leonidas Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 I recently went to the pet store and fell in love with an african grey parrot, and he had a similar reaction towards me. However the pet store said that they would not talk deposits and that they cannot hold the bird for me. So i bought it considering i have had prior experience with birds before. However, he is not fully weaned. He is on three feedings a day, each 40ml, and eats the "Exact" formula. He seems to be eating all his meals and has adjusted well in my house. He loves me too, and i cannot stand being away from him. He is 14 weeks and still eating formula. i do not mind feeding him since he likes eating it. He plays around with other foods as well, like apples and seeds(which he has learned to crack recently). I am very concerned about his health though since i do not want to cause anything to happen to him. Today was his first vet visit, and he was diagnosed as a healthy bird. However, i have been reading up on viruses and bacterial infections and i would like to take every precautionary measure possible. The only thing that concerns me is that he sneezes, without any kind of discharge, and only once or twice a day. he was also panting after the visit from the vet, and his feet were warm. and has ruffled his feathers today. Could it be serious? I am generally very concerned, because he has to get bloodwork done, and i do not want him to go through any kind of trauma. Is he a healthy bird if he is eating 40 ml three times a day of the "Exact formula"(exactly the amount i was told to feed by the vets), as well as apples, and some nuts. if there is no change in his diet could he have any kind of problems developing inside the crop, (like sour crop, or crop burn)... what can i do to prevent sour crop and crop burn? should i be concerned if he is ruffling his feathers and streching alot, with some sneezing? should i be concerned if he ruffles his feathers while sleeping, is he just comfortable? His poop is in excellent condition (Same as it was at the pet store). I have purchased several books, a first aid kit designed especially for birds, and vitamin supplements for him. Also, should he have been banded at birth? he doesnt have a band on, nor has he been sexed yet. He is a large bird even at 14 weeks. is it awkward that he hasn't switched to regular food completely? should i stop feeding him this much formula and more food?I would appreciate any advice possible, or any reference to a place or person that can give me this advice. The vet i took him to didnt seem like an avian specialist, the closest one is 40 minutes away and i simply cannot take him there at this moment, but i will soon. Until then i would like help from anyone who is willing to offer it. I do feel like i am acting too protective, almost like an hypocondriac, but I love this animal and i do not want anything to happen to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonidas Posted October 25, 2007 Author Share Posted October 25, 2007 Also, how do i know if i am feeding him properly?... will i know immediately if i am doing something wrong. we had raised a parrot from birth and he is fine. I am just concerned about my baby leonidas. Please help me. Thankyou. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonidas Posted October 25, 2007 Author Share Posted October 25, 2007 he is always cleaning/grooming his feathers too. i dont know how to tell if he has some kind of irritation, lice, etc... i am just being precautious... please help, thankyou.<br><br>Post edited by: leonidas, at: 2007/10/25 10:28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toni Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 I can answer on qestion for you. My baby was born MAy 20th. I wasnt able to bring him home until he was 16 weeks old. He wouldnt stop the morning hand feeding. He would just not eat on his own enough. Then on his 16th week he started too. As for the other questions Im sure they will be answered by other bird brain smart people here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mosfatal Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 I know that feeling thinking every noise is a bad sign you'll get thru it :silly: promise... OK so for the feeds: he will not wein himself if he is eating "real" food (not formula) you can start cut out feedings start with cuting one (also you need to intro a good pallet I like zupreme)as he beginns to eat more of the veggies and kibble u will note he is not as eger at hand feeding time Sour crop comes form over feeding Crop burn can be prevented the same way u prevent burning a babies mouth tesst the formula on the inside of your wrist Sneezing may be do to dry air try a humidifyier(sp?) Lice u can see part the feathers and look but 1st faethers are itchy Proper feed should be fairly ez to spot 1 you should be able to see the crop expand 2 your bird will do the "feeding bob" ( kinda hard to explain in type but if you've seen it u know what I mean) Hope this helped a lil ....I worried my vet to death for the 1st 3mths. What made me feel better was buying a scale that way I could asure myself that Chico wasn't wasting away:blush: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonidas Posted October 25, 2007 Author Share Posted October 25, 2007 Thankyou guys very much... i am only a new mother for this wonderful parrot, he was regurgitating his food today in the morning... and doing weird things with his neck to regurgitate. was i doing something wrong while feeding him?... i have never seen him do that before... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trina Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Hi I weaned my bird myself, sounds like you are doing well to me! You can't worry too much otherwise you will make yourelf crazy. I found that if you are worried about the crop the most important thing to make sure is that you have a watery formla. That way even if you over feed by accident things wont get impacted. You can PM me if you want. regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 First thing I want to say is DO NOT TEST THE TEMP ON YOUR WRIST...this is dangerous. Get a digital meat thermometer and feed him the formula between 105 and 110 degrees F...nothing cooler or hotter. A baby cannot regulate temps like an adult so if it is too cold it will cause sour crop or slow crop and to hot will burn holes in the crop walls. Also, don't always go by the formula amount...use it as a guide. The crop will start to shrink as he gets older and he will not be able to eat as much as he would before and you don't want to over feed him. My grey's crop dropped half it's size by the time he was on one feeding a day. Start getting a feel for his crop now so you know how it should feel full. I feed a number of baby greys, macaws, and cockatoos at my pet store job and we do not measure to the T how much they eat, we know they are full by the feel of the crop. The first feeding you want to drop is the afternoon feeding. At 14 weeks he should be good and ready to drop it so I would go for it now. Feel his crop before you feed him. If there is some solid food in there don't give him that feeding. Do the same thing the next day. If there is food in it drop the feeding. Still give the morning and night feedings but because you know he is able to get solid food in he is good for the afternoon. The next feeding to drop is the morning. Offer him easy stuff to eat like apple sause and see if he will eagerly eat on his own. If he dives in then he is good and will not need that feeding. Continue on with only the night feeding. This feeding will continue to be his "security" feeding and he may very well want to continue getting it for a while. He will loose interest in time and when he stops crying for it at night test the waters and see if he won't notice not getting it. It sounds like your doing well otherwise so I won't bore you with all the other stuff. As for the hot feet, Parrots body temp is averaged around 105 F, and humans are only 97 F. They will feel hot to use because we are colder than they are. The ruffling of the feathers and stretches are signs of a happy grey. That’s how the get comfy. Sneezing without discharge is normal and nothing to worry about. They sneeze to clear dander or down that gets up there and if it is only once or twice a day isn't a sign of illness. Parrots will pant when they are wound up not just if they are hot, so panting after a trip to the vet is to be expected. Please e-mail me if you have any more questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 The barfing could be signs of over filling the crop...at 14 weeks my grey was only taking 20ml in per feeding. Also, what are you feeding with...spoon, syringe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonidas Posted October 25, 2007 Author Share Posted October 25, 2007 I am feeding with a sryinge. it is funny that you said he stops eating at 20 ml, because he lost interest in his food after eating that much today, and then regurgitated, and re-ate his food. should i start feeding him lesser food per feeding... for example cut down to 30ml for the next feeding of the day? i know he usually looses interest in his formula by then. But he also is not eating normal food. I will try giving him his pellets with water so they are a bit softer and easier to bite into. He likes to groom alot, he is 14 weeks old so i dont know if i should be misting/showering him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonidas Posted October 25, 2007 Author Share Posted October 25, 2007 also the time he takes to finish eating his formula it becomes cold to the touch, (he eats slow so it takes him around 15 minutes). i dont know how much the temperature is on it... but should it be a concern for our crop?... or any other problems. Thankyou for your help you guys. it is making me feel alot better. Is it normal for him to still not have been completely weaned at 14 weeks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonidas Posted October 25, 2007 Author Share Posted October 25, 2007 What is the ideal/healthy body weight for a baby this size? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 I would cut down to the 20ml on the next feeding. If he looses intrest at that point then he's letting you know he's done. And make sure to always put the tip in on HIS left side...you probably know that but I wanted to put that just incase. My grey didn't want to eat pellets when weaning. He loved apple sause, bluebarries, grapes...stuff like that. Try giving him stuff like that while still offering the pellots. I heard that putting fruit juice on the pellets gets them more interested but that never worked for mine. He may also not like the kind of pellets your giving him. Mine hates the fruit flavored kind and will only eat the brown "original" ones with a little bit of cockatiel/lovebird seed mix sprinkled on top. The grooming is a good thing. Mine would never preen when he was that age. As long as he isn't plucking feathers out then he is doing very well. I would also start giving him baths now...that way he gets used to them while he is still young. Everyone here is a big fan of giving Aloe Juice baths so you might want to pick some up for your grey as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 I would go to the store before his next feeding and get a thermometer. At his age he is probably out of the woods for stuff being to cold but I would give him the formula at 105 still...that may be why he doen't want to eat as much. I said before mine loved apple sause and he would eat that cold at the same age as yours so my thinking is that some people food gets nasty when cold so maybe formula is the same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonidas Posted October 25, 2007 Author Share Posted October 25, 2007 THANKYOU so much!... i love the fact that i found this forum for greys. i am so glad. everyone here is o helpful. If i have any other questions i will ask them without hesitation. i will keep everyon informed about leonidas. who is doing fine, and perching on top of my foot right now... :cheer:. Thankyou all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 On the weight issue I was never huge on tracking his weight, and at 14 weeks he will probably start to loose weight as he starts to fledge, and they can loose a lot of weight...going down into the 350 range. When they are loosing the weight it is much more important to make sure they are still active bright-eyed and eating. You said he was a big one so he will be on the top end of the weight scale. Mine is pretty small for a CAG so yours would weigh a lot more than mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 Bmustee's right on Fledging...Dayo went from 527gm down to 420 over the period of only a few weeks. Great info youve been providing on this topic Bmustee!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 I know...I'm on fire today :laugh: I would also like to let you know not to clip his wings right away if you plan of doing it. Let him learn to fly and land gracefully before you clip. Letting them fly for a month or so lets them learn to maneuver and become more confident…clipping to soon will make your grey very clumsy even into adulthood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makena Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 I would watch this video... http://www.kaytee.com/companion_animals/birds/hand_feeding/#video It is a video on how to correctly hand feed your bird. Our Makena is going on 6 months and has only been fully weaned for a few weeks. He took 3, 40-50ml feedings a day until 4 and 1/2 months. Then we gave him 2 feedings a day for one week and 1 feeding a day for 1 week. He wasn't fully weaned until 5 months. Every bird is different and will wean at their own time. You said you are feeding him apples but are you giving any other fruits and veggies? I would give him a huge variety of fruits/veggies daily, he will start picking at things and you will soon find what he likes and doesn't like. We weigh Makena about every other day. He eats like a horse and never really lost much weight. He is now about 440g. Weights fluctuate A LOT from grey to grey... which is why it is extremely important to monitor your grey's weight. Sometimes weight loss is the only way of knowing they are sick. You will do fine! Just keep being cautious and read your bird! They usually do a pretty good job of pointing out what they like or don't like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonidas Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 OK so... i decided to let him eat at his own pace... His formula.. i made the regular 40 mL... and let him eat until he wanted to.. and BMustee would not be surprised to know that he lost interest and did not want any more by 20 mL... is that ok?... should i feed him even if he doesnt want to?... i gave him a bunch of apples.. which he destroys more than eats. i will go buy some apple sauce for him to eat. and then i mix it with some dried papaya.. some seeds and some food that the pet store was feeding him... and i added a little bit of water so it softens a bit. right now he isnt eating that.. is that normal?.. is he on a full stomach?... would he let me know if he is not full? i gave him food and he was nibbling on it. and now he is falling asleep which he usually does after he has eaten. if he wasnt full would he go to bed? i ordered a scale from amazon.com but i dont no when it is going to get here. and i dont want to risk anything.... so what do i do!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonidas Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 THANKYOU FOR THE VIDEO Makena! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah_Rae Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 Hey, my name is Hannah, and I thought I'd jump in here. He is getting old enough where he know when he is hungry and when he is not, I would not try to force him to eat when he isn't wanting more, you could over feed him. Just keep giving him the opportunity to try new foods. And remember, the best time to introduce a new food to anyone is when they are hungry enough to eat it. Gr8 job on this post BMustee, karma for you. Hannah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonidas Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 Ok. so i was feeding him today. He ate the 20 mL for the afternoon feeding. and then in the evening he ate 40 ml.... i did not force feed him. But he was doing this twitching action with his neck... was i doing something wrong?????.... He gets fed at 8am, 2pm, and 8:30pm... he usually has 40ml for the day and night feedings, but has only 20ml for the afternoon one. i am just concerned about the twitching he does with his neck... could someone please explain to me what that is.. thankyou... Leonidas plays with me now. and recently fell in love with his zuPreme pellets... so i am happy. but when i feed him he twitches!... which scares me.. i am only a mother.... please help!!! THANKYOUUUU and i would like to personally thank everyone for posting. you all have helped, and hopefully will keep on helping me until i become the owner of a fully weaned african grey...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 Is the twitching a bobbing motion? Young greys bob their heads to swallow so this may be what you are talking about. The crop acts like a "first stomach" and it drains food into the "second stomach" as needed, so on the three feedings a day he's full almost all the time. At 14 weeks he should be on one feeding a day so it's not going to hurt him if you drop the afternoon. Like you said before you thought you may be a bit of a hypochondriac with your baby so there may be some fear on your part that is keeping him from weaning. I don't condone force weaning, but you need to help him take his first step towards it. Around the time of the afternoon feeding put anything and everything he seems to like eating in front of him and give him some time with it. He should start picking at it and getting some food down. When they eat on their own they won't fill the crop like it would be from hand feeding, so if you touch it you should only be able to feel a little solid food in there. Don't give him the afternoon feeding and maybe give him his night feeding a little early if he seems to be ready for it. I know it will be hard to do...keeping his afternoon feeding from him...but it can become more difficult to wean if the "optimum" time is missed. I'm sure you don't want a 3 feedings a day 20-year-old bird. I was a bit nervous when I took away the afternoon feeding as well because I didn't think he was eating as much as I would have liked but the hand feeding is what keeps them from eating as much. I bet as soon as you pull that one feeding he will take to eating like a champ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonidas Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 Hey... THANKYOU once again. i also noticed that their was more urine in his poop today than actual poop. is that ok? i put some zupreme pellets in front of him in the morning. and he ate around 1/5 of it. which isnt alot, but in the morning feeding today he had 30 ml instead of the regular 40ml... which is fine. he still seems to be eating his pellets after i fed the formulat to him. About the twitch/bobbing motion. he did not do it when i got him, nor did he do it at the pet store. he started twitching during i fed him his formula since the day he came back from the vet's. Who did not do anything but a physical exam...(he did restrain him to do the exam...). So i dont know what happened. All i want to know is that whether or not i would be able to know as soon as something happens (which i hope it never does)... like if he gets food in his air passage...? or crop burn?(which i dont think he could ever get because he never gets to eat warm food, not even at the pet store, because by the time they were done, his food was not warm. Could he get sour crop... or crop slowdown. he seems to have a good amount of food in his crop right now. but when he eats 20 ml during the afternoon, his crop usually empties out before his next feeding time. I dont no what gram scale to purchase, all of them at 500 grams, what if he weighs more than that!!!... i got a thermometer, and a book on first aid about birds, a first aid kit designed for birds, and food for infants which he doesnt seem to like much, i think i will try giving him apple sauce. anyway. i dont think i can completely drop the afternoon feeding yet, i have drastically cut it down though, and over time when i see that he is eating more, i will cut it down completely. I dont want him to loose alot of weight because i am sure as much as he loves me, it must be a stressful time for hiim already since he is in a new environment... so i will cut i down when i feel he is better fitted into the house. Also, how do i know if he is loosing weight, since i dont have a gram scale yet... what is the ideal weight for a 14 week old CAG?... Thankyou BMustee for your advice. you have been a great help to me:)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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