How to Wean

[birdsnreps]

8 months!! thats a long time, i think, for a grey. but of course he had all those problems :( poor baby, im sorry you had to go through all that when you were told you had a perfectly healthy bird :( that must have been scary to see all his toes fall off, i think i would freak!!

ok...as for weaning. when our babies dont beg anymore, thats when we stop handfeeding them. most of the babies, and even our breeders, love to eat formula and will gobble it down if we offer it to them, but they dont NEED the formula to keep up their weight, there is a difference between being technically weaned (just accepting formula as a "treat"), and a baby that needs the handfeedings to keep his weight up.

if you baby is at a good weight right now, and he does not beg for formula, stop handfeeding and weigh him every morning to see how he does weight-wise. if he looses more than 10% of his body weight, he definately needs the handfeedings. he will prob loose a few grams after you stop handfeeding, but any more than 10%, that means hes not weaned yet and NEEDS the formula.

[babypiggy]

ahh okies that's a good tip

i stopped weighing ajax for a few weeks because he was doing so good from being hand fed (when we first got him he didn't want it)
but our avian vet recommended it since his weight was border line dangerously low


anyways
he loves eating off the bent spoon we cuztomized for him

but he doesn't seem to bed
but he does seem super excited when i mix his formula in the morning

it's very cute

i'll lessen the amount day by day
and hopefully just stop till i get to only 1 teaspoon (he eats about 12 of them before)

and keep checking his weight after morning poo poo
(i actually sing him a poo poo song, " poopety poop. poopety poo poo. poopety poop") and he usually goes then i go *YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY good job"
lol

[birdsnreps]

if hes at a good weight, and doesnt beg, i wuold say its pretty safe to quit handfeeding him and weigh him every morning to see how he does. but dont quit until hes at a normal weight for his age. i had a blue and gold for 1.5 years, and she awlays loved her formula. she ate enough on her own, but i still handfed her cause she loved it so much, but not every day. if she didnt see the syringe, it was out of sight, out of mind. but if she saw me with a syringe, she would fly to me and beg for formula. i would make her special formula mixed with all kinds of goodies, she just gobbled it up, but she wouldnt beg for it unless she saw me wtih a syringe.

[babypiggy]

i see
well he doesn't get like that when he sees the syringe
but he knows when i'm mixing his formula

i'll make sure o keep things aside and out of sight

[birdsnreps]

ive been looking at your user name, babypiggy!! i love it!! haha, its cute!!

[babypiggy]

hehehe
thanks
i've been using it for over 10 years

[birdsnreps]

wow, thats a long time!! LOL

[babypiggy]

yea i had internet for a really long time when i was a kid
:P

[babypiggy]

so early in the afternoon (about 10am)
ajax did his poop
and it was a glop (no liquid)
does it mean he is dehydrated?


i proceeded to hand feed him a very small amount and his poop is back to normal

[birdsnreps]

does it look like normal adult poop?? their poop should be neatly coiled and firm, not dry, but not real big and real moist like when they are handfeeding. it might be that your bird didnt drink much water, or it ate a bunch of dry food.