Newbies

[Jayd]

Greetings!

I am Maggie, Jay's wife. Our CAG is named Spock and he is 12 wks old. We have been hand-feeding him since he was 5 wks old. He weighs 459 grams and he is a dark gray bird. He flew yesterday for the first time one foot off the ground and two feet forward:laugh:

Our question is (first of many); Spock has been eating good, last night he ate his formula and sweet potato mash mixture. This morning, he ate 1/4 tsp of his formula and wanted to go play. Jay made him his sweet potato mash with formula and he ate one bite and wanted to play. He didn't eat any of his lunch-time bean mash, just a few veggies/seeds/pellets. He usually eats daily, 40cc's of formula, plus 1/2tsp of peanut butter then a 1/4 cup of assorted fresh veggies, a bite or two of fruit and then he eats his 1 to 2 tsp sweet potato mash puree for lunch, snacks on seeds/pellets, bean mash (1 to 2 tsp) for dinner and 30 to 40 cc's formula with peanut butter for bed time snack. He is not crazy about seeds or pellets and eats very little of them, preferring veggies. He has lost his butterball butt and he has trimmed down and I think he is weaning from the formula. Is he cutting his weight down for flight? His breeder said he looks very good. Is this normal? Our first CAG and we are very nervous about this.

Thanks for any input...

Maggie and Jay

[judygram]

I think Spock is right on schedule Maggie, they do cut down on their formula when they are getting ready to wean and fledge, thats good he is eating his veggies and great that he is not crazy about seeds.

 

He will lose some weight when fledging but he will gain it back later so don't worry too much about that right now.

 

We do have some very knowledgeable members here who have a lot of experience with handfeeding and weaning greys so don't be afraid to ask any question but I think you are doing just fine.

[Luvparrots]

Hi Maggie congratulations on your new grey, Spock. From your Avatar, Spock is a fine looking grey. You are very lucky that your grey loves veggies and would rather have them then seeds. We have several members with baby greys so you will get a lot of feedback and support from them. Can't wait to hear more about Spock and see some pictures if you have any to share. Welcome to the family!

[Lyric]

Hi Maggie and Jay, welcome to the forum. What you are experiencing with Spock is perfectly normal. Generally weaning coincides with fledging and if he just took his first flight then it is to be expected that he will begin to eat less formula and lose a little weight. Right now he's more interested in learning those flying skills. Keep some pellets in his cage at all times and you'll find he may snack on them whenever he decides he is hungry. Also, keep offering the healthy veggies, fruits, nuts and grains. You can start to cut down on the formula feedings and see how he does eating on his own...if he refuses the morning formula for a few days in a row it's time to drop that handfeeding. I'd continue the night-time feeding until he shows no interest in that and is eating well on his own and holding his weight.

[Eckobird]

Hello Maggie and welcome to the forum! I also have a 12 week old grey, his HD was 2/2/09. My baby is going through the same thing as your baby is. It is perfectly normal. Mine weighed 467 grams a couple of weeks ago and ever since he started flying he lost 50 grams and I was so worried but the vet told me that is was normal. My baby is flying like crazy. He is really good at it and can land real good. He now weighs at a constant 415 grams. I just got him on 1 feeding of formula at night because he was refusing the morning formula. Anyways good luck with your baby Spock! I look forward to hearing more about you and Spock. If you have anymore pictures of him we would love to see. Enjoy the forum!

[Jayd]

A big thank you to caitb2007, Lyric, Luvparrot and judygram for all your kind words and welcome. You have helped to put our minds at ease...:laugh: We uploaded some photos to the gallery but we don't know if we did it right because we can't find them...we put them under Jay & Maggie with Spock as the title. (boy, do I feel dumb :blush:) At 11 weeks, Spock weighed 490 grams and he now weighs 459 grams. We were told that his parents always produce large birds. Spock has cut his morning formula for the third day in a row, no matter how Jay doctors it so we are just keeping fresh veggies/seeds/pellets in there for him. He is still eating his afternoon and evening meals. He eats pretty hefty going to bed (30cc's of formula and sweet potato mash along with his warm water.) We don't have a large flight area for Spock but he has very good control and he flies now to ledges, counter tops, other cages (Including top and sides) our Min Pin's back...They get along great except when Spock tries to preen him. :laugh: We also breed conures, cockatiels, grass parakeets, budgies and he could care less about them because he knows he is the center of attention...Hand-feeding and raising the CAG is a whole new experience compared to our other fids and we love it! We keep all entrances to his cage locked because he knows how to open them. We have a shop vac that he is not afraid of and he has learned how to push the button to turn it on and off. We found out how to upload photos so we will send them and will have more questions later...

Maggie & Jay<br><br>Post edited by: Jayd, at: 2009/04/30 02:11

[Luvparrots]

Sounds like Spock is a handful. He is so smart perhaps he will start doing his own clean up now that he can start the vacuum!!!! I love to hear about all the mischief greys can get into. My Ana Grey is so quiet and easygoing, perhaps that is why I get a big giggle out of all the mischief other greys get involved in. Can't wait to see some pictures of Spock!!