I purchased an unweaned Grey before I knew it was such an issue

newbaby · 2025-09-05T07:29:49-0500

As title states, I have an unweaned grey. She is 11 weeks old. She’s very active and seem quite happy. She has her first vet visit on Tuesday. My issue right now is feeding (of course). She’s a great eater and she’s not the first young animal I’ve had to feed long term. She eats using a bent spoon. My question now is how much is the recommend amount for her to eat?

Age: 11 weeks old.
Weight: 366g
Feeding method: bent spoon
Formula: Tropican Hand Feeding Formula
Preparation: 3 TBSP water to 1 TBSP formula
Amount she eats per feeding currently: 50ml
Her crop is not bulging at the end of these feeds and she’s always crying for more. I’d give her more, but everywhere I read says to feed up to 12% of their weight per feeding currently which would be about 44ml. So I’m feeding about 14%. When she done eating, she looks like a normally proportioned bird. Her crop is not empty looking but is also not overly full. It appears “normal”. I don’t know how else to describe it. I’m sure you know what I mean lol.

Here’s her weights since I got her.

August 31 361g
September 2 342g ( I’m wondering if this weight was accurate lol)
September 3 364
September 4 360
September 5 366

Also, I’ve been feeding her every six hours, so this means I’ve been getting up and feeding her at night. I’m reading that I shouldn’t do this? Doing it this way she’s getting about 54% of her body weight in formula each day.

Her poops contain both solids and liquids. The solids appear sort of like little snakes/worms and the liquids are…liquids lol. She climbs, plays, cuddles, “chats” etc alot.

I’ve tried soaking pellets to give her (Tropican no dyes smells like bubble gum?). She doesn’t seem to understand that she needs to pick the food up herself lol. When she tastes it she immediately does the “feeding reflex” and won’t try to taste it again. Just keeps doing the feeding thing lol. Should I be giving her water?

Are there other foods I could try for her? I want her to want pellets so I’m afraid to give her fruits and other foods that taste super yummy in case she then decides that’s all she wants.

Any help is greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance.

DonnaBudgie · 2025-09-05T08:04:22-0500

I've hand raised budgies from hatching and it's a lot of work! Your grey will not be ready to wean for at least another month.
Thank you for using a bent spoon I stead of a syringe! It's a much safer way to feed a baby bird.
She should be gaining weight almost every day so i think you need to change something because she's not. The weight and volume of formula fed isn't a great indicator of how much shes being fed because a lot of it is water. If she's not gaining weight fast enough I would thicken the formula a bit. For a bird this age it should be thick enough that it mounds in the spoon and doesn't puddle. She does not need extra water while eating formula. I was advising someone several months ago who was handrasing two baby Ringnecks that got rejected by their parents and the babies were not growing. At over a month old they still looked like hatchlings. She thickened the formula and their growth took off quickly.

I would also crush up pellets (or buy some tiny pellets) and mix them into her formula and feed the mixture to her from the spoon. This will get her used to the 5exture and tastevof solid food and give her more nutrition.

Can you feel her crop before and after feeding? It should feel larger and firmer after feeding. If she's still begging feed her a bit more. She hasn't been gaining weight so she's probably still hungry.

I would ask your vet (assuming it's an avian vet), for answers.
Good luck and post pictures of you baby! Whats her name?

saxguy64 · 2025-09-05T08:50:29-0500

Great advice above! I don't have hand feeding experience, but I'm thinking that if she's still begging for more after you feed her, she's not done. Also not gaining any weight at that age is of concern. We have a thread here that also has some great information:

Thread 'So you bought an unweaned baby...'

Mar 28, 2018

Today I spent several hours trying to help someone save a baby bird they had purchased unweaned. The baby died; they are usually almost dead by the time the new owner realizes something is wrong, not because the owner doesn't care but because they are not educated about what to look for or prepared to handle the disasters that almost always arise when the inexperienced bird lover brings home a baby who is still hand feeding. So let's get one thing clear; YOU SHOULD NOT BUY UNWEANED PARROT CHICKS!

-The bird will NOT bond to you better, in fact it often DAMAGES THE BONDING PROCESS.

-It...