New quacker 3months old

[Rosy71]

Hello to all of you.
I am new here . Just purchased a 3 month old quacker from a local breeder. Not happy that I believed he lied about Cosmo ..
said that he was already eating pellets and he wasn’t .. I would put in cage and nothing not even drinking water by himself .. to make a long story short he has got a custom to me hand feeding as well as the water in syringe .. I never see him drink water and when I give him seems thirsty … he has 3 waters in cage which I do change daily even though never see him sitting on it or drinking .. as to food I bought him new fruity pellets ZuPreem for small birds .. before that he had the Better Bird Parakeet food which was tinier than the pellets . He was fine with that but I put some pellets in there to see if eats but he doesn’t if I hand give him one he will throw out .
I have a lot of questions ..
1 .. is it normal for him to go around cage and like bicker then it passes .. he is tamed even though sometimes doesn’t want to leave cage.
We take him out like 3 times a day ..
2. The wings ! Idk what to do .. sometimes he flies out of my hands or my chest or shoulder but since he’s stills small I’m scared he gets hurt with furniture or floor so idk what to do? Am I suppose to take him to Clíp wings ? Or not ?
Just don’t want him getting hurt and then there is the pooping .. every time we carry him he poops on us on our clothing .. yesterday when he flew he pooped on an area rug .. it’s green .. kinda strong green ..
appreciate anyone’s help ..
also as to water how do I get him to drink water in cage ?
And vegetables what vegetables are safe for a 3 month old ? I don’t want him chocking .. also I feel he doesn’t like hard things

Thanks so much !

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Hello to all of you.
I am new here . Just purchased a 3 month old quacker from a local breeder. Not happy that I believed he lied about Cosmo ..
said that he was already eating pellets and he wasn’t .. I would put in cage and nothing not even drinking water by himself .. to make a long story short he has got a custom to me hand feeding as well as the water in syringe .. I never see him drink water and when I give him seems thirsty … he has 3 waters in cage which I do change daily even though never see him sitting on it or drinking .. as to food I bought him new fruity pellets ZuPreem for small birds .. before that he had the Better Bird Parakeet food which was tinier than the pellets . He was fine with that but I put some pellets in there to see if eats but he doesn’t if I hand give him one he will throw out .
I have a lot of questions ..
1 .. is it normal for him to go around cage and like bicker then it passes .. he is tamed even though sometimes doesn’t want to leave cage.
We take him out like 3 times a day ..
2. The wings ! Idk what to do .. sometimes he flies out of my hands or my chest or shoulder but since he’s stills small I’m scared he gets hurt with furniture or floor so idk what to do? Am I suppose to take him to Clíp wings ? Or not ?
Just don’t want him getting hurt and then there is the pooping .. every time we carry him he poops on us on our clothing .. yesterday when he flew he pooped on an area rug .. it’s green .. kinda strong green ..
appreciate anyone’s help ..
also as to water how do I get him to drink water in cage ?
And vegetables what vegetables are safe for a 3 month old ? I don’t want him chocking .. also I feel he doesn’t like hard things

Thanks so much !

Poops are just something you have to learn to live with. Potty training a bird is possible but very challenging. If you're concerned about his poops, put cleanvwhite paper towels on the bottom of his cage so you can judge the color and consistency correctly. Post photos 9f his poops here if you want experienced opinions. We all have lots of experience with bird poop!

How much experience do you have with parrots? (budgies are parrots, too!)

I'm a bit confused about whether he is eating on his own at all or if he is only eating formula from a syringe. If he is eating formula, you do not need to and should not give him water with a syringe. He gets all the water he needs from the wet formula. Parent birds don't give their babies drinks of water so you shouldn't either. It's to dangerous to give water via syringe to unweaned baby birds because if the water enters his mouth too quickly it can "go down the wrong pipe" into his lungs and kill him. There's a similar risk feeding formula by syringe unless you have a lot if prior experience hand feeding baby birds. Many unweaned baby birds die when their new owner accidentally squirts too much food into their mouth at once and some gets into the babu birds lungs. It's truly heartbreaking and preventable. First, breeders should NEVER sell a novice an unweaned baby bird. However, some babies seem weaned when sold but regress to wanting formula when their new owner brings them home. Second, use a small teaspoon to feed the formula to the baby. I hand fed my budgie Rocky from hatching using a baby sized teaspoon. It can be messy but it's so much safer for the baby. Please made sure the formula is the right temperature (about 100 degrees F and no warmer than 107). Use very clean equipment and freshly made formula for each feeding. If you're interested in more details just send me a PM (private message)- I'd be more than happy to help.

Fresh water should be offered to the baby at all times in a wide shallow dish (about 6 inches across and one inch deep) on the floor of the cage. He will drink when he gets thirsty but don't expect him to as long as he's being fed wet formula.

I introduced my baby budgie Rocky to solid food by mixing tiny pellets into her formula and feeding her the lumpy formula with the tiny spoon. She eagerly ate the "chunky" formula and I increased the amount of pellets every day until the formula was mostly wet pellets.

I made mealtime social and exciting for her by feeding her while we were eating too and offering her some soft warm steamed broccoli and other unseasoned vegetables diced up fine. She would see us eat it and would want some too.

I did not Introduce her to seed until I was certain she was eating the pellets and vegetables first. She's a year old now and eats anything I offer her (and wants everything we eat). She eats small amounts of seed but she doesn't "demand" it at all. This is unusual for a budgie but it's because of how I weaned her. Most budgies are weaned onto millet and learn to love it.

Please try to establish a relationship with an avian vet ASAP. Make an appointment for a "well baby bird" check up and hopefully you never have to take him in as a sick baby bird!

I wish you and baby Cosmo the best!

 

[Rosy71]

Hi Donna
Thanks so much for replying !
Cosmo didn’t eat at all his first day after I purchased him last week .
I was so concerned and his owner didn’t help a t all just said lol it’s ok he’s in a new home .. so after 24 hours I blended chicken unseasoned and brown rice and almond milk and then added sweet potato baked just a tad then I blended the food and fed him with a spoon .. he did have a bit and got better with that and the water in syringe .. he won’t drink water by himself idk why .. me and my daughter wait and wait and nothing hours and hours ..
he does like the canary food and I believe eats it I see him there.. looks like he’s eating it ..
I tried to give him pellets but he eats none so I just left the canary food now and put some pellets on top and he won’t eat them ..
I still feed him a bit of the blended food on a spoon I never gave him formula because the breeder told me he was already eating pellets .. which is very hard to believe he wouldn’t even tell me which food he had bought or was giving him when I asked the day after . Some people I think just make it a business for money and don’t take good care of the birds it’s sad ..
he wouldn’t let me see other birds had to bring 2 outside to the front of the house .. and from how they looked idk didn’t seem very great . My daughter wanted Cosmo because of the color was a light yellow with some green and blue in back .. but when we saw him in person he looked like sick or not well so we both felt sorry for him .. and took him. My daughter said mom I’m gonna rescue him .. because I was scared to purchase him in case he passed away but like luckily he didn’t !
Had I listened to the breeder I would have ignored his feeding for 2 days or more .. that wouldn’t have gone well .. I just want to know as to him eating .. how many times a day or how much is normal for a 3 month old ?
Also is it normal for him to scratch himself various times a day .?
He also scratched his foot with his beak or cleans his foot with his beak idk don’t understand that .. he does have some short feathers like growing in too that I feel when I touch him ..
as to dowel perches ? My daughter says they are bad .. but his cage came with only one in it .. he seems fine but she says we should change it . We went to our local pet store and didn’t have the size for our cage of the wood one.
Thanks for helping ! Sorry for long message ..

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Hi Donna
Thanks so much for replying !
Cosmo didn’t eat at all his first day after I purchased him last week .
I was so concerned and his owner didn’t help a t all just said lol it’s ok he’s in a new home .. so after 24 hours I blended chicken unseasoned and brown rice and almond milk and then added sweet potato baked just a tad then I blended the food and fed him with a spoon .. he did have a bit and got better with that and the water in syringe .. he won’t drink water by himself idk why .. me and my daughter wait and wait and nothing hours and hours ..
he does like the canary food and I believe eats it I see him there.. looks like he’s eating it ..
I tried to give him pellets but he eats none so I just left the canary food now and put some pellets on top and he won’t eat them ..
I still feed him a bit of the blended food on a spoon I never gave him formula because the breeder told me he was already eating pellets .. which is very hard to believe he wouldn’t even tell me which food he had bought or was giving him when I asked the day after . Some people I think just make it a business for money and don’t take good care of the birds it’s sad ..
he wouldn’t let me see other birds had to bring 2 outside to the front of the house .. and from how they looked idk didn’t seem very great . My daughter wanted Cosmo because of the color was a light yellow with some green and blue in back .. but when we saw him in person he looked like sick or not well so we both felt sorry for him .. and took him. My daughter said mom I’m gonna rescue him .. because I was scared to purchase him in case he passed away but like luckily he didn’t !
Had I listened to the breeder I would have ignored his feeding for 2 days or more .. that wouldn’t have gone well .. I just want to know as to him eating .. how many times a day or how much is normal for a 3 month old ?
Also is it normal for him to scratch himself various times a day .?
He also scratched his foot with his beak or cleans his foot with his beak idk don’t understand that .. he does have some short feathers like growing in too that I feel when I touch him ..
as to dowel perches ? My daughter says they are bad .. but his cage came with only one in it .. he seems fine but she says we should change it . We went to our local pet store and didn’t have the size for our cage of the wood one.
Thanks for helping ! Sorry for long message ..

You need to get the baby to an avian vet and purchase some baby bird handfeeding formula. What you're feeding him sounds great for a baby human. Not a baby parrot.
Please post some photos of the bird and his cage.
Where do you live (country, region). Do you have avian vets?

 

[Rosy71]

I live in florida .. I’m looking for an avian vet .. yes we saw one but had some bad reviews ..
Regular vets some don’t know about birds at all from what I read .. I will call tomorrow 2 others that I found.
A 3 month old should still be on formula ?
Also is it bad if it eats canary food and then I give it formula ? Isn’t that going back?
The reason I give it that is because I feel it just doesn’t eat enough but I don’t know how much is normal for a 3 month old ..
thanks btw ..

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I live in florida .. I’m looking for an avian vet .. yes we saw one but had some bad reviews ..
Regular vets some don’t know about birds at all from what I read .. I will call tomorrow 2 others that I found.
A 3 month old should still be on formula ?
Also is it bad if it eats canary food and then I give it formula ? Isn’t that going back?
The reason I give it that is because I feel it just doesn’t eat enough but I don’t know how much is normal for a 3 month old ..
thanks btw ..

Canary food won't hurt him. A three month old Quaker should be completely weaned, but if not, or if he regressed, he needs the nutrition in hand feeding formula while you get him back on track eating what he should be eating. Preferably a diet based on quality pellets and vegetables with small amounts of seed. I assume the breeder that hand fed him fed him something like Kaytee Exact handfeeding formula. I fed it to Rocky in addition to other parrot formulas. They are all good. Since Cosmo is not a "baby" baby, you should make the formula much thicker than the package recommends and adding very small pellets to it and letting them soften slightly before feeding it to him will get him eating the pellets.

Now is the time while he is still very young to get him a good start in life toward a lifetime of healthy eating. Involving an avian vet is very important. Surely your daughter would be very upset to lose Cosmo.

Note that if you a judging an avian vet by online reviews I would be very skeptical of negative reviews of an experienced avian vet. Human nature is such that unhappy people are most likely to write any reviews and not all unhappy people are justified in their opinions.

PF moderators have complied a large list of avian vets all over the country and parts of the rest of the world. I don't know the link but hopefully one of the moderators can forward it to you.

What region of Florida are you in? You might want to make a new post asking members about avian vets close to you.

 

[Rosy71]

Donna good morning. Thanks so much for all the information .. We have an appointment for an Avian Vet on next Tuesday .. I just don’t want them poking him with a needle don’t want to cause him any pain .. do you know what a regular check up is for a bird ? Like what do they usually do?
Also, as to the parakeet food he likes -
is that enough besides the vegetables for his diet ? And which vegetables are best since he’s small ? Should I cook them a bit?
I put the pellets some over parakeet food but he doesn’t like it or touch them also he won’t have them even if I hand one to him he just throws it down.. so idk how to get him to eat the pellets ..
thanks Donna ! You’re of great help !
It’s great for people to be kind in this bad world we are living in ! Appreciate it !!!

 

[clark_conure]

I don't want to hijack the thread but are white crossover quakers a trend I started? Probably not. But see a lot of them nowdays.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Donna good morning. Thanks so much for all the information .. We have an appointment for an Avian Vet on next Tuesday .. I just don’t want them poking him with a needle don’t want to cause him any pain .. do you know what a regular check up is for a bird ? Like what do they usually do?
Also, as to the parakeet food he likes -
is that enough besides the vegetables for his diet ? And which vegetables are best since he’s small ? Should I cook them a bit?
I put the pellets some over parakeet food but he doesn’t like it or touch them also he won’t have them even if I hand one to him he just throws it down.. so idk how to get him to eat the pellets ..
thanks Donna ! You’re of great help !
It’s great for people to be kind in this bad world we are living in ! Appreciate it !!!

Don't worry about needles. Birds aren't scared of them like some people are. A thorough vet exam often includes taking a blood sample but don't worry. They can get a blood sample for a DNA sexing which is more important than you may think. Female birds are uniquely prone to reproductive systems problems like excessive egg laying and egg binding which can be fatal so it's important to know for sure if your bird is male or female. The vet weighs and examines the bird by feeling its belly and breast for masses and to see if the bird has good muscle growth on its breast and not too much fat. They listen to it's breathing and heart.
Broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, peas, sweet potato, kernals corn, carrots, red or green bell peppers, squash, are all great and they can be chopped up fine and steamed until soft. Mix the chopped soft cooked veggies together so they have to taste all the different veggies. Divide into small amounts in small plastic baggies and store the baggies in the freezer. Take one out every few days and thaw it out to feed to your bird. NO onions or garlic. I like to serve them slightly warm. I put a small amount of the chopped mix in a fine food strainer and rinse under warm water and drain for a minute before putting in the food dish.
Talk to the vet about how to convert him to eating pellets. You don't want him to go hungry.
Good luck!

 

[Rosy71]

Donna you are just filled with so much good information ! Thanks so much for all of it .. great idea as to seperate the veggies in little bags ! Thanks a million ..
can I bother you for one more question ! Please . His nails are very long … should we take him to have them trimmed ?
I don’t dare do it myself .. there’s a pet store that does that and the wings also ..
another issue that I have as I don’t know if
to cut or not .. both I think have good and bad to it . He’s 3 months is al that ok at his age ? Thanks Donna

 

[Rosy71]

I don't want to hijack the thread but are white crossover quakers a trend I started? Probably not. But see a lot of them nowdays.

Omg how adorable .. looks like our Cosmo ..
Yours is whiter I think .. ours has a tad more yellow .. but yea not as common as the green and the darker yellow .. so so cute I saw the video ..
how old is he in the video ? Looks about same size as ours .. ours is about 3 and a half months or so breeder said when we purchased 2 weeks ago. What does he eat if I Can ask ? Ours had problems eating the first days here now he likes canary food mix .
I give him pellets alone and won’t eat I tried that .. then I put back canary mix with pellets on top he won’t eat the pellets Idk why mayb harder and bigger idk . It’s NuPree fruit pellets but was a no for him ..