6 week old feeding HELP!

[Dan84]

Hey folks, I've fed my little one this morning but he didn't take enough formula that his crop looked full like he usually does in the morning. He's not eating anything else really yet so I'm worried he won't of eaten a sufficient amount, am I over worrying or should I seek out an avian vet do you guys think?

[Skyes_crew]

Is he fledging? Usually around the time a baby gains his wings he loses a bit of his appetite. It's an internal switch that tells them to lighten the load for liftoff lol. Increase the amount of feeds so he eats more often for about a week and he should go back to normal shortly. If he refuses food all together, then yes of course a vet visit is in order.

[Dan84]

Yes he is fledging. He sits on his perch or my shoulder and flaps away, he's even able to glide to a degree from a perch to the sofa (about 3 feet)! I have just given him his lunchtime feed and he ate around half his scoop of food. Not too bad but he didn't woof it down like he used to. He did attempt to nibble a couple of seeds from my finger afterwards though.

I'm also worried about his feather condition, we only got him a few days ago and I think he may of been a bit neglected before, poor thing. I've linked some pics to see what you think and introduce him, unfortunately I can't post them up yet as I'm still pretty new, if you could go to photobucket and then the following address you can see the pic. I would greatly appreciate any help and advice. I have booked him in to see my local avian specialist just for a check up but his clinic is only on a Thursday so it's not for a couple of days unless it's an emergency.

/user/danman86/library/Ringneck

Dan.

[Skyes_crew]

Overall he doesn't look too bad. He's a beautiful bird!! Not a common color...take very good care of him. That is not stress barring. He's a pied bird I believe. Thankfully he's a baby so any trauma he received now will molt out by the time he's 1. If you'd like to post his pic to the mutations board for opinions I will gladly do it for you. Email the pics to arcticwolf @ hotmail. com

[Dan84]

Thanks for your reply Skye. That had crossed my mind too if it was pied markings. It's hard to tell properly as feathers are still coming through. I have emailed you some pics if you don't mind posting them on the mutation board that would be great He did eat slightly more tonight and afterwards played/nibbled on some bread, carrot and green cabbage, so that was a good sign.

[Skyes_crew]

Check the spelling on my email address Dan. I didn't get an email.

[Dan84]

I sent them to arcticwolf @ hotmail . com but got a bounceback?

[Skyes_crew]

Did you swish it all together? I separated it on here so that it couldn't be picked up by spam bots. It's all together no spaces.

[Dan84]

Yes I did remove the spaces, I've tried from 3 different email addresses and all got bouncebacks it was arcticwolf @ hotmail com.

[Skyes_crew]

I'm a dunce lol. I just realized I left off a piece of the address. It's arcticwolf1975 @ hotmail. Com

[Dan84]

haha. You should now have mail

[Dan84]

Ok so I fed him this morning and his feeding took slightly longer than usual as he kept showing signs of not being interested but then we sound for more. Also some of the time he would try and nibble a bit from on top of the spoon rather than me spooning it in to his beak, would that tie in with the fledging stage? I felt so sorry for him, he launched off the sofa last night and flew/glided straight in to the wall. He seemed fine though, poor thing

[Skyes_crew]

Crashing is part of the fledging process unfortunately. It hurts us to watch more than it hurts him. He'll be fine . It's super important for him to learn to fly at this stage so although its tempting, please don't clip him. This would be a good age to teach him what glass is. Let him fly into a patio door or a window a few times. It will teach him for the future. Then make sure you hang something like a sun catcher or sticker in the window and he won't run into it as an adult bird. His feeding is good. Offer him seed on the ground to forage. Mix mashed bananas and mashed cooked vegetables in with his formula and see if he will start accepting it. They are more curious at this age and will explore more so it's a good age to start introducing solids.

[Dan84]

It sure hurts me to watch him crashing, he doesn't seem too fazed at all. We have floor to ceiling glass along one long wall so I'm sure there might be a few more crashes to come I've given him some grated up carrot, green cabbage, broccoli, red pepper and corn in a shallow dish for the next couple of hours, we'll see if he touches it. At his lunchtime feed I will definitely try and add in a few soft cooked veggies.

[Skyes_crew]

To start, offer the new foods on a clean towel or blanket for him to forage on his own. Babies don't understand the concept of a bowl just yet

[Dan84]

Come to think of it whenever he has nibbled/ played with solids it has been when I've given them to him or let him pick them up, not from a bowl. I shall try laying some out on a towel...

Thanks.

[InTheAir]

About the windows, our av recommends taking the bird to the window and letting him touch it with his beak.
We just kept the windows mostly covered while Nila was learning his way around the house. He had a crash with one at one point (it is too high to cover) and we haven't had a problem since, but we thought he was going to die from that one! I'm going to try introducing my new bird to windows the way the vet suggested, once it's happy being on a hand...

[Dan84]

That's quite a good idea, he is happy to hop on my hand so maybe I shall take him over and introduce 'THE WINDOW'. When feeding him this afternoon I've noticed he seems to beg and bob his head for food but doesn't take from the spoon when I offer it. My conclusion was that the formula had dropped below the right temperature, could that be why or maybe something else?

[Skyes_crew]

It could be it...but he may be wanting something more chunky. Did you try mashing the bananas in with the formula? Take a small piece of banana and offer it by hand. On the occasions that I have had to hand feed, this has been a hit with the babies. Warm the bananas up with the formula. To keep it warm, place the formula cup or bowl inside another bowl of hot water. Make sure you stir before each spoonful. He/she is growing up

[Dan84]

He is indeed. The bald patch on his chest has almost gone in the few days we've had him. I tried to offer him a small piece of banana but I think he heard the spoon stirring the forumla and was more interested in that. Maybe I'll try mashing some banana in to some of his formula this evening and see of he gets a taste for it. It's a steep learning curve but I'm loving every minute. He's such a sweetie.

[Dan84]

Sorry but I have another question, sometime when I touch him he feels like he is ever so slightly shivering. He doesn't appear to be cold though or nervous and is happily wondering about or chewing something. Has anyone else experienced this?