Baby begs for food constantly when humans are near, even with full crop

Snapdragon

Member
Dec 26, 2019
112
8
Everett, WA
Parrots
Tashi, almost-2-year-old female moustache parakeet, Indian subspecies (Psittacula alexandri fasciata)
Hi all. I'm currently working with a bunch of baby cockatiels. Everyone has weaned except for one baby. This baby, from the time he arrived, has begged non-stop. You can literally feed him until his crop is so full that he'd regurgitate if given more, and he immediately begins to cry for more. (Inger witnessed this behavior when she swung by to get some toys for Bumble.) The moment he sees a human within six feet of his cage, he cries and won't stop until the human leaves (at best). He even falls asleep begging and then begs in his sleep.

The little guy is thriving. He eats his bean/veggie/fruit mix plus his pellet mix VERY well. He's a proper weight (maybe even over!), he's active, and he's healthy. The other babies in his cage try to stay as far from him as possible, with the exception of one baby (yes, definitely a baby) who feeds him.

Since much of their diet in the wild consists of grass seed, we've been putting down a cloth in the cage and sprinkling it with crumble and canary seed. That recently stopped working. Now sprouts will quiet him down... at least until he finishes eating.

I feel SO sorry for the little guy. Has anyone had a baby like this before? What did you try? And what worked/didn't work?
 
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SailBoat

Supporting Member
Jul 10, 2015
17,646
10,008
Western, Michigan
Parrots
DYH Amazon
I have zero experience with this kind of issue. But with hope, one of our Breeders will spot this Thread and provide comment.
So, a soft bump back up on the more active part of the Forum.
 

Inger

Well-known member
Parrot of the Month 🏆
Mar 20, 2017
3,395
826
Everett, WA
Parrots
Bumble - Pacific (or Celestial) Parrotlet hatched 02/19/17
I did see it and the poor little nugget was really pathetic. If I had to hear it day in and day out it would also get on my last nerve.

Mostly commenting to bump again. He sure was cute other than the crying.


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SilverSage

New member
Sep 14, 2013
5,937
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Columbus, GA
Parrots
Eclectus, CAG, BH Pionus, Maximilian’s Pionus, Quakers, Indian Ringnecks, Green Cheeked Conures, Black Capped Conures, Cockatiels, Lovebirds, Budgies, Canaries, Diamond Doves, Zebra Finches, Society F
That is odd. What does your vet say?


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Raptor40

New member
Feb 10, 2020
9
2
Hey!
Can you give us an update on this chick? I reared a cockatiel exactly like this. He was odd the moment we took him out from the nest and would constantly cry all hours, even directly after feeds, and would try and feed off anything that he could get his beak around. He was still crying a lot when he fledged and would have to be separated from his siblings at feeds just to stop him jumping in their way and stealing their food. In the end, the only reason he stopped was because we stopped hand-feeding him (he was eating solids well at the time and his siblings had also fully weaned at the time). For some reason, he completely stopped after that and now he eats normally? Very strange.
The vets think it was part of a genetic condition that has been passed on through his parents.
 

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