Help With Handfeeding

Hi Everyone

Yesterday I bought a cockatiel chick which is half covered and around 4 weeks old. When I am trying to feed him, he is not very excited about it. He does not open his beak and ask for food. Rather than that, I have to keep the syringe close to his mouth, tap a little and then when he opens his beak I push food slowly from left to right of the bird. However, the videos I have seen on YouTube, the chicks are literally dancing for food. After this long effort, he does not eat more than 2 ml.
Following is the approximate diet and hours

Diet 1: 2-3 ml
Diet 2 (After 7 Hours) : 1-2 ml
Diet 3 (After 7 Hours): 2-3 ml

As per the suggestion of previous owner, I fed him cerelac made in warm water and mashed banana with warm water. (It was more like banana and water juice)

Now, please let me know if the quantity he is taking is fine ? Should I feed him forcefully by holding his beak and pushing food?

He is also little afraid, he tries to move back when I approach him or try to hold him.

Your help will be highly appreciated.

take him back to the breeder to finish weaning

that's the breeder's job. The bird wont bond to you anymore if you hand feed it and without extensive training you can easily kill them.

You need a thermometer for the food, too cold it can slow his crop and starve him, too hot and it'll burn a hole in his crop. Also forcing the food down their throat can easily make them inhale the food. Honestly hand-feeding is the riskiest thing you can do with them, I'd rather walk through a literal minefield than hand-feed a bird. Make the breeder keep him until he is weaned Don't take no for an answer, once again this is their job.

I am sorry you are having trouble with this young one.

What temperature is the formula you are feeding? What is the consistency? Are you using a thermometer for this, and did the breeder offer to help you with this at all? Are you using a spoon, a syringe? Are you keeping supplies all sanitized and cleaned? How are you keeping the baby warm?

A responsible breeder will never sell someone with no experience handfeeding a bird that is not weaned (still needs formula). The suggestion above to give the baby back to breeder until the baby is finished weaning and eating solid food on his own would be the highest chance he will survive. He does not seem to be eating enough now to sustain him for much longer. Are you keeping him warm in a brooder? This is also what he needs right now is a sustained heat and humidity.

Most birds when hungry will beg as you see in videos, but a lack of experience can and will result in heartbreak for you. You can watch all the helpful videos you want, but unless the formula is perfectly right you could end up doing more harm than good. Please consider returning the baby to the breeder.

LordTriggs said:

take him back to the breeder to finish weaning

that's the breeder's job. The bird wont bond to you anymore if you hand feed it and without extensive training you can easily kill them.

You need a thermometer for the food, too cold it can slow his crop and starve him, too hot and it'll burn a hole in his crop. Also forcing the food down their throat can easily make them inhale the food. Honestly hand-feeding is the riskiest thing you can do with them, I'd rather walk through a literal minefield than hand-feed a bird. Make the breeder keep him until he is weaned Don't take no for an answer, once again this is their job.

Click to expand...

What does that mean “The bird wont bond to you”?
I thought handfeeding a bird will get him to trained easily.
I am calling the seller rightaway and will ask him exactly what u said.
But out of curiosity, what does that mean? A bird will not bond if you handfeed? It’s confusing

Think about it this way- a baby bird is nurtured and cared for by it's parents. Then it grows up and leaves the nest (leaves it's parents). A baby bird does not grow up and remain closely bonded to it's parents for life. Birds are not like humans in this way, though they may remain in the same flock for life they do not remain close to their parents in particular for life. Objectively speaking, the easiest time to train a bird is right after it's been weaned and left the nest, when it's out forming social bonds with others in it's flock, learning what are and aren't acceptable behaviors and how to survive as an adolescent heading towards adulthood. Not as a baby.

Haseeb said:

LordTriggs said:

take him back to the breeder to finish weaning

that's the breeder's job. The bird wont bond to you anymore if you hand feed it and without extensive training you can easily kill them.

You need a thermometer for the food, too cold it can slow his crop and starve him, too hot and it'll burn a hole in his crop. Also forcing the food down their throat can easily make them inhale the food. Honestly hand-feeding is the riskiest thing you can do with them, I'd rather walk through a literal minefield than hand-feed a bird. Make the breeder keep him until he is weaned Don't take no for an answer, once again this is their job.

Click to expand...

What does that mean “The bird wont bond to you”?
I thought handfeeding a bird will get him to trained easily.
I am calling the seller rightaway and will ask him exactly what u said.
But out of curiosity, what does that mean? A bird will not bond if you handfeed? It’s confusing

Click to expand...

What I mean is hand feeding wont make them more attached to you than if you don't hand feed them yourself. Breeders say this to make people do the work for them.

Haseeb said:

LordTriggs said:

take him back to the breeder to finish weaning

that's the breeder's job. The bird wont bond to you anymore if you hand feed it and without extensive training you can easily kill them.

You need a thermometer for the food, too cold it can slow his crop and starve him, too hot and it'll burn a hole in his crop. Also forcing the food down their throat can easily make them inhale the food. Honestly hand-feeding is the riskiest thing you can do with them, I'd rather walk through a literal minefield than hand-feed a bird. Make the breeder keep him until he is weaned Don't take no for an answer, once again this is their job.

Click to expand...

What does that mean “The bird wont bond to you”?
I thought handfeeding a bird will get him to trained easily.
I am calling the seller rightaway and will ask him exactly what u said.
But out of curiosity, what does that mean? A bird will not bond if you handfeed? It’s confusing

Click to expand...

I think what LordTriggs meant by that statement was that just because you are handfeeding it doesn't necessarily mean it will fall in love with you and want to bond. Think about it - it has just been taken from the only home it has known and given to a complete stranger who may not be preparing formula right or hot enough, may not be keeping it warm enough, and is forcing it to eat. And you are wondering why it doesn't want to bond with you? Take a step back, think and again, please consider bringing baby back to breeder to finish weaning process.

He means that a bird fed by someone else will bond to you just as well as a bird fed by you.

I am currently feeding SpyPistol who came from a situation very much like what you are describing. But the person in your position couldn't get back in touch with the breeder. I have experience hand feeding, so I adopted SpyPistol March 1st, severely underweight from a feeding schedule similar to the one you are describing. Malformed beak, slight splay leg, and somewhat frightened of handling. When he was only just over the age of yours by a matter of days. He is still nowhere near weaning. Are you prepared for that fight at every meal and with being so careful and taking all those risks with the bird's life for another month, month and a half? Pistol is doing great for the record, but is still splay legged and needs to have a vet look at the beak and test him for PBFD.

I agree, give the bird back to the breeder until it is weaned. You could VERY EASILY kill that bird accidentally. Even experienced hand feeders don't get it right 100% of the time. Are you willing to risk it with this baby?

I believe that the proper term is: No Assurance.

At best, hand feeding will develop a quicker comfort in being around Humans.

There has been a rush of placing non-weaned Parrots in the hands of individuals who are not properly trained to feed and wean the chick to solid food. This development of late is based more around the breeder's want to reduce their costs than to assure a Bonding Relationship with the new owner.

This approach has resulted in an increased number of chicks starving to death, or developing behavior issues as a result a fear of starvation. Also, damage or burning of the Crop and mouth. This can be verified by an increase number of emergency visits to Avian Vets by heartbroken owner's who's chicks are starving and/or near dead.

Hand feeding should not be taken-on by individuals that are not properly trained and supervised.

Thanks all for the clarification of my meaning! I trust the information on hand is being thoroughly thought about Haseeb it is very important to sort this out as fast as possible for your Tiel's life.

Sailboat, I've noticed more and more people being sold unweaned babies. I guess this is the common thing for March time. I've even seen "breeders" here offering unweaned babies, who refuse to acknowledge that the practice is illegal in the United Kingdom. Have personally reported 3 breeders in the past few weeks

LordTriggs said:

Thanks all for the clarification of my meaning! I trust the information on hand is being thoroughly thought about Haseeb it is very important to sort this out as fast as possible for your Tiel's life.

Sailboat, I've noticed more and more people being sold unweaned babies. I guess this is the common thing for March time. I've even seen "breeders" here offering unweaned babies, who refuse to acknowledge that the practice is illegal in the United Kingdom. Have personally reported 3 breeders in the past few weeks

Click to expand...

The practice of selling non-weaned Parrots is expanding rapidly as this new 'breed' of breeders (note small 'b') takes over the market. True Breeders (note capital 'B') would never sell a Parrot that has not been fully weened and on solid food for at least two weeks.

This is becoming very common with every year larger numbers of this new 'b'reeder appearing. As long as there are people buying strictly on price, this will not change.

It is my opinion that this is driven by 'profits' as assuring that the Parrot is fully-on solid food for two weeks allows near all physical problems to be fully seen by both the caring Breeder and the new Owner. Parrots that physical defects have a lower price, whereas younger birds, those defects are not always apparent to the new Owner. The 'b'reeder with the overly young Parrot can sell either for the same price and also save the cost of fully weening and thereby enjoy the profits.

Thank-you, for your question.

SailBoat said:

LordTriggs said:

Thanks all for the clarification of my meaning! I trust the information on hand is being thoroughly thought about Haseeb it is very important to sort this out as fast as possible for your Tiel's life.

Sailboat, I've noticed more and more people being sold unweaned babies. I guess this is the common thing for March time. I've even seen "breeders" here offering unweaned babies, who refuse to acknowledge that the practice is illegal in the United Kingdom. Have personally reported 3 breeders in the past few weeks

Click to expand...

The practice of selling non-weaned Parrots is expanding rapidly as this new 'breed' of breeders (note small 'b') takes over the market. True Breeders (note capital 'B') would never sell a Parrot that has not been fully weened and on solid food for at least two weeks.

This is becoming very common with every year larger numbers of this new 'b'reeder appearing. As long as there are people buying strictly on price, this will not change.

It is my opinion that this is driven by 'profits' as assuring that the Parrot is fully-on solid food for two weeks allows near all physical problems to be fully seen by both the caring Breeder and the new Owner. Parrots that physical defects have a lower price, whereas younger birds, those defects are not always apparent to the new Owner. The 'b'reeder with the overly young Parrot can sell either for the same price and also save the cost of fully weening and thereby enjoy the profits.

Thank-you, for your question.

Click to expand...

Gah, hearing this makes me so glad that I now know a good proper well meaning Breeder for the future when I decide the time is right for a new friend. Some people out there really need to have their heads knocked together, they think rearing a bird is easy/cheap then wonder why birds are expensive to buy!