Baby GCC Feeding schedule

[Arizz]

I recently got my first Green cheek conure its possibly a turquoise because of the greenish blue color. Its around 3-4 weeks old, I wanted to ask about the feeding schedule the timings i do are every 6 hours. 6Am 12Pm 6Pm 12Am and repeat but i recently found about giving feeding a break at night for 8hours. How will i adjust my schedule?

 

[zERo]

Welcome to the forums!

I have no experience with hand feeding parrots but hopefully someone else who does can chime in!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I recently got my first Green cheek conure its possibly a turquoise because of the greenish blue color. Its around 3-4 weeks old, I wanted to ask about the feeding schedule the timings i do are every 6 hours. 6Am 12Pm 6Pm 12Am and repeat but i recently found about giving feeding a break at night for 8hours. How will i adjust my schedule?

I recently hand fed a budgie from hatching. I didn't adhere to a schedule. The parent birds feeding their chicks obviously don't- they feed on demand, so that's what I did. When Rocky, my baby budgie, was hungry she would make it known by peeping at first, then by chirping louder and louder as she grew. After feeding she would fall asleep pretty quickly but would wake up hungry again in a few hours so I fed her on demand. I definitely didn't go six hours without feeding during the day until she was about four weeks old.
I wanted Rocky to grow up feeling secure and self confident and I did not want her to cry (chirp) for food and not be fed. I believe it builds trust if the chick knows that it's cries for food will not be ignored by you, the surrogate parent.
During the first two weeks I fed Rocky every two to three hours around the clock (yes, I was exhausted).
During the third week I would give the final feeding at midnight and the first feeding in the morning at 6am, so there was a six hour break and the time between daytime feedings went to about every four hours.
By the fourth week I would stretch the nighttime fast to seven hours and the daytime feedings would be about every five hours or so, but it was up to her. If she cried I fed her.
If at any time Rocky woke up at night "crying" I would get up and feed her- I never let her cries go unanswered. Don't worry it won't spoil your baby to respond like this and the hand feeding period will be over before you know it! I also never used a syringe to feed Rocky, even when she first hatched and only weighed two grams (at four weeks she weighed 50 grams). I used a human baby sized teaspoon. I would hold the baby with her head between my thumb and forefinger and tap the edge of the spoon to her beak and she would lap up the formula from the spoon. I was afraid that if I used a syringe I risked pushing too much food into her mouth at once and she would aspirate the food and die. I let Rocky eat as much as she wanted at each feeding. When she had enough to eat she would stop. Then I wiped her beak, face and neck off with a baby wipe she would fall asleep within minutes.
Rocky weaned onto tiny pellets much easier than I expected at about six weeks.
I hope this was helpful. Enjoy your baby! They grow up so quickly!

 

[Arizz]

I recently hand fed a budgie from hatching. I didn't adhere to a schedule. The parent birds feeding their chicks obviously don't- they feed on demand, so that's what I did. When Rocky, my baby budgie, was hungry she would make it known by peeping at first, then by chirping louder and louder as she grew. After feeding she would fall asleep pretty quickly but would wake up hungry again in a few hours so I fed her on demand. I definitely didn't go six hours without feeding during the day until she was about four weeks old.
I wanted Rocky to grow up feeling secure and self confident and I did not want her to cry (chirp) for food and not be fed. I believe it builds trust if the chick knows that it's cries for food will not be ignored by you, the surrogate parent.
During the first two weeks I fed Rocky every two to three hours around the clock (yes, I was exhausted).
During the third week I would give the final feeding at midnight and the first feeding in the morning at 6am, so there was a six hour break and the time between daytime feedings went to about every four hours.
By the fourth week I would stretch the nighttime fast to seven hours and the daytime feedings would be about every five hours or so, but it was up to her. If she cried I fed her.
If at any time Rocky woke up at night "crying" I would get up and feed her- I never let her cries go unanswered. Don't worry it won't spoil your baby to respond like this and the hand feeding period will be over before you know it! I also never used a syringe to feed Rocky, even when she first hatched and only weighed two grams (at four weeks she weighed 50 grams). I used a human baby sized teaspoon. I would hold the baby with her head between my thumb and forefinger and tap the edge of the spoon to her beak and she would lap up the formula from the spoon. I was afraid that if I used a syringe I risked pushing too much food into her mouth at once and she would aspirate the food and die. I let Rocky eat as much as she wanted at each feeding. When she had enough to eat she would stop. Then I wiped her beak, face and neck off with a baby wipe she would fall asleep within minutes.
Rocky weaned onto tiny pellets much easier than I expected at about six weeks.
I hope this was helpful. Enjoy your baby! They grow up so quickly!

Thank you for this response! I enjoyed reading it a learned quite a bit aswell, maybe next week I'll stretch the night break to 7 hours.. Just to be safe since someone said that they need to fully empty their crop once every 24 hours or else sour crop might occur. But during my 6 hour time gap for each feeding it seems like she/he empties the crop, My baby doesn't cry or call out as much. Only making noises of joy during feeding!

 

[wrench13]

Quick few tips on feeding parrot chicks

• Right temp = 100-108 deg F SUPER-DUPER Important
• Make sure everything is sterile - food prep equipment, and what ever else you use
• Use either a small spoon w/bent sides or a large bore syringe.
• DO NOT try feeding with a tube shoved down the throat!!!!

 

[Arizz]

Quick few tips on feeding parrot chicks

• Right temp = 100-108 deg F SUPER-DUPER Important
• Make sure everything is sterile - food prep equipment, and what ever else you use
• Use either a small spoon w/bent sides or a large bore syringe.
• DO NOT try feeding with a tube shoved down the throat!!!!

about the feeding with a tube, why is it not allowed? I've been feeding with a soft tube for 2-3 days now it was what they told me to do.

 

[Vampiric_Conure]

about the feeding with a tube, why is it not allowed? I've been feeding with a soft tube for 2-3 days now it was what they told me to do.

Baby birds need/like to taste their food and feeding with a tube tends to bypass their mouth and goes straight into their crop. Plus there's the risk of the tube coming off and the baby swallowing it. At 4 weeks you can safely use a spoon. It's usually messier (Oh lord it can be messy!) but overall it's safer for the bird.

Keep us updated on how things go!

 

[wrench13]

Also gavage feeding (means with a tube) does not let the chicks natural food eating reflexes naturally develop. Breeders use that method because it cuts the time it takes to feed them. more like an assembly line type feeding instead of letting them eat naturally. PLus you can mistakenly put the tube down the wrong hole and into their air passageway, which is quickly fatal.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

about the feeding with a tube, why is it not allowed? I've been feeding with a soft tube for 2-3 days now it was what they told me to do.

I agree with wrench13. Gavage feeding (tube feeding directly into a crop) should ONLY be done by avian vets.
It's very dangerous to insert a tube into a bird's crop because you can put the tube into the lungs or perforate the bird's esophagus or trachea killing the bird. Tube feeding is done when a bird must eat and refuses due to illness. There is no reason to tube feed a healthy baby parrot. Syringe feeding into the baby's mouth can result in aspiration of the formula if done too quickly. It's much safer to use a spoon.

 

[Arizz]

I agree with wrench13. Gavage feeding (tube feeding directly into a crop) should ONLY be done by avian vets.
It's very dangerous to insert a tube into a bird's crop because you can put the tube into the lungs or perforate the bird's esophagus or trachea killing the bird. Tube feeding is done when a bird must eat and refuses due to illness. There is no reason to tube feed a healthy baby parrot. Syringe feeding into the baby's mouth can result in aspiration of the formula if done too quickly. It's much safer to use a spoon.

I tried to feed with a spoon but he/she (yes I don't know the gender yet) doesn't want to eat with a spoon so the only choice is syringe feeding now I do without tube, more messy but I guess safer.. Also During feeding the baby makes so much chirping noise continuously so when I put formula the chirping turns to a gargled noise for a quick second it stops when the baby swallows the food, Soo I'm wondering if this is harmful or just normal.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I tried to feed with a spoon but he/she (yes I don't know the gender yet) doesn't want to eat with a spoon so the only choice is syringe feeding now I do without tube, more messy but I guess safer.. Also During feeding the baby makes so much chirping noise continuously so when I put formula the chirping turns to a gargled noise for a quick second it stops when the baby swallows the food, Soo I'm wondering if this is harmful or just normal.

Please feed the baby slowly so he doesn't inhale the food. Another good reason to try to convert to using a spoon is that it will probably make weaning easier because a spoon is more like feeding itself. I would keep trying to feed by spoon, but obviously if the baby will only eat by syringe you should use the syringe. Please go slowly! I was advising someone a few months ago who was syringe hand feeding a four week old baby cockatiel he bought unweaned and he pushed the food through the syringe too quickly by accident and two days later the baby died from aspirating the formula. I had been advising him for a week and he had posted pictures of the adorable baby, so I was very upset when he told me that the baby died. There were no avian vets where he lived.
When I was feeding Rocky, my baby budgie, I noticed that she could chirp and eat at the same time! I wasn't worried because about her choking or aspirating because I always spoon fed her, so I knew she wouldn't take formula into her mouth and swallow if she wasn't ready. I know that people can't talk and eat at the same time but apparently, it's different with birds. Just do it all very slowly to be safe and always let the baby time to swallow before pushing formula into its mouth. Parent birds don't feed their babies quickly because they can only regurgitate so much at once.
I hope you are not trying too adhere strictly to a daytime feeding schedule. More frequent smaller feeds are better. The baby's crop will empty completely overnight when you go 6-8 hours without a feeding.
Are you weighing your baby? You should weigh him every couple days at the same time, preferably before the morning feeding. I started weighing Rocky AFTER the morning feeding and since that's when I started that's when I always weighed her. A three week old chick can weigh 5 or more grams heavier with a full crop than with an empty crop.
it's definitely messier without the tube and spoon feeding is even messier. Please clean all food off your baby right after feeding. I used baby wipes. If the food dries on the baby's skin, beak and feathers it's very difficult to remove.
I'd love to see pictures of your baby! please post some if you can.

 

[wrench13]

Knocked it out of the park, Donna! OP, Donna has given you some solid gold info, I sincerely hope you take heed.

 

[Arizz]

Please feed the baby slowly so he doesn't inhale the food. Another good reason to try to convert to using a spoon is that it will probably make weaning easier because a spoon is more like feeding itself. I would keep trying to feed by spoon, but obviously if the baby will only eat by syringe you should use the syringe. Please go slowly! I was advising someone a few months ago who was syringe hand feeding a four week old baby cockatiel he bought unweaned and he pushed the food through the syringe too quickly by accident and two days later the baby died from aspirating the formula. I had been advising him for a week and he had posted pictures of the adorable baby, so I was very upset when he told me that the baby died. There were no avian vets where he lived.
When I was feeding Rocky, my baby budgie, I noticed that she could chirp and eat at the same time! I wasn't worried because about her choking or aspirating because I always spoon fed her, so I knew she wouldn't take formula into her mouth and swallow if she wasn't ready. I know that people can't talk and eat at the same time but apparently, it's different with birds. Just do it all very slowly to be safe and always let the baby time to swallow before pushing formula into its mouth. Parent birds don't feed their babies quickly because they can only regurgitate so much at once.
I hope you are not trying too adhere strictly to a daytime feeding schedule. More frequent smaller feeds are better. The baby's crop will empty completely overnight when you go 6-8 hours without a feeding.
Are you weighing your baby? You should weigh him every couple days at the same time, preferably before the morning feeding. I started weighing Rocky AFTER the morning feeding and since that's when I started that's when I always weighed her. A three week old chick can weigh 5 or more grams heavier with a full crop than with an empty crop.
it's definitely messier without the tube and spoon feeding is even messier. Please clean all food off your baby right after feeding. I used baby wipes. If the food dries on the baby's skin, beak and feathers it's very difficult to remove.
I'd love to see pictures of your baby! please post some if you can.

Yes I will take very good care of my baby, I am very patient when it comes to feedings I have so many different pets trust me I don't want to lose any of them. I clean the beak and feathers immediately if any formula got on them. Thank you so much for the information and help I will provide some pictures of my baby and I already decided a name.. "Ryn"

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Yes I will take very good care of my baby, I am very patient when it comes to feedings I have so many different pets trust me I don't want to lose any of them. I clean the beak and feathers immediately if any formula got on them. Thank you so much for the information and help I will provide some pictures of my baby and I already decided a name.. "Ryn"View attachment 51364View attachment 51365

Awww! I just LOVE baby birds! Ryn is adorable! I know you will try your hardest to take great care of your baby. Frankly, I think everyone has good intentions, but accidents happen, like with the person whose baby cockatiel died. I just want to help people minimize the risks of accidents. Post more pictures of Ryn as he grows up!

 

[Arizz]

Awww! I just LOVE baby birds! Ryn is adorable! I know you will try your hardest to take great care of your baby. Frankly, I think everyone has good intentions, but accidents happen, like with the person whose baby cockatiel died. I just want to help people minimize the risks of accidents. Post more pictures of Ryn as he grows up!

Thank you! I'll surely post weekly updates, tomorrow Ryn is turning 4 weeks!

 

[Sybil]

I’ve been feeding three baby sun conures for a week. They are 6 weeks old now. I use a syringe but put some in their mouth and wait for them to swallow it. The person I got the parents from tube fed but I’m scared to do it that way. It takes longer to feed them but I think it’s safe to put it in their mouth and have them swallow the food. Don’t mind my flannel 😂 it’s what I wear so my clothes don’t get pooped on 🤣 The girl that I got the parents from is so surprised that the babies are not scared of me. She said that her friend always took them out of the nest at no later than 3 weeks or the babies would be scared and not tame. I was waiting for the last baby to get feathers so I didn’t take them out until they were about five weeks. I started holding them at about 3 weeks. I would put them on my lap and the parents would fly around and feed them while they were on my lap. It makes me wonder if they even need to be hand fed to be honest. Since they are 6 weeks should I start to put pellets out and parrot chop for them?

 

[Sybil]

Your little baby is just so cute!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I’ve been feeding three baby sun conures for a week. They are 6 weeks old now. I use a syringe but put some in their mouth and wait for them to swallow it. The person I got the parents from tube fed but I’m scared to do it that way. It takes longer to feed them but I think it’s safe to put it in their mouth and have them swallow the food. Don’t mind my flannel 😂 it’s what I wear so my clothes don’t get pooped on 🤣 The girl that I got the parents from is so surprised that the babies are not scared of me. She said that her friend always took them out of the nest at no later than 3 weeks or the babies would be scared and not tame. I was waiting for the last baby to get feathers so I didn’t take them out until they were about five weeks. I started holding them at about 3 weeks. I would put them on my lap and the parents would fly around and feed them while they were on my lap. It makes me wonder if they even need to be hand fed to be honest. Since they are 6 weeks should I start to put pellets out and parrot chop for them?View attachment 51383

I tend to agree that handling the babies frequently is more important than hand feeding them. I'm not sure all parent birds would allow a human to handle their chicks that much. Maybe that's why people take the chick's away from the parents at three weeks to hand feed them.
Your babies are so cute! I would offer them chop, pellets and some seed so they can start learning how to feed themselves.

 

[Sybil]

I tend to agree that handling the babies frequently is more important than hand feeding them. I'm not sure all parent birds would allow a human to handle their chicks that much. Maybe that's why people take the chick's away from the parents at three weeks to hand feed them.
Your babies are so cute! I would offer them chop, pellets and some seed so they can start learning how to feed themselves.

Why do people insist on taking babies out of the nest at 2.5-3 weeks if you can achieve the same amount of tameness through just handling them? This is my first experience raising baby birds and my first mating pair. I offered them chop, three different kinds of pellets and some fruit and water. I don’t think they ate any of it today 😂 just the formula I fed them today. They are so precious I hope I can find homes for them. Their parents seem to be getting prettier too. I’ve heard that they change colors a bit until they are 3. Thank you for your advice.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Why do people insist on taking babies out of the nest at 2.5-3 weeks if you can achieve the same amount of tameness through just handling them? This is my first experience raising baby birds and my first mating pair. I offered them chop, three different kinds of pellets and some fruit and water. I don’t think they ate any of it today 😂 just the formula I fed them today. They are so precious I hope I can find homes for them. Their parents seem to be getting prettier too. I’ve heard that they change colors a bit until they are 3. Thank you for your advice.

I think they take them so young because they are afraid the parent birds will get upset and harm the babies or not feed them if they remove them for handling several times a day. Your parent birds are exceptionally tame and accepting.