8 week old cockatiel previously weaned but reverted back to wanting baby food.

Julie86

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I got a cockatiel almost 2 weeks ago. He was 7 weeks old at the time of sale. He was weaned and according to the breeder was the first one to wean himself off from his clutch. When we brought him home he was very loud and paced his cage alot. When we let him out he would cry on our shoulders nonstop. He didnt eat for the first two days, just a piece here and there. I put a seed treat in his cage and he spend that day eating that and he finally started eating some millet. I had no idea why he cried all the time, I just thought that was how he was going to be. I called the breeder to give her an update and she heard his cries over the phone and said he was crying for baby food. I told her he does that all day and when we take him out. She said for some reason he has reverted back and to come by and get some baby food. Sure enough when we took him over, she put some together and he ate like crazy. So i started feeding him 3 times a day for the past week. Sometimes he will still cry inbetween feedings like he wants it. She is unsure why he hasnt settled in and I am not sure either. I have another bird in the house but he was around other birds at her home so i am not sure if she is scaring him. He was kept in a seperate cage when we brought him home when he started crying for the baby food. Something has stressed him out or has caused him to revert back. I am debating taking him back to the breeder so she can feed him as much as he needs and get him weaned again. He eats millet good and will eat my seed/pellet mix but i dont know how well he actually eats it. Has anyone had this happen before? Was he sold too soon? What should i do?
 

weco

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A lot of young birds regress to begging to be hand fed again, some that are over a year old...it has to do with the bird being nervous about its separation from its siblings/flock and the fact that it is in new surroundings. If you have other pets, cats and/or dogs & these animals sit & watch or pay undue attention to the bird, that will stress a bird. Loud noises, equipment/machinery running, construction going on, all can stress a bird out, as can lack of attention.....

I would make the time to do the hand feeding as it will go a long way to helping socialize the bird. Since he may or may not have been weaned too early, he was probably only on one feeding when the breeder thought he was weaned, so that should be all he will need & that would be an evening feeding.

I don't know what you plan to feed him, but if the breeder was only feeding him a seed mix, now would be the time to start getting him other foods.....they so not know something is a food if they have not tasted it or seen their siblings or other birds eating it. When I had 'tiels I used to use Zupreem's fruit blend for 'tiels.....

Good luck.....
 
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Julie86

Julie86

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I cut his feedings down to morning/evening a couple days ago. He begs and cries when he is out of his cage with me more than when he is in his cage. I am trying to get him to eat more of his mix. I tried some cooked food but he didnt eat it too good. My other bird is either scared of him or mad at him depending so he hasnt had a chance to learn from her. I have a cat but she is usually outside during the day and I dont know if he has seen her at all since he has been here. I have two children but one is in school most of the day. It is pretty quiet in the house during the day unless i have music playing. I dont blast it though.
 

weco

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Then my guess would be sibling/flock separation & nervousness about being out on his own.....stay with the hand feeding & he will come around.....

Millet is usually used as a treat for birds because many will eat the millet instead of their other food if left to their own devices.....
 
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Julie86

Julie86

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Cockatiel-hd: 11/?/13
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Yeah I know millet is a treat. I wanted to make sure he was at least getting something but he eats out of his bowl pretty good now. I will have to look into the Zupreem and get him switched over.
 

MonicaMc

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The sooner a breeder sells a bird after weaning, the higher likelihood of a bird regressing. If the breeder keeps the bird for at least 2-3 weeks *after* weaning, then the chance of regression is lessened.


In short, you were sold a bird that was too young to leave. Wouldn't matter if he was 7 weeks or 10 weeks, if he had just weaned and sold, that's too young. I have heard that some cockatiels take as long as 16 weeks to wean, but most typically are weaned by 12 weeks of age, give or take.


BTW, pellets should not make up more than 50% of his diet.
 
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Julie86

Julie86

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She said that she sold them when she did because she was going to a bird fair. She is local for me so i bought him before she went to the fair the next day. She is providing me with the baby food and syringes and showed me how to prepare and feed him.
I am using Roudybush pellets mixed with my seed mix atm. I offer cooked foods and birdie bread and I was going to start offering him soft veggies but so far when i put something new in front of him he walks all over it and doesnt show much interest.
 

Niner10Tango

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I totally agree with MonicaMc's statement. Your fortunate that the breeder is local and did show you how to mix the baby food and provided you syringes. Perhaps you can try scrambling some egg with some broken egg shells.. It took my bird many attempts to get him to eat veggies and also scrambled eggs with some broken egg shells. Some birds can be very picky eaters and it will take them awhile to try something new.. Patience is key.

I'm sure the breeder you purchased you new baby from is very reputable, but I do have a concern.. I hope she only sold weaned birds at the fair. At least you seen the signs that you bird has regressed, some folks probably would not know..
 

MonicaMc

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Well, it's good that this breeder is helping you out! It's up to you whether or not you want to take him back to the breeders. It would be easier for you, however, he may regress again once you take him back home. It would however help him if he had other cockatiels around that he could learn to eat from. Birds are very big on "monkey see, monkey do" - at least in my experience. If I want my entire flock to try something new, all I have to do is get at least one of them eating something and they more or less follow suit!


As far as fresh/cooked foods go, all you can do is experiment in presentations! Give it fresh, give it lightly steamed, dice it, slice it, chop it, mix it, hang it, etc. Eat with him, offer him fresh stuff first, etc.


My flock really weren't big on fresh foods at first. Ya, sure, they'd eat it if I presented it to them, but it wasn't until I started making a mash for them that contains grains, legumes, vegetables and some fruits that they really dug in with gusto. I assume it's because of the different variety of colors and textures that make it so interesting! I also occasionally mix in sprouted seeds which is another thing they've come to love!

In fact, sprouts can be a great way to get birds interested in new foods! First, you get your bird eating sprouts, and once they eat them with gusto, start adding in one or two vegetables that have been finely chopped, and maybe another time, add in some grains. Just slowly increase the variety of foods you offer with sprouts and the birds may eat them!
 

crimson

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your cockatiel may have been weened but not for very long.
now he's relying on you to feed him, which may turn out for the better.
You will develop a better bond with him, but is time costly to you.
lucky you can feed him, but I still question why she said he was weaned in the first place.
 
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Julie86

Julie86

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Well maybe she wasnt as familiar with cockatiels as she was with the birds she normally breeds? She bought this clutch out of the nest to hand rear, she doesnt normal breed cockatiels. I am not sure on exact details but she said he weaned himself off the baby food and was eating whatever mixture she feeds her birds good enough that she was comfortable selling them in time for the sale. She is concerned about him and the others she sold, so i dont think she was just trying to dump them off on people. She did say that me hand feeding him would help build the bond and that she would take him back to fully wean him if that is what i wanted. I dont mind feeding him but sometimes in between food he still begs for it and cries out like he wants something. I just feel like i am not providing him with all that he feels he needs so it puts me in a tough spot.
 

crimson

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I understand where she is coming from, and you. I breed, and raise babies. I've kept plenty of them too, cause I fall in love with them. It's always difficult when I sell one of my babies.

don't worry about the squawking, it will stop when he's a little older. He's going thru his transition period from a baby to a grown bird.
 

MikeyTN

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During weaning time, some babies WILL cry and still begging for you. Before you start hand feeding you should check his crop sac to make sure it is empty before you give him formula cause your risking him getting a bacterial infection and sour crop! IF there's seeds inside the crop sac you can feel it easily, they will still cry for food no matter what even when the crop sac is full. At that age you can cut the hand feeding down to one feed per day unless his weight is extremely low. I usually do the feeding at night before bed time. During weaning time, it's probably best for you guys to just leave him alone and not take him out. Cause he is going to beg beg beg. It's easier to wean him off to the smaller seeds at this moment, I do a mixture of seeds and pellets. After he's weaned, it is easier to introduce different food as you go so there's no need to push it right now. Most of my chicks wean around 45 days old but some takes longer. You must observe daily! 2 of my chicks have been weaned for 5 days so far and they're 48 days and 47 days old today as they refused formula early and been eating great. While the other two aren't weaned yet and they're 45 days and 41 days old. The youngest one I'm doing two feedings a day.
 
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Julie86

Julie86

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Lady, Lutino Hen
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Alright thanks. I have very small pellets and some parakeet seed mix for my Mulga that i will mix for him. He was eating something similiar but it had a bunch of extras/bigger pieces and I will just keep it simplier for him. I cut him down to morning and nighttime feeding the other day but I will cut it down to nighttime only. I try not to handle him too much and we stopped allowing my kids to hold him to help settle him in more. His cage is right on my desk so he is next to me all day and that seems to have helped settle him down some.
 

aleebelal

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hello there,

I have a cocktail bird which is about 8 week old and she is also not weaning yet, but she loves to eat white bread dipped in tea, I just want to ask is it safe to give him white bread which is dipped in milk tea?
 

itzjbean

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hello there,

I have a cocktail bird which is about 8 week old and she is also not weaning yet, but she loves to eat white bread dipped in tea, I just want to ask is it safe to give him white bread which is dipped in milk tea?


This thread is super old and you should probably make your own thread to get the most advice on this.

STOP feeding bread dipped in tea. While not toxic, she should be eating either baby bird formula (formulated to be easy to digest, help them gain weight and get strong) or his own bird food. Bread does nothing for them nutritionally really and really is not good to feed much at all. Tea can have caffeine and is also NOT good for birds, unless it's herbal.

You should be feeding your bird a good quality seed mix (to help them wean), pellets, chopped up veggies na dfruit. Also consider birdie bread, a good alternative to plain bread in tea, I use cornbread muffin mix and mix in chopped up veggies, you can even put in like sweet potato baby food, bake in the oven, and serve warm! You can even keep and refrigerate.
 

EllenD

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I agree with Itzjbean, you have a serious problem here and we can help you with it, but you need to start your own thread immediately in the Cockatiel forum or the Breeding forum, and that way we can give you individual help...

We also need some background information about your Cockatiel...

-Was she hand-raised/hand-fed by her breeder, or was she a parent-raised bird, meaning she was fed by her mother and father birds? When was she pulled from the nest-box? Did you buy her from a breeder unweaned, or did you breed her (you own her parents)?

Cockatiels typically should be first given and start eating solid food around 5-6 weeks old, regardless of whether they are parent-raised/fed or hand-raised/hand-fed by their breeder. This is the age when they should first be introduced to both seeds (usually breeders start out by putting millet-sprays inside of either the nest-box if they are being parent-raised or in the Brooder if they are being hand-raised/hand-fed by the breeder), as well as pellets.

Cockatiels are typically fully "Abundance-Weaned" between the ages of 10-12 weeks old, BUT up until that time when they are fully and totally "Abundance Weaned", they absolutely must be fed either by the parent birds, OR with a commercial Baby Bird Hand-Feeding Formula that contains all of the necessary nutrition they need to grow,
develop properly, and survive.


So we need a lot more information about what she's eating, how she's being fed, how she's being weaned, etc.

Either way, please do not feed her white bread dipped in tea!!! I don't know where that idea came from, but she needs to be eating a commercially sold baby bird hand-feeding formula multiple times each and every day, on an Abundance-Weaning schedule, and then she needs to be given the healthy solid foods that she will wean onto and eat as an adult bird, which obviously should be a staple of parrot pellets, a healthy, low-fat seed-mix that does not contain any Sunflower Seeds, no peanuts or other nuts, and no corn, and then fresh veggies and a little bit of fresh fruit (not much,
fruit contains a ton of sugar).
So you should be weaning her onto a healthy, nutritious, low-fat, low-sugar solid diet that you want her to eat when she's an adult...

Tea contains caffeine (even decaf or caffeine-free tea contains small amounts of caffeine, and for such a small, baby bird, even a small bit of caffeine is extremely bad for her). And white-bread contains no nutritional value at all, it's nothing but sugar/starch that is converted to fat and stored in her liver, and contains no protein, which is imperative for her to be eating right now so she continues to grow/develop, it contains none of the necessary vitamins, minerals, amino acids/enzymes, etc. that a weaning baby bird needs to grow, develop, and survive. So please, stop feeding her any white bread at all, and nothing with caffeine in it...Liquids such as all-natural, sugar-free fruit juices (no citrus fruit juice, like orange juice or grapefruit juice) are okay, but no coffee, tea, soda, milk or any other dairy, etc.

You need to feed her only the solid foods that you want her to eat as an adult, as right now, while "weaning", this is the time when she's going to decide what solid foods she likes to eat. This is the main reason that birds won't eat pellets but only eat unhealthy seeds, because they are only fed unhealthy seeds during their weaning period.
 

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