 2x a day, maybe 3x if he'll accept it. When the evening comes, dump whats left over. Each day make the same amount of fresh mixture and repeat. Make sure he has solid food there all day. *****One last thing, he stayes the whole day on a perch, should i remove it and put a towel in the bottom of his cage. Thank you for all the help. ***** If your bird is perching and going to the perch by himself, it shouldn't be removed. If he's constantly falling off the perch, you just need to lower the perch and yes, you can also put a towel across the bottom. Always have the perch in the cage if your bird is always on it PS---one other thing, after feeding that type of mixture, expect his droppings to be extremely soft. PS---Keep that bird out of cold drafts. Dave 1. Oh boy, I'm glad that you posted that picture. That bird is no more than 3 1/2 mts old. That's the reason that your bird is falling on the floor. It doesn't know how to fly yet. When the actual age of a baby bird isn't positively known, the only other way to see the approx age is by the color of the eyes. Your bird's eyes are completely black. At that age, a bird is very frighted of everything which will cause a bird to nip. **** He might be a baby that isn't wild caught. And I am afraid that he is not weaned well. *** You're absolutely right. Yes, it's probably necessary to hand feed that bird but the bird should be also having other types of solid food in the cage. The problem is that the item you wanna use is for women who are breast feeding. It's not for birds. If you can get to a pet shop, they should have different brands of instant bird formula. Another home made mixture is 3 tsp smooth peanut butter 3 tsp Gerber oatmeal cereal 1 Banana 3 tsp apple sause 3 tsp Gerber Baby creamed corn 3 tsp Gerber Mixed Vegetables 3 tsp plain Yogart Mix it all together thoroughly You can get any kind that's available. They're mixed with water. There's many brands. If you can't get those items, you'll need to get the thickest baby formula available. Even try to get one that's lumpy. If you're gonna give feeding, you'll need a bent tea spoon to do it. Don't try a syringe if you've never used one before. The formula should be slightly warm. Stop feeding fruit, because they're acidic. Just vegetables and you should expect your bird to not like all of them. They should be the hardest you can find such as carrots. The vegetables you get should be as dark green as you can find them. Again, I don't know what's available in your country but if you can find some parrot mix, get it. He'll need some solid food. Maybe parrot mix isn't availablle near you and you may have to travel a large distance to find a pet store. Pet stores have parrot mix and other things for birds. Luckily, your bird won't need many formula feedings during the day. Maybe 2. Than as time goes on, maybe 1. Basically, the ideas I'm giving you are because I don't know what's available in your country Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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