Why is my CAG acting this way?

[thecoffeesnob]

Hi. I started handfeeding my 7 month old CAG pureed parrot mixture and porridge about three days ago. He seems to really like it and usually happily eats quite a bit.

 

Today however, after i fed him in the morning (i handfeed him twice a day- once in the morning and another time at night), i noticed that he started squawking softly and kept looking at me with his head tilted up and beak slightly opened- much like how baby chicks behave when their mum comes back with the catch of the day. I thought he might have been trying to communicate that he wanted more food but it wasn't so.

 

This behaviour stopped after about half an hour and resumed again after i fed him tonight. That aside, he has been acting pretty normally. Have you guys ever come across such behaviour? Could he be sick? Any advice at all would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[Kaedyn]

I have a 5 month old that still does that from time to time. In her case, she either wants more food, another food, or is just trying to get me to hold her beak with my fingers, so she can "share" her food with me. That last is usually a sign of affection, but not really one you'll want to encourage.

 

My bet is that your bird just really loves you and is trying to show you the only way she knows how. I tend to just ignore that behavior or attempt to distract her with toys.

[lovemyGreys]

Sounds as if the hand feeding may be stirring up feelings from when he was first handreared.He may find it comforting.Does he eat anything else in the morning after you have fed him ? What is a usual days diet for him ?

I doubt very much that he is sick

[Mistyparrot]

<br><br>Post edited by: Mistyparrot, at: 2008/08/11 17:06

[Mistyparrot]

Isn't seven months a bit old for hand feeding? Perhaps someone more expert can advise. Have you tried him on other foods? Fruit such as lichee and apple are good. I usually string corn.carrot and apple on cords on his T stand. He quickly learned to pull them up and chew them to bits. I suspect that he even eats some of it!

Here is a link to my Youtube vid of him.

<br><br>Post edited by: Mistyparrot, at: 2008/08/11 17:08

[lovemyGreys]

Misty that's why i have asked for a details of the greys daily diet/feeding routine There is no harm if offering a warm hand feed but not on a daily basis,a grey can become reliant on it & lose interest in eating solid foods.

My 4 greys are 18 months to 3 years of age & every now & then i offer them a warm feed in the evening which they all relish,the positive side to this is in any event in your greys life you have to administer medicine it's easily done if your grey takes food from a spoon.

[thecoffeesnob]

kaedyn- i really should try ignoring him, i was so concerned over his behaviour i was fussing over him a bit this evening. Thanks for sharing- your 5 month old sounds like a real cutie!

 

lovemygreys- he has a constant supply of pellet mix in his cage and he gets a serve of fruits and veg and a mashed up boiled egg sometimes in the evenings as well.

 

Misty- should i not be handfeeding him at this age? He does eat on his own but i read on a thread somewhere else that this lady handfed her parrots till they were about 3 years old- something about a bonding ritual. Coco does eat tons of other food though, i try to expose him to quite a range of food and he's pretty good about it- he'll at least try a little of everything i give him.

 

Thanks so much for your responses guys! I just joined the forum last night and i love knowing there's somewhere i can come to where people are so generous with their experiences and advice

[Kaedyn]

You're probably reading about abundance weening. Three years seems over the top, but the point is to continue feeding your baby their formula, while at the same time offering them a variety of solid foods. Eventually they'll get to the point where they refuse the baby formula. The purpose behind it is not only for nutrition, but it tends to produce more emotionally stable parrots.

 

For my own birds, I'd say it was somewhere in the 4th month that they completely refused their formula.

[Mistyparrot]

Hi Coffesnob.

I don't see any problem with what you are doing, its just that in your first post it could be taken that that was your main way of feeding him. I spoon feed Misty when he shares my morning museli. In fact he shares all my meals so I have to take care of my own diet, minimum salt and saturated fats etc. I am sure I am better off for it,

[Jane08]

Well I must admit we still hand feed our greys as soon as we get home from work and they are 18 months and 10 months. It has really helped us with the bonding process for both of them. Of course later on when we have dinner they also get veggies and a bit of what we eat.

 

Ours also made those sounds you talk about paticularly our male. He would sit on our shoulder and make those noises and just wnated to be petted and close to us. They have both grown out of making that sound now though.

[thecoffeesnob]

Kaedyn- that does make sense. Coco started rejecting his formula at about 5 months but he still gobbles anything pureed up.

 

Mistyparrot- you're right, i should have been a little more clear- sorry about that. Coco eats so much better than i do, i swear

 

jane08- i find that Coco's a lot more affectionate now that i'm handfeeding him. We can pet him for a while longer now and he wants to step up onto my arm every chance he gets.

[Carolyn]

Mika is 5 months old last week and I still spoon feed him a warm breakfast of baby pablem in the morning about 2 tablespoons and a pureed veg mixture in the evening again about 2 tablespoons is offered. In between he gobbles down his pellets and takes all handouts you offer of veg and fruit, or whatever he feels he can steal from your plate a supper. We enjoy this special one on one time. For myself I don't want to give it up, don't no how others feel?

 

Carolyn

[she]

Hi I hand fed my cockatiel for a few weeks and I found he was still asking to be fed long after he needed it. I would slowley reduce the hand feeding but I agree it is handy to do now and again so it is easy to give any medication. My two are quite easy to medicate using a syringe, they treat it as a game.

[M2MM]

I hand fed Kumiko until he was 13 months old (started a month after his arrival, when he started going downhill fast, and only after the vet advised it.) I didn't originally expect to be feeding him so long, but he wouldn't give it up, and absolutely refused to feed himself.

 

It took another month to get him back to feeding himself (with the vet's help and advice) and now he still gets a small bedtime feed (by syringe) of strained yam with red palm oil. I do this only to ensure that he gets sufficient vitamin A, and to keep him accustomed to the syringe (for future medicating purposes).

 

Lately, he's been a reluctant about taking the syringe, so I've drop the amount he gets, yet again. He wants what is in the syringe, but seems to not like my methods anymore. :side: