CAG Food Problem

[Guest danielsingh]

Hi,

 

My 74 day old baby CAG is not eating properly since 2-3 days.

 

A few days back I started feeding small mashed banana and it just gulped it all.

almost 25% in one serving.

 

here are my questions:

 

1) how to make the baby eat from a bowl and not from the hand directly?

2) what is the problem as baby CAG is hungry but she would eat only 25-35cc

as compared to 60-65 cc previously.

3) is all this normal, what other things can i give her apart from mashed banana,

I have tried, sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, peanuts, apples, but no luck

as of now koko would not eat any of these.

 

i am really concerned, she is looking more compact today.

 

i am concerned if its related to her loss of appetite or is it normal.

 

thanks in advance.

[Dave007]

Your bird is approx 2 1/2 mts old and normally, a person introduces semi solid foods at 1 1/2 mts. Many times a bird won't really eat a lot of that food but it is there to experiment with. A bird won't starve itself. A bird will eventually eat more solid food as long as getting to that food is very easy. Some birds take longer to switch over than others. As a grey grows up, they take less formula. That's a natural thing. The number of feedings goes down. I really don't know why you're worried about the bird looking compact unless your idea of compact is different than ours.

Mashed banana---I have no idea who told you to use that as a formula. Formula has a number of items that have vitamins in them. At one time in the past you weren't able to get formula, you should have looked online and gotten ready to buy ready made formula even though it would cost more than here. You need to feed all kinds of veggies. They need to be in an area that the bird can get to. He won't like them at first but he'll learn to eat them. It's important that you do this now because as a bird gets older and they don't like veggies, they won't like them in the future.

If you want to get solid parrot mix then get a parrot mix that has many more varieties of seed than the ones you're naming. Above.

 

Another thing about mashed banana---it's very sweet and birds like sweet things but eventually they'll take less formula which is replaced with solid food so it is normal for the amount of each feeding to lessen. The bird is talking to you. It's telling you that formula doesn't appeal to him as much as solid food and you're the one who needs to give it.

Giving a lot of fruit isn't good for a bird because there's no vitamins in it.

Some peoplewill say that fruits has lots of vitamins in them but they're referring to the vitamins that are good for people, not birds.

[judygram]

Try offering some warm oatmeal, most greys love that and you can add a little banana to it but they should be getting lots of veggies and not much fruit.

[Guest danielsingh]

Hi Dave and judygram,

 

thanks for the replies, oops i forgot to mention that the formula i am using is KAYTEE EXACT Hand feeding 3 times a day, 60-65cc per serving.

And 2 times of a quarter small banana which i mash with my hands and feed the bird.

 

I am so relieved from the comments, but what kind of veggies can i give and how?

does the veggies have to be cooked?

i was looking up for CHOP but the recipes have garlic in them but in our Food Section Sub Forum, Garlic is a BIG NO?

So i am confused. I am also enclosing a new pic with this email, please let me know if my baby looks healthy or is really thin.

 

 

thanks in advance.

[Greywings]

Dark leafy greens-like Kale & Spinach, bright Orange, Red and Yellow veggies & fruits. Mashed Sweet potato is a good start you can add some cooked Quinoa and a little Ginger or Red Pepper to that for flavor. You can hang some wet Rainbow Kale leaves from the side or roof of cage for him to play with and he will taste it at the same time, perhaps even use the wet leaves to wash himself. Make the new foods fun-cut or shred into different sizes, hide in toys you get the idea.

Edited February 23, 2012 by Greywings
spelling

[Dave007]

Hi Dave and judygram,

 

thanks for the replies, oops i forgot to mention that the formula i am using is KAYTEE EXACT Hand feeding 3 times a day, 60-65cc per serving.

And 2 times of a quarter small banana which i mash with my hands and feed the bird.

 

I am so relieved from the comments, but what kind of veggies can i give and how?

does the veggies have to be cooked?

i was looking up for CHOP but the recipes have garlic in them but in our Food Section Sub Forum, Garlic is a BIG NO?

So i am confused. I am also enclosing a new pic with this email, please let me know if my baby looks healthy or is really thin.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]21646[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]21647[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]21648[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]21649[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]21650[/ATTACH]

 

thanks in advance.

 

 

You're positive about the bird's age? No w that I see the pictures, I would say that he's a little underweight. He's possibly a small boned bird which isn't abnormal. If this was my bird I would feel better taking my bird to a vet for a checkup just to be on the safe side. I would feel better getting proper info from my vet.

 

These are pictures of 11 week old and 14 week old birds. Your bird looks like he's about 12 weeks old. You said he was 19 weeks old--(74/76 days old). So, if the bird is underweight or is under the weather, he should be checked. We can only give opinions here and photos can't always show exact situations and we're not vets. Better safe than sorry and make sure you check up on the bird's age because the bird looks younger than 19 weeks.

 

11 weeks

 

http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/DavidDVP/11weeks.jpg

 

14 weeks

 

http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/DavidDVP/14weeks--avd--12.jpg

[Guest danielsingh]

Hi Dave & Greywings,

 

thanks for the reply and help.

 

@Dave - see i am not sure about the exact age as the shop owner from whom i bought this CAG told me an approx age.

by the time this chick came to me i think it was 3-4 handed.

 

and the shop owner does not know the exact date and when i did enquire abt its exact her did not give a proper answer.

 

see that is the problem here, the bird sellers think they are doing a national service by selling bird to pet lovers.

 

i wish someday i could do justice to this system.

[Dave007]

Understand something--I'm not trying to scare you or give you a hard time. I've dealt with chicks in the past and from what I can see, that bird isn't 2 1/2 mts old. I can show you what a 2 1/2 to 3 mt old bird looks like. Your bird looks just like the first one above. The tail is short, the bird is fluffed up, the feathers around the neck and breast area aren't uniform yet. In a past post I spoke to you about formula reduction and what happens to a bird who is stepping up to solid foods but that applied to older birds such as 2 1/2 to 3 to 4 mt old birds. At that time you hadn't submitted pictures so I just went along with your age figures. Now you've submitted pictures and they don't match up to the age you spoke about. An older bird will lessen the amount of formula as drastically as you said. A 10, 11, 12 wek old bird won't do the same thing. So I suggested the vet because your bird seems to not wanna eat a full meal at feeding time and that calls for an exam. You need to find out if there's a problem. On the other hand, maybe you took some lousy photos. I put some pics in to show ages of birds and also their body lines. Now you're saying that you're not sure of the age and possibly the seller didn't really know the age. In the Health Room and the Nursery Room, giving out medical advice and medical treatments isn't something I allow. So, it's up to you. I'm only concerned about your bird. It may be difficult to do some of these things but it's worth it because an african grey is meant to live a long time but many bad things start off at the time when the bird is very young.

[Guest danielsingh]

Hi Dave,

 

the pic u see in my signature was after a week when i got the chick.

 

The first time i asked the seller about the age he confidently gave me a number so i went along with that

but seeing the pics in this forum and on the net something was not adding up plus i was really concerned about

the feeding chart as per the post in the Bird Food section.

 

Anyway here I do not have an avian vet or any person I know of who can check birds, usually people here go to

the local market and the dealers prescribe general antibiotics etc etc.

 

What can be done in the scenario.

 

And mind you, I am also concerned about my bird, we don't buy a bird to see it DIE.

It is not my intention either.

 

So all your help is appreciated but being frustrated abt getting an unweaned chick

and taking it on me is not going to help. We cannot change the entire system in INDIA.

 

Please suggest what can be done further, I am trying to read about bird poop and as of now

it seems normal (3 parts: Green solid stuff, liquid clear stuff and white urate stuff)

 

One more thing, I am a bit confused with you calculations in the post above.

I am i missing something here w.r.t a week being 7 days.

And please forgive me if i am written 19 weeks, but i don't remember in which post?

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited February 24, 2012 by danielsingh

[chezron]

Your bird seems really young. Please find a specialist vet or good breeder who can advise you. i would do everything I could to get more information, so I did do the right thing for this tiny creature.

[Dave007]

Hi Dave,

 

the pic u see in my signature was after a week when i got the chick.

 

The first time i asked the seller about the age he confidently gave me a number so i went along with that

but seeing the pics in this forum and on the net something was not adding up plus i was really concerned about

the feeding chart as per the post in the Bird Food section.

 

Anyway here I do not have an avian vet or any person I know of who can check birds, usually people here go to

the local market and the dealers prescribe general antibiotics etc etc.

 

What can be done in the scenario.

 

And mind you, I am also concerned about my bird, we don't buy a bird to see it DIE.

It is not my intention either.

 

So all your help is appreciated but being frustrated abt getting an unweaned chick

and taking it on me is not going to help. We cannot change the entire system in INDIA.

 

Please suggest what can be done further, I am trying to read about bird poop and as of now

it seems normal (3 parts: Green solid stuff, liquid clear stuff and white urate stuff)

 

One more thing, I am a bit confused with you calculations in the post above.

I am i missing something here w.r.t a week being 7 days.

And please forgive me if i am written 19 weeks, but i don't remember in which post?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

I put in 19 weeks and that was a mistake on my part. Bad calculations but in your first post, you said 74 days old. That means 2 1/2 mts old and your bird is younger than that. That's why I put the pics in. It was to give you an idea of what a bird looks like at different ages. I never said anything bad about you or to you getting an unweaned bird. I never said you weren't concerned. That's in the past and there's nothing you or I or anyone else can do to change that. I DO feel angry that that person you got the bird from mislead you as far as the age. Things like that can happen in any country that sells parrots. Here we always try to tell people to avoid buying unweaned birds but many times, people will still buy them because they think that the bird will bond better because of hand feeding which isn't true. In the UK, it's against the law to sell unweaned birds. People can be fined or even put in jail.

Antibiotics-----usually, something like that is given to a sick bird, not an underw eight bird. Usually a vet says whether the bird is actually sick. Antibiotics make the bird's internal system weak because it's killing off bad bacteria but also killing off good bacteria which affects the immune system. This also happens to people.

Revised formula---if you can get some flavored oatmeal mix the present formula in with the oatmeal and let him eat it by using a spoon. Give as much as the bird wants.

Pellets-----take a couple of spoons of pellets and soften them up with water. Slightly mash them. Feed it with a spoon. Give as much as the bird wants. Keep some general parrot mix near by.

 

A maturing parrot who is active and whose body is reaching its full size will lose his intense fixation on feeding every time he sees you. Sometimes he will be so preoccupied with playing; he will show no interest in food even though he should be hungry. When this occurs, do not be tempted to force him to eat. Wait an hour or two and his hunger will eventually exceed his interest in playing and the feeding session will be easier. If your bird is playful that's a good sign. I'm not trying to change the policy in India. I realize that things are difficult for you right now.

[Guest danielsingh]

Hi Dave & Chezron,

 

thanks for the info, i have been really busy finding people with info on avian sickness.

Koko has developed a severe cold infection and at present is on antibiotics, i took her back to the

dealer from whom i purchased, he advised me that he will take care of her until she recovers.

 

So please keep KOKO in all your prayers, I need my baby back and safe.

[chezron]

I wish Koko a speedy recovery!

[aerial.2000]

awwwwwwwww I hope you get your baby back nice n healthy!