Hand feeding a sun conure

[TheCox]

Hi guys,

I'm new here, I love birds of all kind, my little Mango just passed away a little bit ago. I have never been more devastated in my life for a pet to pass on. But he was my favorite, my little buddy, he was a GCC. Got him working on the step up command, he'd walk all over my shoulders and eat peanuts while I was at home since I work from home and he sits with me all day.

Anyways, so I am about to go pick up a baby sun conure that is apparently eating bread dipped in milk, which I'm going to assume is a form of solid food.

But, any thoughts on how to feed this little guy? I'm really missing my bird, but I have never had to hand feed one before. The breeder said that he was off weening, or almost close to being off weening.

Thanks in advance ladies and gents.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Welcome to the forums, and my deepest condolences to the loss of your little Mango.

How old is the Sun Conure you are picking up? Bread dipped in milk is a HUGE no-no. Birds cannot digest dairy products properly. There are several very good hand feeding formulas on the market for parrots. Baby chicks (parrots who are still unable to sustain themselves properly by eating solid foods) need an experienced hand feeder. Much can go wrong if a bird is fed inappropriately.

I will give you a link, but please don't feel utterly discouraged.
http://www.parrotforums.com/breeding-raising-parrots/19049-hazards-buying-unweaned-baby.html

 

[TheCox]

The person who I am set to get the SC from said they were about 6ish weeks I believe? These are some of the pictures that they showed me.

What do you guys think?

 

[Puck]

Yikes, I would hold off and let the experts handle it! I prefer not to take a baby home until they are weaned AND fully fledged. But that's my preference. Hand feeding is just too tricky for anyone who is not an expert.

 

[SilverSage]

Oh heavens! No! No to that diet!! I wish I could urge you to rush in and save them from the clueless cruel person who has them; but I can't. What I can do is beg you, please find someone to buy from who has the moral backbone to fully wean their babies before selling them. These babies will be lucky if they even survive. If you get one of them you will need to rush them to the vet immediately, and it will be a struggle to get them in good health, and that's assuming you make NO MISTAKES of your own. Also at that age they need a brooder and to have their temp and humidity controlled, (think, at least $200 on just that), plus hand feeding formula, digital thermometer, digital gram scale, syringes, a method of heating the water exactly... lets just say unweaned babies end up costing you a lot more than weaned ones even if they are in perfect health and dont get bacterial infections, yeast infections, sour crop, crop burn, dehydrated, crop impactions, burst air sacks, parasites, overstretched crop, or any of the many other issues that come along with hand feeding. Please run far and fast from the animal producing these babies, and don't pay him which will just make him do it again for more money. In this day and age of the internet NO ONE has an excuse to be feeding birds like that!!

Also, just in case he told you that you bond better if you wean the bird himself... HE WAS LYING!!

Welcome to the forum We can't wait to see pictures and get to know you and whichever bird you do get. But trust me, THIS situation is a disaster.

 

[SilverSage]

I just re-read your post... You are about to pick him up? Hand feeding takes a lot of work and runs on a lot of detailed knowledge that you can't just pick up in a couple of hours, and it requires specialized equipment to a large degree. And if he told you those babies are close to being weaned he LIED. And weaning is a complicated process, and if you mess it up you will do major psychological damage to your new baby. Im so sorry for your loss; please don't add to your pain by diving in completely unprepared to a situation that is already so terrible.

 

[TheCox]

Yikes... I.. uh.. well..wow.. I don't really know what to say.. I picked him up on Saturday, and my fiancee and I are feeding him formula that we got from the store and he's perked up quite a bit, all 3 pictures are of him. They definitely did say that they learn better when they are hand fed and weened, etc.. They said maybe another 3 weeks and they would be good to be taken, but that I could get one now.

He is playing around and nibbling on us and walking around. Formula is still being fed to him, he actually knows how to crack seeds and eat them on his own.. She said that she would give the mom like sunflower seeds or whatever and then the mom would feed that to the babies.. We feed him the formula and he loves taking it.

I really want everything to go smoothly, please tell me I don't have to give him up and there is a way for me to work with this bird.. He really is fun and easy to work with and he loves being held and his head rubbed.

I will literally do anything I can to work through this.

 

[GreatBlue320]

I'm so sorry to hear of Mango's passing. It is so hard to say goodbye to our precious birds.

I hope all goes well with your new baby.

 

[TheCox]

I actually have some updated photos here that I will attach. One is sitting in my hand, the other is getting his nails trimmed just a tiny bit so he would stop catching on things.

 

[TheCox]

I'm so sorry to hear of Mango's passing. It is so hard to say goodbye to our precious birds.

I hope all goes well with your new baby.

That's for sure, I was definitely caught off guard.

 

[Puck]

Do you know anyone who is very experienced in hand feeding who you might be able to go to and learn from? It's common for baby birds of six weeks to begin eating some adult foods, but that doesn't mean that it's anywhere near being ready to be weaned. You likely have at least four weeks of hand feeding left before baby is weaned, and it's up to baby. I am no expert at all (in fact, I have ZERO experience), but I would tread very carefully and do as much research as physically possible. Here is a link that is helpful for basic information on handfeeding and the weaning process:

https://theparrotuniversity.com/arthandfeeding1

 

[TheCox]

Thanks Puck. Unfortunately I do not have anyone near me. We are definitely still giving it formula and it is gobbling the formula down. Its definitely getting more playful and having a good time.

I will read that article over and will definitely look at all available resources.

 

[Anansi]

I'm hoping all continues to go well with your sun conure. All the dangers you've been warned about are very real, but they need not be a proclamation of doom and gloom.

Best case scenario, of course, would've been for you to either use an experienced hand-feeder or ask one to teach you proper technique. But both of those ships have sailed.

Thankfully, things seem to be going well so far. He's getting more active and playful, which is always a good sign. I'd suggest that you read up carefully on all that can go wrong and keep an eye out for any signs of a problem.

Hopefully, there won't be any.

 

[SilverSage]

Have you taken your baby to an Avian vet yet? There is a very high chance that he has an infection from the way he was handled previously. This could cause your baby to seem just fine until is he is suddenly dead. Sorry to be so dramatic, I'm just trying to convey the very real danger your baby is in. Also, check with local vets and pet stores, you are likely to find someone who can instruct you in hand feeding and help you in case of so,eating going wrong.