Need help with a 3 year old baby U2.

[KelnKritters]

Ok I have a problem with Angel my 3 year old U2. I hand fed her from 5 weeks old. She was very hard to wean and didn't get there until she was over a year old. Well a few weeks ago she was sneezing a bit and since I was feeding baby birds I decided to give her baby formula to boost her calorie and fluid intake. She of course loved it and is perfectly fine and not sneezing or sick in anyway but, she now whines and begs constantly t be fed baby food! She is driving everyone crazy. She is acting like a big baby again. She doesn't even want to feed herself hardly anything. The babies I was feeding are not even needing to be fed like her. Anyone ever had this happen, I have never heard of a bird regressing to baby at 3 years old before. Help please. Thanks, Kelly

[Beaks]

Originally Posted by KelnKritters

Ok I have a problem with Angel my 3 year old U2. I hand fed her from 5 weeks old. She was very hard to wean and didn't get there until she was over a year old. Well a few weeks ago she was sneezing a bit and since I was feeding baby birds I decided to give her baby formula to boost her calorie and fluid intake. She of course loved it and is perfectly fine and not sneezing or sick in anyway but, she now whines and begs constantly t be fed baby food! She is driving everyone crazy. She is acting like a big baby again. She doesn't even want to feed herself hardly anything. The babies I was feeding are not even needing to be fed like her. Anyone ever had this happen, I have never heard of a bird regressing to baby at 3 years old before. Help please. Thanks, Kelly

That is why i handfeed every bird that comes in here, because they always regress and that is the quickest way to bond with a bird no matter the age or temperment.

You will have to rewean your bird slowly on soft foods, don't just stop handfeeding or your bird may start some unwanted behavior like plucking, screaming or biting out of frustration.

You can also use this time to teach your bird a few things like potty training, Because the bird will listen and learn from you better than when it was a baby.

John

[KimBear]

Some cockatoos do this from time to time, often under the same type of circumstance you're describing. Unless there's some underlying medical problem, it's more likely that Angel's regression is related to the comfort and security she feels when she's being handfed rather than wanting the baby food. There's no physical reason she can't feed herself, but rather she's preferring to have you do it because it means she's getting attention and comfort. It still may not hurt to have her examined to make sure she doesn't have an infection or something.

You do NOT have to continue feeding the baby food if you can redirect her handfeeding time from feeding to playing and other interaction. She can learn that special time with you doesn't involve baby food, but it does involve other activities, so she's more likely to rediscover what's being offered in her food bowls. Weigh her daily to make sure she's not losing weight. Keep her food bowls filled with her favorites, make sure she sees you put them in there, and make a big production out of the fact that you're putting yummy things into the bowls. If she takes a bite from her bowl, praise her for doing so.

You might want to start by offering a piece of "big bird" food, like a slice of banana or a pellet or two, with your fingers, then change the session so it's not so much focued on feeding, but rather some other activity. Maybe start some trick training (see my website for the series I recommend: www.kimbear.com ). This type of training not only gives you and your parrot something to do together, but it incorporates food and praise reinforcers, which may help ease the transition since she's still getting some food from you directly. The praise and extra attention will help fulfill her need for security. You can slowly back off the food reinforcers and use just the praise.

Be careful to not respond to attention-seeking whining or yelling. Wait until she is quiet, then go to her. You want her to learn that she doesn't have to whine or cry to get attention from you. This often goes hand in hand with the food-begging regression. Again, it's not usually about the food.

If there's any way you can feed your next batch of babies out of Angel's sight, that may help avoiding this happening again. Maybe Angel can go visit a playgym in another room?