Morning crying question

[Triflow]

Hello everyone. Our new goffin Cali "crys" every morning for around 30 minutes as she greets everyone and gets her morning snuggle time. Is this what they do? Hunger? Thank you, we are new and learning everything.

[mommaof3]

I will leave this to someone with more experience but just wanted to welcome you. This is a great place to get information. Just be careful BB is addicting!

[Melissasparrots]

I think I would mix up a batch of well cooked and squashy sweet potato with a little banana and oat meal or other cooked grains and give it to her in a bowl. I personally try to avoid hand-feeding already weaned babies and so far I've had really good luck with a little warm comfort food. You can get her started feeding her from a spoon, but personally I'd try to get her eating it out of a bowl like a big girl. One or two feedings like that in the morning and/or before bed might help her feel more secure.
Melissa

[Greycloud]

Hi and welcome to BirdBoard. How old is your baby? How long have you had him and when was he weaned?
I know lots of questions!What diet is he on?
If this is a baby it may be crying in the a.m. because it is hungrey. You have to remember he went all night probably without eating. You might want to offer some warm food. Not handfeeding formula but a little scrambled egg, unsweetened oatmeal, minced fruits and veggies, especially cooked sweet potato, all mixed together in a dish. Try to get the baby to eat out of the dish on its own so you don't start handfeeding again. Do you weigh him? Purchase a gram scale at Bed, Bath and Beyond. They are not expensive. Weigh him in the morning first thing before any food and keep a record. Any loss of weight should be kept an eye on. Does he cry any other time of the day like this? Make sure there is always fresh pellets in the bowl at all times. If he is not eating pellets I recomment soaking in a natural juice such as orange or apple or even just warm water.
Remember all wet food should be taken out after just a few hours to prevent bacteria growth.

[Triflow]

Hi. Thanks for the replies. She is almost 5 months old and is not weaned yet. She does try to eat her "formula" out of the dish afterwards. We are just not sure how long to continue to hand feed her.

[Greycloud]

I would get in contact with the breeder and discuss at what age she should be weaned. Were you hand feeding her at home and then stopped and thats when the crying started? You just can't stop all feedings. She should be finished handfeeding I believe. I could be wrong, don't hold me to it. Why did a breeder sell you an unweaned baby! Someone just lost lost a B&G due to improper weaning and bacterial infection. She could be crying due to a bacterial infection. Vet check is definitely called for by an avian vet. You might want to post up on Bird discussion instead of under specific species as it gets a bigger following.

[failurebydesign]

My eclectus "cries" (more like awkward squawks in his case)
when he is hungry I think it is a baby thing, he stops the squawks after I feed him,
warm food is the best, thats what they really want when they do this behavior (or so it seems)

EDIT: also hold your hand over his head to see if he tips his head back and opens his mouth? I'm sure cockatoos are different but I can tell when Tiki
is squawking for food because I go to pet him and he tips his head back with his beak open. Sometimes I pop a warm piece of corn or bean in just for fun but I let him eat out of his bowl so he is independent.

[Melissasparrots]

I was assuming she was weaned when I answered. It sounds to me like she wants to be hand fed. How many feedings did the breeder say she was on when you got her and how much formula per feeding?
I think if she were my bird, I'd start out offering just a small feeding of formula in the morning and then some warm real food. Sometimes they will hit the food bowl and eat their grown up food really great after getting a quick fix of formula to make them feel more secure. If she was sold to you only on one feeding, I would not continue the morning feed more than a few days just to establish security in her new environment. After that, try to switch her over to warm veggies or cooked grains and beans in the am.
Also, get a gram scale if you don't already have one and monitor her weight. A little weight loss during weaning is normal, but if you cut out a feeding and see huge weight drop, it usually means you cut it out too soon. Generally speaking there is no time line for weaning a baby. You go by their behavior, how interested they are in real food and how well they are holding their weight.
As alway, your breeder has actually laid hands on the bird, so they should hopefully give you better advice than I can. On the other hand, this person did sell you an unweaned birds so....
Melissa

[Triflow]

She is taking to the hand feeding less and less, more becoming something to chew on. We bought her taking 3 feedings per day of 30cc's. I have started making her a simple mash just to see if she will eat it. She seems to like it, but without the measure of the syringe with the formula it is hard to tell what she is eating and what she is playing with. She likes apples too.

[RubyMuse]

This is the reason selling unweaned babies is so wrong - very few people have the experience to do this safely. Mistakes cost the bird and can, and often are, fatal.

I would get in touch with an avian vet. You need one anyway. It is impossible to make a behavioral assessment unless you know whether a problem is medical/biological or behavioral.

The question of food/nutrition is too basic - contact a vet.