Slow weaning?

[Tara]

My baby ekkie Millie is still with the breeder. She's 3 months old, and has no hatch mates. Because she doesn't have to compete with any other babies, she's loving the hand feeding. She demands to be spoon fed 3 times a day still, even though she is eating solids well. How much longer do you think it'll be before she gets tired of that? Apparently most ekkies take between 3-4 months. I'm wondering if other ekkies like her are still demanding 3 feedings a day but get tired of that within the month or if she's gonna take an extra long time. I have the cage and my house set up so waiting is killing me!
Of course, I'll wait as long as I have to to make sure I have a healthy and happy baby, but still...! It's not easy.

 

[MonicaMc]

I've heard that single birds take longer to wean rather than birds raised in groups or those raised by their parents.

I don't know how much truth there is to this, but I'm sure one of the experienced breeders will come along with more insight!

 

[MikeyTN]

Yes its happened to me before with a single chick and I fed one for 6 months once....but if the baby is eating solids the breeder should cut down the formula! You must be patient! She will wean soon enough....

 

[gemgem19]

Hi there,
I speak from experience, my male eckie (Teddy, aka Big Ted) is now 5 months old and has just finished weaning completely in the last week. I know this sounds almost ridiculous, but it is what worked for me and Ted. Until 3.5 months, he was still on 2 feeds a day, only about 15mls each time though. Ted started eating solids (corn, carrot, grapes, apple etc) at about 10-11 weeks, however he still called me for his morning and night feeds just to fill him up. Let him or her decide for themselves when they are ready. If you unsure whether you are not feeding enough- just weight him/her every second morning before a feed just to keep an eye on weight. Its a long process but so rewarding. Always make sure there is an abundance of sprouted seed and fruit hanging around the cage and foraging toys make weaning fun as well. I hope this has helped reassure you in some way.

Regards, Gemma

 

[RockysMom]

Shamrock is 10 weeks old and is on 3 hanfeedings and has just started eating veggies , I usually give them to him between 5:30 and 6pm before his night time feeding and a few hours after his afternoon feeding ,he eats on the kitchen table with my grey the others eat in their cage , maybe Shamrock will encouarage Smokey to eat more veggies as he grows up , that would be nice

 

[crimson]

when one of my chicks are taking their sweet time in weening, I will put them in with the adults(the gentle ones). I still hand feed but the chick will quickly learn how and when to eat food, the process goes much faster.

btw, it is terrible to hand feed a chick longer than its expected. you must sacrifice your time coming home for a 2 minute feeding, even if your an hour away from home.
It can become tiresome after a while, and yes somewhat inconvenient at times, but in the long run it is well worth it!