formula feeding

[Gary B.]

hey i just purchased a baby quaker parrot. i am currently feeding 4 dropper full a day, thats what the lady at the pet shop said to feed. i was wondering how old before i start feeding less often, and should i feed more dropper fulls when i start feeding less often..any advice would be great. thanx gary

[Gary B.]

i just reread that and im actually feeding 4 dropper fulls 4 times a day..

[The Outlaw]

Gary:

The person you purchased your baby from should have your answers. However, when feeding baby birds, depending on their age and species, we feed them in measurements of ccs. Not knowing enough about your baby severely limits how much information anyone can give you. Baby birds progress is tracked by days old, not in weeks. Your baby bird should be handfed at least 4 times a day, depending on age and species for quite some time before its able to eat on its own. Sorry to be so evasive, but you simply haven't provided enough information.

[Gary B.]

the droppers are 3ml each...so 12ml each feeding 4 times a day

[Tiki]

Gary, that baby is waaaay too young to have been sold. He should have been weaned by the breeder. He is really cute though. Can you go back to the shop and ask the breeder to wean him or get further handfeeding instructions? This is not somehthing to mess around with.

[The Outlaw]

Gary:

We are always very reluctant to give handfeeding information on this board. Too many things can go wrong. I strongly suggest that you follow Tiki's advice and ask the breeder/store to finish handfeeding your new baby. They will likely charge you for the service, but what is a healthy bird really worth to you in the long run?

In many states, mine being one of them, its illegal to sell an unweaned baby. I wish it were so in ALL of the states. The mortality rate of unweaned babies is astronomical. Would you bring home a puppy whose eyes weren't even opened?

Anyway, I'm not a handfeeder and have never handfed a quaker, so I'll have to leave you to others more skilled in that area. However, when I handfed my macaw, I had no idea of the many perils. Some things should be learned in the presence of an expert.

You may want to send Joel a private email. He may be able to give you more information. Good luck. He's a cute little baby.

[Gary B.]

just to let yall know Zander is doing great!!! he is walking around alot now and cherping up a storm at me.. he is taking the formula with no problem.. i will follow your advise on talking to the breeder.. she was supposed to contact me and let me know his exact birthdate.. however she didnt so i need to call her anyway .. as far as hand feeding the bird, i have done it in the past i just forgot when to change the feeding schedule to start weaning.. however i know that its not for a while anyway.. thanx for the response on his picture.. he is adorable isnt he..

[Tiki]

Oh good, I am relieved to hear you have handfeeding experience. I worry so much because I hear a lot of horror stories of unweaned babies sold to inexperienced people. It's not allowed to do that here in Australia, though breeders will sell or swap with other breeders but not to the public. I don't know about weaning schedules, but I would say if he is hungry and begging, feed him, even if he has started to eat on his own. It takes time, my baby tiels were parent fed and the youngest girl, Rima was begging from Daddy for a good 3 months!

[Gary B.]

yeah i handfed a baby senegal a while ago and everything turned out great.. i just cant remember when i started weaning him. but the breeder can help me with that. i was just hoping that someone knew of a website that had good feeding schedules for small parrots.

[The Outlaw]

Gary:

Just send a private PM to JOEL. He'll probably have that information handy. He often feeds smaller parrots. I wish I had their schedule, but alas, I only have the macaws charts. I, too, am greatly relieved that you are experienced. We have had so many really bad outcomes in the last year around here with inexperienced, frantic first time bird baby owners. Its quite heartbreaking.

Joel is wonderful, very helpful and if he reads this, he may send a PM to you. However, he's always nice to deal with, so don't be afraid to contact him privately.