Seeking advice for weaning my hand raised Eclectus!

Jayson_Black

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2x Eclectus-bonded Pair, 1 x Eclectus Chick (Hand Rearing from Incubation) (Male). 3X Cockatiel (2 of them hand reared from 4 weeks), 1 X Australian Magpie (reared from Fledgling), 2 X Budgie (Hand re
After finishing this post I will be going up the supermarket to buy Salem's (Our 44 day (6.2 weeks) old Eclectus) First Foods. Am going to give him Cooked Sweet Potato, Corn and peas. Maybe a small amount of Strawberry &/or Kiwi Fruit. But not too much Fruit coz of sugar/fructose.


My main concern is water. Being so young and not so stable on his feet yet I am apprehensive about letting him near water un supervised. What do you guys think?


I'd love to hear any tips you have about First Foods. What to give and what not to give. By "what Not to give" I dont mean the poisonous foods list, but more things that might be choking hazard or have too much of something or not enough of something. But also your thoughts on water. I am thinking I will give him a baby chicken water feeder. the part where the water sits is very narrow making drowning very unlikely. Although now that I think of it Salem's head is huge compared to a 0 to 10 day Chicken Hatchling. So what do you guys do with water at this age?


Now for the update on Salem's Progress. Some of you may know that I Hand Reared him from Hatching/Incubation. It's been a little bumpy, a little scary but he has gained weight very well, I have charted and plotted his weight (and more recently his feeds) into a spread sheet and compared his progress to that which is charted in a book I purchased.



You Can see that Spread Sheet here if you like: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...CL-uFn5tYYXEjIYoV5JUbyF1DkwrAoMI_J2A7/pubhtml


The only problem we have had is that lump appeared to form on his neck. At first I thought it might have been a Ruptured Clavicle Air Sac which causes a subcutaneous Emphysema. But after thoroughly researching that found that it is not that. That left me thinking it had to be a Cyst or tumor. But I don't think it is that either anymore. I think it a very strange form of "wry neck" or some other kind of skeletal deformity. We can and will take him to an avian vet. We live deep in the country and the nearest Three Avian Vets are 2 hours, 3 hours and 4 hours away. Normally that wouldn't be an issue except for the fact we are experiencing record heat here in Australia this summer. It could be dangerous to take him away from home for so long in such high heat. Even worse if the car broke down, we wouldn't be able to provide air conditioning. There is a small chance I might be able to get the Vet to come here, but that is going Cost$$$



Anyway, Considering he has good energy levels, eating well, gaining weight, fast blink etc we have decided a vet visit is not such an emergency that we once thought it might be. So we will monitor him carefully and wait for cooler weather and/or when Salem is older to take him to the vet.


The only other issue we had along the way was as his eye sight came in he became quite difficult to feed for 3 or 4 days. Everything scared him or at least distracted him making feeding extremely difficult. The book we purchased says to cover their head with a towel when their eye sight comes in. but when I tried this he panicked. I also thought it was better to just nut it out so that we didn't have to continue feeding with a towel over his head. It only took about 3 maybe 4 days for him to settle down and get back into a good feeding rythem. I was also slightly over feeding him during this stage which didn't help him wanting to eat properly. (I was feeding him 6 times per day, we I should have been down to like 5 or even 4 feeds per day)


I have hand reared Chicks before, but never from hatching. My neighbor is an experienced parrot breeder, but even he has never attempted rearing from hatching/incubation before.



In all, I think I did a pretty good job. I did it on my own. Even the first few days where I was feeding him 14 times per day. I would sleep in between feeds. I would wash, then sterilize everything, every Feed. I literally destroyed the skin on my hands from the obsessive hand washing. For e.g. if I washed my hands, the happened to brush my hand on something or scratch my face, I would go back and wash my hands again, and sometimes again and again. Then I would also use rubber gloves for the actual feeding.



In my head I was determined not to fail this innocent baby. From the moment I set the Egg in the incubator, I made a commitment in my own head that no matter what it took, I was going to do this and do it right. I would give a piece of my Soul to ensure this baby's health and survival. I took no chances, I made no gambles. I made sure I did my homework. Although some information is very hard to find for hand rearing of Eckies from hatching. I think the only reason I was able to do this is my attitude towards commitment. I have all kinds of problems in life, but once I make a commitment, you can always count on me and that goes double for my animal family.



But anyway, here we are at day 44. It's been a beautiful experience, all be it a grueling and tiresome one. I still get nervous about different things, behaviors, sounds etc. lol. I actually have a camera in the brooder, so that if Salem is scared or needs anything I can hear him. Just the other night he started squawking in the middle of the night. Almost like he had a bad dream. I raced up to him and petted him until he went back to sleep. It was so cute. but I better be careful not to introduce any spoiled behaviors. But I can't help it. Even though I am a Man, I am extremely Broody and Clucky. lol.



Please feel free to ask me any questions



Here is a YouTube video of Salem from Day 1 to Day 38, I will make a new Video around Day 50 or 60:

[ame="https://youtu.be/nGVq1LClWrk"]Baby Eclectus Day 1 to 38 Hand rearing - YouTube[/ame]
 
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SailBoat

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Re: First Foods - Water - When? also Update on Salem Hand Reared from Day 0

Note, assure that you are obtaining your chicks weight at the same time everyday. Target after the first stool and prior to the first feeding each. This will allow for numbers that make more sense by not jumping so much day to day.

This is a practice that will serve you well over his long life.

You understand that you have been very lucky as so very much can go very wrong when Learn on the Job.

If you cannot get to an Avian Professional, you should at least consider Skype or like technology for your baby's medical care. And, yes, you should expect to pay for Avian Medical Care.

I hope that this bump will get you in front of those who are true experts with this species and care of very young Parrots.

Washing /bathing should be kept to very fine misting at this point. Assure that you mist into the air above your baby so that it falls gently from above. NEVER mist of spray a Parrot in the face!!!
 
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Jayson_Black

Jayson_Black

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Jan 20, 2018
29
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Finley, NSW, Australia
Parrots
2x Eclectus-bonded Pair, 1 x Eclectus Chick (Hand Rearing from Incubation) (Male). 3X Cockatiel (2 of them hand reared from 4 weeks), 1 X Australian Magpie (reared from Fledgling), 2 X Budgie (Hand re
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Re: First Foods - Water - When? also Update on Salem Hand Reared from Day 0

Note, assure that you are obtaining your chicks weight at the same time everyday. Target after the first stool and prior to the first feeding each. This will allow for numbers that make more sense by not jumping so much day to day.

This is a practice that will serve you well over his long life.

You understand that you have been very lucky as so very much can go very wrong when Learn on the Job.

If you cannot get to an Avian Professional, you should at least consider Skype or like technology for your baby's medical care. And, yes, you should expect to pay for Avian Medical Care.

I hope that this bump will get you in front of those who are true experts with this species and care of very young Parrots.

Washing /bathing should be kept to very fine misting at this point. Assure that you mist into the air above your baby so that it falls gently from above. NEVER mist of spray a Parrot in the face!!!


Thanks for that. lol. yes I was lucky, I am lucky in so many ways. I am lucky to be me :) I am not completely inexperienced though. I have hand reared many other birds. not from hatching. I think the youngest I have hand reared were two Galahs from 20 days. Actually one of my budgies, was just 16 days when he was brought to me. I have just never Hand reared a frugivore, and never from Hatching. I knew alot could go wrong, actually I REALLY knew, but I also knew that I am capable of doing some amazing things when I put my heart and soul into it. I know people blame all kinds of things for the death of their early attempts at hand rearing, but the truth is... well i think you know the truth. I have already been there. So Truly, "lucky" didnt play that great a role in this. that's not to say there was no luck at all, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless they are a very specific type of person living a very specific type of life with a very specific attitude towards such things. I largely meet these specifics.


So, I weight him before the first feed of each day, just before I administer that feed. For washing I just dribble water on areas that need it, then I dab it up with premium toilet tissue. but thanks for the tip on misting. i will consider misting.


What I REALLY wanted to get thoughts on was Safety around Water (for Drinking) at such a young age. I just gave him his first foods today and though he has not eaten any, he did have a little bite and a lick of the food (was so cute), but did not appear to take any into his mouth.


As for the "Bump" It's cool. There is currently no emergency. Just trying to get a conversation started :) I have access to or the ability to access anything and everything that I (((REALLY))) need to know. I don't just mean the internet (though of course I do use that)
 
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Jayson_Black

Jayson_Black

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Finley, NSW, Australia
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2x Eclectus-bonded Pair, 1 x Eclectus Chick (Hand Rearing from Incubation) (Male). 3X Cockatiel (2 of them hand reared from 4 weeks), 1 X Australian Magpie (reared from Fledgling), 2 X Budgie (Hand re
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Re: First Foods - Water - When? also Update on Salem Hand Reared from Day 0

He perched today for the first time (with a little help). He also spoke (babbling/experimental noises) too. I have heard him several times of the past few days the CCTV I rigged up when he hatched. (He doesn't know I am listening [i hope lol]) but today was the first time he has done it in front of me. It was adorable. A little bit like how some budgies babble as they go to sleep. Man I know Eclectus are intelligent (I Have two Adults) but I didn't think a Chick of ~45 days could be so intelligent as to have discovered that if he wants me to come running, all he has to do is play with the temperature sensor. this triggers an alarm (sounds like a smoke alarm) then of course I come running. He is doing it with increasing frequency. I am starting to suspect he has figured that if he can trigger that alarm, I show up lol.
 
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Jayson_Black

Jayson_Black

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Finley, NSW, Australia
Parrots
2x Eclectus-bonded Pair, 1 x Eclectus Chick (Hand Rearing from Incubation) (Male). 3X Cockatiel (2 of them hand reared from 4 weeks), 1 X Australian Magpie (reared from Fledgling), 2 X Budgie (Hand re
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Re: First Foods - Water - When? also Update on Salem Hand Reared from Day 0

Purchased some Wood shavings today. I was attracted to this package because it had written on the bag "dust Extracted" I washed out a brand new plastic Tub, then swabbed it with Isopropyl. Poured the Shavings in and nearly choked on the Dust. Ugh. This world. I purchased the shavings from a veterinary clinic WTH????


Looks like I going to have to get rid of the dust myself from Wood Shavings. Build a screen and shake baby shake.


Oh, if your wondering, I have been using premium Paper Towel. but it has it's issues. Would really love to use Pelleted Wood, but thats impossible to get around here unless your talking Kitty Litter. Those pellets are quite small and I am not so sure how safe they are going to be anyway. I have actually been looking at buying a Pellet Machine. but I am not sure how suitable the cheaper ones are going to be, let alone how reliable.
 
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Jayson_Black

Jayson_Black

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2x Eclectus-bonded Pair, 1 x Eclectus Chick (Hand Rearing from Incubation) (Male). 3X Cockatiel (2 of them hand reared from 4 weeks), 1 X Australian Magpie (reared from Fledgling), 2 X Budgie (Hand re
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Re: First Foods - Water - When? also Update on Salem Hand Reared from Day 0

I wish I could edit the title of this thread. It's prolly a bit misleading and have gone waay off topic. Any Chance Mods?
 

SailBoat

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Re: First Foods - Water - When? also Update on Salem Hand Reared from Day 0

Take a look at the POTM contest Thread. You will quickly find the Names of our Mods in Purple.

As a new member (under XX number of Posts) you can only Private Message (PM) them. Ask for help regarding changing the the Title... You are so very correct, a Title Change would be very helpful..

The Bump I was talking about is a term used to refresh the Post and thereby Setting it near the top of the Active Topics Forum...

I'm an Mechanical Engineer by education and career, my profession does not believe in following Luck... Luck commonly results in People's death or serious injury when equipment and/or structures fail.
 
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Jayson_Black

Jayson_Black

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Jan 20, 2018
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2x Eclectus-bonded Pair, 1 x Eclectus Chick (Hand Rearing from Incubation) (Male). 3X Cockatiel (2 of them hand reared from 4 weeks), 1 X Australian Magpie (reared from Fledgling), 2 X Budgie (Hand re
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Re: First Foods - Water - When? also Update on Salem Hand Reared from Day 0

Thank you sailboat. I too do not believe in luck, or at least for argument sake believe I create my own luck. more over, when it comes to rearing baby animals, I do not believe in bad luck, only failure on my part.



I also know what you mean about being a Mechanical Engineer. I am by education an Electrical Engineer, with an I.T. Specialty. I used to service & repair Medical Equipment :O but it was a high stress career so I became an Authorized warranty repairer for HP & Compaq lol that was a while ago now. makes me feel old. Now I am lucky enough to work from home (CAD & 3D modeling Freelance contracts) (Autodesk, Cinema 4d) I can truly do anything I put my heart & Soul Into
 

SailBoat

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Re: First Foods - Water - When? also Update on Salem Hand Reared from Day 0

Any success in linking to an Avian Professional? Maybe able to off-set some costs by configuring a Skype like system for the Vet's clients... Worth checking into as you are not the only individual that is far from an Avian Vet's Clinic.
 

Laurasea

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Re: First Foods - Water - When? also Update on Salem Hand Reared from Day 0

I've enjoy you thread and knowledge. Unfortunately I have no thoughts on the bump, or how to safely provide water. I do have this from another breeder just as possible interest to you..

Eclectus
Tiny Eclectus chicks are naked, without down, so they are vulnerable to cold and need the warmth of the hen to keep healthy, according to Laurella Desborough, an aviculturist in Florida, who specializes in Eclectus parrots. If they are being hand-reared, they need more warmth provided in the brooder than Amazon parrot or African grey parrot chicks (which have some down).

During hand-feeding, “Eclectus take their formula much slower, as they swallow it down differently than most other parrot chicks,” Desborough said. “It can take up to 10 minutes to feed one Eclectus parrot chick.”

From Saydak’s experience, hand-feeding an Eclectus chick is “like trying to feed a moving target.” That’s because of their very sensitive and uneasy disposition during the hand-rearing stage. “They need to be handled gently and fed in a quiet, secure area, or they will display an instinctive lunging behavior, which can make feeding very difficult,” Saydak said.

Another rather unique behavior in Eclectus is that “the fledged and weaned male youngsters will fly to the brooders and try to feed the feathered babies if the babies ask for food,” Desborough said. “This seems to be an instinctive behavior, because it is very strong.”

The above is from this article
https://petcentral.chewy.com/baby-parrot-development-stages/
 
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noodles123

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Re: First Foods - Water - When? also Update on Salem Hand Reared from Day 0

Purchased some Wood shavings today. I was attracted to this package because it had written on the bag "dust Extracted" I washed out a brand new plastic Tub, then swabbed it with Isopropyl. Poured the Shavings in and nearly choked on the Dust. Ugh. This world. I purchased the shavings from a veterinary clinic WTH????


Looks like I going to have to get rid of the dust myself from Wood Shavings. Build a screen and shake baby shake.


Oh, if your wondering, I have been using premium Paper Towel. but it has it's issues. Would really love to use Pelleted Wood, but thats impossible to get around here unless your talking Kitty Litter. Those pellets are quite small and I am not so sure how safe they are going to be anyway. I have actually been looking at buying a Pellet Machine. but I am not sure how suitable the cheaper ones are going to be, let alone how reliable.

wood shavings can be bad news--- you don't need them and they can produce harmful fumes, blockages, nesting behavior in older birds and other issues. Plain paper-towels or black and white newspaper=better.
 

Scott

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Goffins: Gabby, Abby, Squeaky, Peanut, Popcorn / Citron: Alice / Eclectus: Angel /Timneh Grey: ET / Blue Fronted Amazon: Gonzo /

RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
Welcome to the forums, this is a magnificent thread! You've put forth supreme effort and have done a masterful job with Salem.

Unsure of the lump, best to receive diagnosis from certified avian vet when travel conditions permit.

My mom raised two Ekkies from a young age. Will ask her the methodology used as they began to transition.

PM sent reference title change!
 
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Jayson_Black

Jayson_Black

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2x Eclectus-bonded Pair, 1 x Eclectus Chick (Hand Rearing from Incubation) (Male). 3X Cockatiel (2 of them hand reared from 4 weeks), 1 X Australian Magpie (reared from Fledgling), 2 X Budgie (Hand re
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Thanks Laurasea. lol. Including preparation, Administration of Formula, clean up and then washing of tools and sterilization it takes around 50 to 75 minutes per feed (For me anyway). If you just count the administering of the formula it takes around 15 minutes for me to give him 50 to 55ml. But I am using a 10 ml (o-ring type[Because they are good for washing]) Syringe. Have purchased and waiting on post of a set of 50ml & 100ml Oral Syringes. I have been meaning to make a video ofmy whole process, but it would be a fairly long video.


Anyway I thought people might like to see Salem eat his first Food. It's a poor encoding (The original is a little better, but my software doesn't like it) It's recorded over a Wireless CCTV System. It's Strawberry he is eating. but in is bowl has Carrot, Beans, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Capsicum, Banana & Strawbs. Anyway Here is the video: [ame="https://youtu.be/30vTJJgLNY4"]Baby Eclectus Salem Eats (Solid Food) for first time - YouTube[/ame]
 
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Jayson_Black

Jayson_Black

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Just thought I would give you all an update on "Salem" He is going like a champion. He continues to amaze me in terms of his progress and development. My expectations come from a book I Purchased that goes through everything I should expect and how to do it. A few tid bits of information are missing but largely the book was awesome. If your wondering the book was called "A Guide to Eclectus Parrots as Pet and Aviary Birds Rob Marshall, Ian Ward" It's available as an E book from Google Book on the google play store.


So he is totally throwing himself into weaning, whilst also becoming soooo difficult to feed. He is losing a little weight now, but it is inline with the chart in the book.



Here is a Graph/Chart from a spreadsheet I made to track his weight and feeds. The Blue Line is Salem, the Red line is the weight in the book a I mentioned above. So long as Salem's weight doesn't Travel to Far from the Red line I wont worry too much. The birds used as examples in the Book are "Red Sided Eclectus" We don't know what Sub Species Salem is because we don't know the Sub Species of his parents. We don't know that because we didn't ask all of the right questions when we purchased them. You live you learn. It's so very difficult to identify using webpages and pictures what sub species he might be and for all we know his parent's could be hybrids. The final weight in that chart could be slightly in accurate as I forgot to weigh him in the morning. I weighed him much later. This happened because he has dropped to 2 feeds per day and is now in a cage in the lounge room. So the scales are in the room where I feed him and These changes seemed to cause me to forget to weigh him. But anyway, I will weigh him tomorrow morning and we will know then where his weight really is at. Anyway here is the chart.


0MqEqH.png


I am so shocked that he is in such a hurry to wean. I was totally prepared in my mind to be feeding him formula 3 x per day until he was 6 months old. Instead, he just past 2 months old now and is eating like a little champion. I give him an assortment of Vegetables, Paradise Pellets, fruits and a bowl of water. I have observed him on the CCTV Camera munching away for hours. He has always been quite advanced. By that I mean he has began doing things before I expected him to. Like Perching, he picked that up so quickly. He is trying to climb in his cage now too, which terrify me. I am trying to teach to just climb a little way first, then encouraging him to come back down so that he learns how to get back done before climbing too high. I get scared he might climb high, then not know how to get back down or even worse I am terrified he might fall.


He's a little talker too. No actual English words yet, but he loves babbling away like a gigantic Budgerigar. Some of the things he is saying sound very similar to the tone and style of voice I use to speak to him.



I am going to have to get advice from someone of you at some point soon on how I can prepare him for his first Vet Visit. You know? Like try to get him used to the way a vet might handle him. I might see if I can find a few YouTube video's of vets handling Eclectus, then try to do those things with Salem so that he is not so freaked out when the Vet does these or similar to him.


Anyway. He is my latest and last (Of this type) Video of Salem's journey Through life. This is the long version, but I will post a short version very Soon.


Salem Day 1 to Day 60
[ame="https://youtu.be/YvzBJ4i0C-M"]Baby Eclectus Parrot (Salem) - Hand Reared from Hatching Day 1 to 60 - YouTube[/ame]



 
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Jayson_Black

Jayson_Black

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2x Eclectus-bonded Pair, 1 x Eclectus Chick (Hand Rearing from Incubation) (Male). 3X Cockatiel (2 of them hand reared from 4 weeks), 1 X Australian Magpie (reared from Fledgling), 2 X Budgie (Hand re
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Thanks Scott. It's been an amazing experience. But I doubt I will do it again. It has taken so much out of me physically (lack of sleep early on) and Mentally (The Worrying). If I had someone confident enough to help me I would definitely do it again. but on your own it's just gruelling. I'm going to post an update below :)
 
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Jayson_Black

Jayson_Black

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So an update on "Salem's" Progress. Today is Day 70 (10 Weeks). He is becoming very Difficult to feed. He is very much a self Weaner. He seems to be more troublesome on the morning formula feed. He behaves much better for the evening feed of Formula. He does get stuck right into his Veges and Pellets, so I imagine it's his way of telling me he doesn't need as much formula anymore.


Today just as we sat down for his morning formula feed I began to draw the formula up into the syringe. All of a sudden he took flight and flew straight into the window. Scared the absolute crap out of me. That was technically his first flight. He has been jumping around in his cage, a few crashes and bangs. But not in such a way that he is likely to get hurt. The window he flew into is one of those Slatted/panel windows and he literally tried to perch on the. I think because of the horizontal lines in between the panels he though it was like a cage. Of course I immediately jumped up and grabbed him. But this is what I mean, he is more interested in playtime. I tried to avoid this behavior by making sure I Always feed him in a separate room. We do nothing else in this room except eat formula. Minimal talking (only gentle words for reassurance type stuff), certainly no playing. Just eat, clean, then back to the lounge room &/or Cage. But while it did seem to work for some time, it's not working so well any more.



We are still on 2 Feeds per day. However given all the trouble he is giving me this can be an indication he is ready to drop to one feed per day. So from now on, I will not try very hard at all to feed him well on the morning feed. However the Night feed I will still give at least a small amount of persistence, perseverance and also patience. But yeah if he shows any signs of not wanting formula in the morning feed then I will call it quits for the rest of that particular feed. I will continue to monitor his weight until 2 weeks after he is no longer taking any formula at all.


Here is an updated Weight Chart. The blue Line is Salem. The red line is data extracted from a book on Hand Rearing Eclectus. I mention the name/Title/Author of this book in an earlier post. It's worth noting that the breeders and vets who wrote that book drop their chicks to one feed of formula per day at Day 65. We are at Day 70 and still on 2 Feeds per day. but I suspect we are about to go to 1 feed. All the signs are there, I'm just too scared. lol. I don't want my baby to grow up. lol. I can't believe I just said that.


LJRPQA.png



But all in all we are doing OK. He does eat Solid food well. I don't weigh his food. I know some people suggest it, but I have though long and hard about this and think it will be wildly inaccurate and really not worth doing. Why? Because he tosses a lot of food around. I will have no way of knowing how much he is ingesting versus how much he is tossing around his cage. Instead I use a CCTV Camera to try to monitor him for much of the day (If I am not already with him) to determine approximately how much he is or is not eating. I think he is eating quite well considering his age. I would have liked to see him eating more. I think he is gradually eating more and more each day. What I can see is that he wants to come out and play.... A LOT! I try to get him out for as much of the day as possible. All up this ends up being about 2 hours per day of play. Approx another hour on top of that for feeding, but that doesn't count as play, especially for him.



Anyway, I will post updates here & there. In Fact I will most likely make a new video of him soon.
 
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