Help! Found a juvenile Amazon parrot!!!

[Verxea]

Hi all!

I’m hoping someone here can help me out.

The other day my sister and I found (from what we can tell) an older fledgling or juvenile Amazon parrot hiding in the crevice between our fence and the curb of our carport. He was clearly in distress and not doing well. After we took him in and gave him some food and water however it became clear that he was just dehydrated and starving. (We don’t know the sex, so for the sake of ease we refer to the parrot as a “he”.)

We’ve name him Mojo. We’re not sure if he is a yellow crowned Amazon or a blue fronted. He’s got a couple of small turquoisey green bits above his beak (see attached photos). He’s still a pretty messy eater and still a bit clumsy so I’m thinking he’s weaning or was just weaned. He’s able to eat on his own, but not super well and has trouble with certain foods (especially if they are hard) but once I hand feed him that food a bit, he has an easier time with said food. So I’m thinking 14-18 weeks or so. This is just a guess from the research I’ve done, please correct me if I’m wrong.

One thing we’re not sure about is whether he is captive bred or wild. We have flocks of Amazons that live around us (we’re in Southern California) and have been in the middle of a heat wave which would explain why little Mojo was in trouble.

We’ve taken him to the exotic vet near us and he is not microchipped. We also took him to the local humane society to determine whether he is wild or not. They were both unable to tell us if he is wild but from his tame behavior they think not. The humane society said that all of their wild parrots have different markings and will scream at anyone who comes close to their cage.

So my question is, is it easy to tell the difference in behavior between a captive and wild Amazon at such a young age? Could he be acting so friendly as a defense mechanism/because we are feeding and caring for him? I do most of the handling of him, but he seems unphased by the rest of the family (and even when our small dogs sneak in under foot).

He lets me handle him, and stays calm when I arrange things in his cage while he’s in it. He seems to have little fear of us and is quite comfortable on our hands, arms or shoulders.

The only noises he makes (aside from the initial hiss when we were rescuing him outside) are three clucks in succession which he normally only does if we’re in the room. If he’s hungry or we are talking to him his clucks get louder and more persistent (almost like honking).

I’ve even been able to teach him to step up onto my hand and step down in the few days we’ve had him. He’s not as quick to step down yet.

We found a place in San Diego (which is about 2.5 hrs away) that rehabilitates wild parrots, but they don’t accept parrots unless they are certain they are wild. Is there a way to be certain?

If he is not wild and we are unable to find his owner, then we are considering keeping him. We have a lot of experience with animals and birds (we have rehabilitated birds in the past but nothing as complex as a parrot) and understand the challenges of taking on a parrot so would not be taking this decision lightly.

Sorry for the essay guys, but I thought I’d give you as much information as possible in order to be able give me an informed opinion.

Any advice/help you can offer would be much appreciated!

TLDR; we found a weaning or juvenile parrot. We aren’t sure if he is wild but he seems tame. We are looking for his owners and will likely keep him if we can’t find them. Any advice is appreciated.

We’ve taken him to the exotic vet and humane society and have posted on parrotalert911, parrotalert, the found section on this forum and craigslist. I have also searched the lost section of all those sites as well to no avail. We will put out some flyers in our neighborhood this weekend.

 

[Verxea]

Feeding: we have been feeding him mostly fresh veggies and a bit of fresh fruit and he’s had a very small amount of seeds. He was having a hard time with his pellets. Yesterday I soaked and mashed the pellets in warm water and he did not like the taste so I mixed it in some mashed sweet potato. He still was not a fan, so I had to have the proportion of pellets less than the sweet potato. Today I was able to have more pellet mash than sweet potato and he gobbled it right up.

Any advice on feeding a weaning/just weaned Amazon? He seems to spend most of his time eating and eats quite a bit. Should I let him eat as much as he wants or should I be limiting his food consumption so he doesn’t become overweight? How many times should he be fed in a day? At the moment I have been feeding him when he tells me he’s hungry and as much as he wants to eat.

Update: he is eating mashed pellets now, with veggies and fruit on the side. We will be picking up some formula as well so he gets the proper nutrients for growing parrots.

 

[Luettgs]

He looks like a yellow crowned Amazon because he has a light beak. I personally have a blue fronted and there's a lot more blue, with a darker beak and orange eyes. He seems like he would be tamed because of how friendly he is. Our BFA is about 12 and not even half as tamed as that! Best of luck to you, and I hope you keep Mojo because even though parrots are a lot of work they are very loving pets.

 

[noodles123]

I would try to get him to an Avian vet just to make sure all is well.



In the meantime, I have copied and pasted what I wrote to another member who found a bird yesterday. Keep in mind that I am writing all of this under the assumption that he is weaned already.


Have you had birds before?
In case you havent, here are my thoughts. If you have, ignore me lol.
Tips if you are a first-time bird owner (OR FINDER/TEMPORARY HOME):

-Cage placement- Generally, you want at least one side of the cage against a wall so that the bird doesn't feel vulnerable to attacks on all sides.
-Avoid over-crowding of cage
-Pellets are ideal, but a mix of seeds and pellets is okay if your bird is super picky. Just don't get a crappy seed mix filled with sunflower seeds (terrible in excess). Zupreme fruit blend can be good for picky birds even though it definitely isn't the best and comes with its own controversy.

-If you introduce toys, set them near the bird for days to allow the bird to get comfortable with them. Show interest in the toys in front of the bird.
-Try feeding different fruits- birds can be really picky and so keep trying
Noodles can be a good treat in moderation (unsalted, plain, unfortified)
-Change water and food daily and wash dishes each time
-Make sure diet is balanced because behavior can be impacted by that
-Make sure the bird is getting enough sleep---in a quiet environment (if you cover the cage, look into "night frights" and consider a night light to prevent injury if this is an issue). Also, make sure your cover (if using one) is breathable
-Make sure you aren't using candles, teflon (PTFE), aerosols, paints, air-fresheners, bleach (or really any cleaners other than vinegar + water and/or avian safe cleaners) etc in the house with the bird.



Things to look out for:


A. Poop that is super bubbly or neon green or poop with undigested seed in it (google is a good resource)
B. Tail bobbing (like a rhythmic but slightly subtle bob when perched still) = breathing difficulties in many cases
C. Wheezing or lots of sneezing
D. discharge from nose or eyes
E. weight loss (keel bone in chest should be palpable but it shoud have muscle on either side. If the chest feels concave around the keel (main bone in middle of chest) then that is bad. Similarly, if flesh sticks out beyond the keel or it isn't palpable the bird can be overweight.
F generally puffy appearance throughout the day
G. HANGING OUT ON CAGE BOTTOM WHEN NOT PLAYING OR SCROUNGING CAN BE AN EMERGENCY SITUATION
H. bleeding feathers (also can be an emergency)---must be pulled out or clotted to prevent bird from bleeding to death. Contact the vet if this happens and use cornstarch to plug the feather shaft in the meantime.



NO avocado, tomato, high fat foods, fruit pits, rhubarb, salty snacks, sugary snacks, alcohol, etc.


Limit seeds and avoid peanuts if possible.


Try to provide exposure to natural light or UV light for regulating hormones etc.

 

[greytness]

Post him on parrot alert, put up posters and contact humane societies in your area. If you can handle him, he's most likely not wild, but someone's pet. Please do everything in your power to post that you have him, but be very careful screening any calls that you get, as there are scammers who scour ads looking for parrots when all they want to do is flip the bird elsewhere.

 

[Kiwibird]

Aw. He's a big little guy isn't he? Baby amazons at this age are so cute

I'm glad you're searching for an owner, if there is one, but PLEASE screen anyone claiming to own this bird carefully. TONS of unscrupulous 'bird flippers' out there who would gladly take this precious baby and launch him into a life of misery being passed from home to home. If possible, do not post his photo or give any details about species in your found ads. Just say you found a lost amazon parrot and will require species details and proof of ownership before he goes to anyone else. Ask for photos, vet records, a receipt of purchase or some other proof of ownership. That said, I doubt he's someone's baby. You live in an area where there's wild flocks of these guys and he is probably just a baby bird who fell from his nest too early. As a baby, yes, he probably won't be putting up much of a fight towards someone who saved him from predators, brought him into a comfortable climate controlled space and most important, has been feeding him. Babies are more trusting than adults and usually the problem surrounding baby birds isn't from the baby, it's from the parents who catch you messing with their baby, which it doesn't sound like you caught the attention of his parents.

Something else to mention- do not release him back to the wild. If you're in California or Florida or elsewhere that invasive populations have formed, there is no moral wrong in keeping him as a pet yourself or finding him a suitable home if a large parrot is a bit much of a challenge for you. In fact, it would be unethical to release him back to nature where his species is not native. Even if you live in his native range somewhere in central or South America, if you feel he should be back in nature with his own kind, take him to the proper authorities who can rehabilitate him for release to the wild in a way you can't.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Thank you for rescuing this darling. And I praise you for seeking the owner!

If you wind up keeping him, we'll stick with you.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[EllenD]

He's not wild if he's behaving like that, he'd be scared to death of you if he was wild...

My concern here, besides that he belongs to someone and they've lost him, is that he's not fully-weaned yet, which would explain why he is only eating soft, mashed things and not pellets or seeds that much...This means he was probably still be hand-fed baby bird formula when his breeder/owner lost him, at least once or twice a day from a syringe at this point...

You need to find a Certified Avian Vet or look-up local breeders to you (there are many in southern Cali/Los Angeles area), and have them show you how to hand-feed him, or since he's not too young, you can try it yourself and see if he does in-fact take a hand-feeding of formula...

***What can happen here, if he's only eating veggies and fruit, and he's actually not fully-weaned yet, which I don't at all think he is, is that he's going to start starving, and this usually starts a constant screaming/whining by the bird. Usually people think something is very wrong with their young birds when this happens, like when they buy a baby parrot that was said to be weaned but was actually not, and it ends-up the bird isn't sick, it's starving to death...So if I were you, I would at the very least get to your closest pet shop/bird shop and buy a canister or a bag of hand-feeding formula ASAP, either Kaytee, Roudybush, etc., doesn't really matter at this point. Also buy an oral syringe/hand-feeding syringe at the pet shop, mix-up a small batch of formula (you'll also need a candy/cooking thermometer to ensure that the formula you're feeding him is no colder than 104 degrees F and no hotter than 110 degrees F, this is extremely important and is not optional!!!), and offer him a syringe of it...If he goes right for the formula and eats it willingly and hurriedly, then he's not at all fully weaned and you know what the issue is...But he cannot survive or be sustained on only fresh veggies/fruit, he needs not only protein, calories, fat, carbs, etc., but all of the necessary vitamins and minerals, etc. that pellets, seeds, and the formula provide...

 

[Verxea]

Ok thanks so much for all the info! We have brought him into the humane society and fill out a lost form (we are still holding onto him though, at the moment) and have posted on parrotalert911, parrotalert, the found section on this forum and craigslist. I have also searched the lost section of all those sites as well to no avail. We will put out some flyers in our neighborhood this weekend. We will be wary about anyone coming to claim him and require proof of ownership. I will not post his picture or breed.

He has been to an exotic vet already (they have an avian specialist) and they have given us a lot of information for him. He has yet to have a complete check up with them as we didn’t want to spring for the expense until we knew what was going to happen with him. We will take him in soon to get him checked out.

If we can’t find his owners, we are seriously thinking of keeping him. We are falling in love with the little guy. He’s such a calm and happy bird!

 

[Verxea]

Hi EllenD,

Thanks for the info! Yeah, my guess was that he’s not fully weaned as well. I’ve managed to get him to eat his pellets now (mashed in warm water) and he has been gobbling it up. He’s mostly eating the mashed pellets now with some veggies on the side. Should I still get some formula for him if he is eating his mashed pellets? I definitely want to make sure he is getting a balanced diet. His poops have normalized since he’s been eating his pellets (not as watery), so that’s a good sign.

He’s been eating his pellet mash until he’s full, and tells me when he’s hungry so I don’t think he’s starving or anything. He certainly loves his food and seems to eat the entire day.

Let me know if you think I should still pick up formula as well or if his mashed pellets (with veggie and fruits, and seeds for a treat), will suffice. (FYI, my sister and I have experience handfeeding/weaning other birds, is the concept the same for parrots?)

Thanks again!

He's not wild if he's behaving like that, he'd be scared to death of you if he was wild...

My concern here, besides that he belongs to someone and they've lost him, is that he's not fully-weaned yet, which would explain why he is only eating soft, mashed things and not pellets or seeds that much...This means he was probably still be hand-fed baby bird formula when his breeder/owner lost him, at least once or twice a day from a syringe at this point...

You need to find a Certified Avian Vet or look-up local breeders to you (there are many in southern Cali/Los Angeles area), and have them show you how to hand-feed him, or since he's not too young, you can try it yourself and see if he does in-fact take a hand-feeding of formula...

***What can happen here, if he's only eating veggies and fruit, and he's actually not fully-weaned yet, which I don't at all think he is, is that he's going to start starving, and this usually starts a constant screaming/whining by the bird. Usually people think something is very wrong with their young birds when this happens, like when they buy a baby parrot that was said to be weaned but was actually not, and it ends-up the bird isn't sick, it's starving to death...So if I were you, I would at the very least get to your closest pet shop/bird shop and buy a canister or a bag of hand-feeding formula ASAP, either Kaytee, Roudybush, etc., doesn't really matter at this point. Also buy an oral syringe/hand-feeding syringe at the pet shop, mix-up a small batch of formula (you'll also need a candy/cooking thermometer to ensure that the formula you're feeding him is no colder than 104 degrees F and no hotter than 110 degrees F, this is extremely important and is not optional!!!), and offer him a syringe of it...If he goes right for the formula and eats it willingly and hurriedly, then he's not at all fully weaned and you know what the issue is...But he cannot survive or be sustained on only fresh veggies/fruit, he needs not only protein, calories, fat, carbs, etc., but all of the necessary vitamins and minerals, etc. that pellets, seeds, and the formula provide...

 

[wrench13]

Hi Verexa,

Ellen means he is starving for the needed nutrients that are in baby parrot formula. It is not the same as what is in pellets, which are made for fully weaned birds. You can eat a lot of lettuce and feel full, but a diet of only lettuce will have you starving in 2 weeks. A can of baby parrot formula is not expensive and is easy to make ( follow instructions and warning about temperature.) You are doing so great rescuing this little one, please take the few steps needed to keep him alive and healthy while you have him, Thanks a lot !

 

[Verxea]

Ok! That’s what I was wondering. We will pick up some formula for him and make sure he gets all the nutrients he needs.

Quick question: is it ok to offer the (correctly warmed) formula in a bowl rather than a syringe? Since he mostly eats on his own, we’re worried that giving his food in a syringe will be regressive. Let me know what you think!

Thanks!

Hi Verexa,

Ellen means he is starving for the needed nutrients that are in baby parrot formula. It is not the same as what is in pellets, which are made for fully weaned birds. You can eat a lot of lettuce and feel full, but a diet of only lettuce will have you starving in 2 weeks. A can of baby parrot formula is not expensive and is easy to make ( follow instructions and warning about temperature.) You are doing so great rescuing this little one, please take the few steps needed to keep him alive and healthy while you have him, Thanks a lot !

 

[Squeekmouse]

Mojo is so cute, it's heartbreaking to see the condition he was in though. I'm SO glad he is in loving, caring hands now!!!


If you do find his owner, and he isn't weaned... pardon me for being judgmental but I would have doubts about that owner letting an unweaned baby wander off... maybe Mojo is better off here he is.. but we don't know what the situation was, so I should probably chill out and give them the benefit of the doubt. (grumble grumble)


Anyhoo, THANK YOU for caring for him! Sounds like you are getting excellent advice and are open and receptive to that advice. Hooray!

 

[Verxea]

Of course! I’ve never passed an animal in need without trying to help it.

I know, that is my biggest worry too (that his original owner is not a responsible parrot owner). I will of course still look for his owner, but would hate to give him back into the hands of someone who’s not caring for him properly. And the fact that I haven't seen any lost posts/signs for him, or anyone looking for him at the humane society, makes me wary as well. But of course, since we don’t know the circumstances anything could have happened.

One of my neighborhood neighbors in the past dumped a cat into our yard knowing that we will care for her and make a home for her. Perhaps that has happened again. :12:

Mojo is so cute, it's heartbreaking to see the condition he was in though. I'm SO glad he is in loving, caring hands now!!!


If you do find his owner, and he isn't weaned... pardon me for being judgmental but I would have doubts about that owner letting an unweaned baby wander off... maybe Mojo is better off here he is.. but we don't know what the situation was, so I should probably chill out and give them the benefit of the doubt. (grumble grumble)


Anyhoo, THANK YOU for caring for him! Sounds like you are getting excellent advice and are open and receptive to that advice. Hooray!

 

[mh434]

There is absolutely no doubt that he's 100% tame. A wild bird would NEVER allow you to pick them up unless they were at death's door & unable to prevent it.

In all likelihood, he's either lost from somewhere reasonably nearby, or some unthinking, uncaring, ignorant person thought they'd "do the right thing" and "set him free" when they didn't want him anymore. Honestly, I run into people all the time that actually think this is a good idea!! Unfortunately, as the expression goes "You can't fix stupid"!

He looks awfully large for a weaning bird, but I haven't raised 'Zons from that age so I'm no expert.

What I can tell you is that he's a LOT more tame and easy to handle than the YNA I've had for 6 or 7 years now.

Realistically, unless the original "owner" comes forward in short order, I'd say the bird has adopted YOU.

Clearly, the love & care you're giving him seems to greatly exceed that which he had before. IMHO, if no one comes forward PDQ, I'd say "Adopt him!!". Lord knows, he'll have a long, healthy, happy life with you!! And after all...that's what he deserves, isn't it?

 

[texsize]

Putting the baby food in a bowl is ok but he may not eat from it.
I have seen people use a spoon to bring the food up to the level of the birds beak, that would be worth a try also.

 

[Verxea]

Ok good to know. I don’t want to be keeping him from where he belongs.

It’s quite possible that is what happened. I live next to a large empty lot, and he doesn’t seem to be the strongest of fliers so maybe someone dumped him there.

Lucky that we found the little guy! We just happened to be down at the carport doing some work on the car and moved something near him which made him flutter. Otherwise we wouldn’t have ever seen him as he was hidden in the crevice pretty well. Don’t know how much longer he would have lasted in this heat wave.

Well, we would be glad to adopt him if we can’t find his owner (and if he wants to adopt us!).

Thanks everyone for your support and advice!

There is absolutely no doubt that he's 100% tame. A wild bird would NEVER allow you to pick them up unless they were at death's door & unable to prevent it.

In all likelihood, he's either lost from somewhere reasonably nearby, or some unthinking, uncaring, ignorant person thought they'd "do the right thing" and "set him free" when they didn't want him anymore. Honestly, I run into people all the time that actually think this is a good idea!! Unfortunately, as the expression goes "You can't fix stupid"!

He looks awfully large for a weaning bird, but I haven't raised 'Zons from that age so I'm no expert.

What I can tell you is that he's a LOT more tame and easy to handle than the YNA I've had for 6 or 7 years now.

Realistically, unless the original "owner" comes forward in short order, I'd say the bird has adopted YOU.

Clearly, the love & care you're giving him seems to greatly exceed that which he had before. IMHO, if no one comes forward PDQ, I'd say "Adopt him!!". Lord knows, he'll have a long, healthy, happy life with you!! And after all...that's what he deserves, isn't it?

 

[Verxea]

Ok thanks! I will try that.

Putting the baby food in a bowl is ok but he may not eat from it.
I have seen people use a spoon to bring the food up to the level of the birds beak, that would be worth a try also.

 

[jhsatx]

Yer screwed!

Say hello to your new life partner.

You need look no further for your source for all things Amazon.

And thank you.

 

[EllenD]

Sorry, I didn't get back here...

Wrench saved the day though, as he cannot eat pellets right now!!! As Wrench already stated, he absolutely needs the baby-bird hand-feeding formula multiple times a day, on a pretty strict schedule. I'd say at his age you need to feed him the formula once every 4-5 hours...

Here's the problem with not weaning him properly...Forgetting that his body could very likely already be "starved" from not getting the formula, which they often die from depending on their age, if a baby parrot that is being hand-fed formula (usually breeders pull them from their parents between 2-3 weeks old and from that point on they are fed by the breeder with the formula) and is not properly Abundance-Weaned, they will often develop severe psychological, behavioral, and neurological issues...

Abundance-Weaning means that at the appropriate age for the species of parrot, you slowly start to introduce solid foods, usually starting with seeds, then progressing to pellets, fresh veggies, fresh fruit, etc., but all while you're still hand-feeding him the formula that his body needs and that also nurtures him all the way around.

At this point, you need to set-up a "Weaning-Cage", or "Starter-Cage" for him, as he has all his outer feathers and no longer needs an extra heat source...A proper Weaning-Cage is designed to teach a young bird how to interact with their environment in a general kind of way...They consist of many different types of perches (different shapes and made of different materials) so they can learn how to perch, many different types of toys and foraging activities (yes, they actually do have to learn how to play with toys, otherwise they never will, nor will they ever be able to entertain themselves), different types of food and water bowls/dishes/bottles so that they can learn how to eat solid food and drink water in any environment, and then things like ladders so they learn how to climb, a swing, etc.

Inside of his cage at this point he should have a bowl of pellets (DRY, DO NOT MASH THEM AT THIS POINT, HE NEEDS TO LEARN THIS HIMSELF) and a bowl of an appropriate, varied, healthy seed-mix at all times. If you keep mashing his pellets for him, not only will he not get the nutrition he needs from the formula, but he's not going to Wean properly, and he won't ever learn how to properly eat pellets, seeds, etc.

He will eventually learn how to eat the pellets dry, as well as how to dip them in his water bowl if he wants to. But mashing his pellets for him is doing him a huge disservice at this point, as he's not weaning properly, nor is he getting near the nutrition he needs from the formula. So you want to have a bowl of dry pellets (put a bowl of water right next to the bowl of pellets for him to learn), a bowl of seed mix, and then also bowls of different fresh veggies and fruit every single day....But you need to hand-feed him the appropriate amount of formula every 4-5 hours, every single day.

What's going to happen is he will eventually start to gradually eat more solid food from his cage, ON HIS OWN, and then start to gradually refuse his formula feedings...until finally he will only be crying for what is called a "comfort feeding" at nighttime before bed. Once he is refusing all formula feedings and is no longer crying for a comfort-feeding at night, then he's weaned..But doing this in this very slow, gradual way is what makes it "Abundance Weaning"...What you were doing with the mashing of pellets and denying any formula to him is called "Force-Weaning" him, and it's extremely harmful to them in a million different ways, mostly psychologically and neurologically...Along with the fact that he's going to end-up malnourished from not having the formula...
(I'm not blaming you, if it sounds that way, this is obviously not your fault, you're the hero in this scenario! I'm just trying to get the point across)

So if you haven't already started this process. please start immediately, and please stop mashing up pellets for him to eat, as it's not what he needs at all right now, he must start to Abundance-Wean using the dry pellets and seeds, while getting a proper baby-bird formula feeding once every 4-5 hours strictly...

You can try a bowl for the formula, but I don't like that at all for a number of reasons, namely that YOU CANNOT LEAVE FORMULA SIT OUT IN A BOWL IN HIS CAGE!!! It grows bacteria instantly and can be toxic to him...And they tend not to eat nearly enough of the formula from a bowl...

With his size and age, syringe feeding him should be fairly easy...All you need to do is make sure that the formula is between 104-110 degrees F, fill the syringe, and approach with the syringe to the left side of his beak (HIS LEFT, YOUR RIGHT IF YOU'RE FACING HIM)...At this point he should just take the syringe and start his "Feeding Response", you'll see what I mean when he does it, and you just push the formula in at the same rhythm as his feeding-response, and again, you'll see what I mean when you see it...It's much easier and safer to syringe-feed babies that are of his size and age, as they pretty much do it for you, just as long as you make sure that the formula temperature is correct, and that you give him the tip of the oral syringe in the left side of his beak (HIS LEFT SIDE), while aiming the syringe across his mouth, from his left side where you're going-in at, across and OVERTOP of his tongue, and aimed towards the back right side of his throat (HIS RIGHT SIDE), as that is where the opening to his crop is. He'll pretty much do this for you as long as you just go at his pace while pushing the formula in...

As far as how much formula you need to feed him...Again, at his size/age he should be getting formula once every 4-5 hours (he can go overnight for 8 hours without a feeding at this point, so every 4-5 hours from early morning, depending on his schedule)...And I'm basing this on the fact that he's eating some of the DRY pellets and seed mix...If he's not yet doing that, then you need to feed him the formula more-frequently, like every 3-4 hours...Think of this as you're resetting or starting over his weaning process...

Again, please no longer mash-up his pellets and feed them to him, as this is not good...The reason I'm telling you to only leave a bowl of DRY pellets and a bowl of seed mix, and water obviously, inside of his Weaning-Cage, no wet or mashed pellets at this point, is because THE LESS SOLID FOOD HE EATS ON HIS OWN, THE MORE FORMULA HE NEEDS, AND THE MORE OFTEN HE NEEDS IT...If you're feeding him wet, mashed-up pellets, not only is this taking the place of the formula and the much-needed nutrtion that it provides to him that the pellets do not at this point, and this will starve his body, but you're also inadvertently "Force-Weaning" him without knowing it...So no more mashed pellets...

If you notice that he's not eating many dry pellets of seeds, that's fine, he's just not ready to do so, and it just means you must feed him more formula, and more often. This is the Abundance-Weaning process, and it's how it should be done for his sake...So put the dry pellets, seed mix, water, fresh veggies/fruit inside of his Weaning-Cage, and give him a hand-feeding of formula to start out with, and start at 4-5 hours between formula feedings...You want his crop nice and round, like a big balloon when he's done with the formula, but you need to feel the crop, as it should still have some "give" to it and not be very firm...that's how you know he's gotten enough formula, and do not rely upon him to stop eating the formula either, you must check his crop...

The 4 hours later, observe if he's been eating any of the dry pellets/seeds/veggies, but again, you must check his crop before giving him more formula...it should be almost empty between daytime feedings, there will normally be a bit of formula left in the bottom of the crop, but almost empty. Then give him another feeding...Again, he can go 8 hours overnight at this point without a feeding...

In the morning his crop should fully empty overnight, as it must fully empty once every 24 hours...If this goes as it should, he should start refusing formula feedings, but still offer them every 4-5 hours. Usually they will go to accepting the first morning formula feeding and then the last one before bed, then just the one before bed...

However, if he isn't ready to "wean" yet, you'll know it because he won't be eating enough of the dry pellets, seeds, etc. to refuse any of his formula feedings...THIS IS FINE, IT'S NORMAL, THAT'S WHAT ABUNDANCE-WEANING IS...So it's extremely important that you don't IN ANY WAY FORCE HIM TO EAT HIS PELLETS, SEEDS, ETC. OR HELP HIM TO DO SO, BY WETTING THEM, MASHING THEM, ETC., AS THIS IS FORCE-WEANING, AND WILL BE VERY HARMFUL TO HIM...

***If he isn't eating his dry pellets or seed, that simply means that he's not ready to do so yet, it doesn't mean anything is wrong, it doesn't mean you should mash them, wet them, or alter them in any way. It means that he's still too young to Abundance-Wean, and it means that all you need to do is to continue to give him the DRY pellets and seed mix in his cage, and continue to give him formula feedings once every 4 hours if his crop is just about empty every 4 hours, 5 hours if need be...And continue this, he'll slowly and gradually eat more dry, solid food, and refuse more and more formula feedings, until he refuses all...***But because you stated that he wouldn't eat the dry pellets and you had to mash them/wet them, THIS IS AN INDICATION THAT HE'S STILL VERY YOUNG AND NO WHERE NEAR WEANED, NOT EVEN CLOSE, AND YOU NEED TO GIVE HIM MORE FREQUENT FORMULA FEEDINGS, NOT MASH THE PELLETS...