Need Help With Weaning

[T1DMom]

I have a 7 1/2 week old pineapple green cheek I have been hand feeding since she was 4 weeks. I am still hand feeding her three times a day. She is eating pellets, fruits and veggies. The problem is that she will squawk non stop to be fed, but when I feed her she doesn't want to take very much then will go right back to the incessant squawking. My other green cheek who is a year never makes this noise. Is this a normal noise for a baby and will it eventually stop?

 

[rosembers]

I wouldn't be too concerned since she's such a young baby still. I would try to start offering her a few treat seeds instead of the formula and see if that helps since she's weaning. Could she be squawking because she's used to being held at that time and wants to be held or get attention? If you think that could be part of it, you could try to hold her for gradually shorter periods of time after you hand feed a little, and continue decreasing the time until she no longer associates being cuddled with being hand fed

 

[Brittany741]

We are going through the same thing with our baby Eclectus but he is much, much older. They are super slow to wean. I just continue offering lots of fresh fruits and mash for him. I've also begun delaying his feeding times in hopes he will pick at his food more. He cries for mommy SO MUCH and it breaks my heart but he's going to have to eat eventually. That's the downside of abundance weaning but the upside is a much happier bird who learns to enjoy all types of foods. Oliver is doing well picking at his foods but he regressed when he first got here about a month ago. We are almost back to the place he was when he first got here.

He was on 3 40cc feeds and now he takes 2 55cc feeds. I allow 12 hours between feeds so he can get hungry, but also because he goes RIGHT to sleep after his dinner feed. He is a potato bird and doesn't do much. He's just starting to show interest in moving around and playing with the custom toys I bought off Etsy.

 

[Sucre]

As long as he/she is eating other thing, drop on down to 2 feedings a day. It sounds like she is weaning herself. They all do that when they are eating more on their own.

And, yes, she is wanting to be held and wants your attention. Mine were about 3-4 months old before they got past that, but they also had each other to play with, and I'm sure that makes a difference. They are all 8-14 months now, and still get quite loud when they want attention, but it isn't the same - not as needy as a baby.

If you're worried that he/she isn't eating enough, try mixing some Missing Link in with the formula. It's great nutritionally speaking, and it comes in powder form so it blends well with the formula. You can even sprinkle some on her food. I always use it when we drop down to 2 feedings a day, and sometimes add fruit / veggie baby food to it. It seems like that makes them eat better (more), and they accept real fruit and veggies easier when I offer it to them.

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

I had an issue with my oldest budgie chick crying. The younger two were fully weaned and wanted nothing to do with hand feedings, but the oldest would cry every time I walked past the cage. He was being fed 3 times a day still, so I started by replacing the middle feeding with attention. It didn't take long to figure out that is what he really wanted. I made sure he was weighed daily and wasn't loosing weight, but he didn't get hand fed for long after that. He just wanted the hand feedings because he got held. Just make sure if you wanted to try eliminating a feeding and replace it with attention, that you weigh him daily to ensure he doesn't actually still need the feeding.

 

[Jarsheart]

I have a 14 week old sun conure that I am hand feeding twice a day. I've been told to drop it to one feeding per day. She no longer begs in the day, only at night. She is eating less and less formula at each feeding, like she is weaning herself. So take a cue from your bird. Sounds like you are doing a great job.

Michelle