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Please help

Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2014 6:43 am
by Baby bird sky
I have a baby ring neck that is about 4 weeks old. I am battling to get it to eat, could someone please give me some advise. I don't want to force it and stress it out or make it afraid of me. Please help!

Re: Please help

Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2014 11:04 am
by sanjays mummi
You don't say how long you have had your chickster,I got Sanjay at 8 wks, and for the first few days he didn't eat But he did sip water. He mostly sat like a wee statue and "listened". Give your baby time to settle, give him space and quiet, only do the minimum for a few days, then, when you can see he is more relaxed, offer yummy foods, fruit and veg, walnut pieces etc.

Re: Please help

Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2014 1:31 pm
by Wessel Gordon
Baby Bird Sky

I agree with Sanjay's mummi.

At some point survival instinct will kick in (even at that age) and it will start to at least nibble on things so just make sure you give it a variety of healthy, beak-watering food and snack.

I suspect the chick was hand-reared and not fully weaned yet because of it's age, is that the case? If it is and it was my chick I would get some of the formula it was fed by the previous caretaker and see if it will eat any of it. If it does then you can gradually start to mix in a tiny amount of Budgie seed into the formula to get it used to more "solid" food. When I hand-reared chicks I always mixed some of the Budgie seed in as they begin to refuse formula...it's softer and more digestible for their young digestive tract. From there on you move onto the food the bird will eventually be fed, especially all the things the previous poster mentioned. If the bird was hand-reared it's common for them to start refusing formula when they are ready to wean and skip a meal and then move on to the "big bird" food, although it won't refuse some formula if offered in the beginning.

Please keep us up to date about how the chick is doing.

Wessel

Re: Please help

Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2014 11:51 pm
by Baby bird sky
I've had him for a week now. I'm feeding him the same as the breeder and the same way as the breeder. He doesn't even get 5 ml in every few hours. I keep trying. I'm keeping him warm, food is perfect temp but still nothing. He doesn't shiver when I hold him anymore and is starting to scream at me but still won't eat. At what age can you start weaning them?

Re: Please help

Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2014 6:54 am
by Wessel Gordon
The weaning age really depends on the individual bird but anywhere from 8-10 weeks they start to be weaned.

Re: Please help

Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2014 1:17 pm
by InTheAir
Have you asked the breeder you got him from for advice/help?

Re: Please help

Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2014 9:29 pm
by Baby bird sky
Hi, I have tried contacting him but haven't reached him. The last time I spoke to him he said the baby has to settle in. I had the baby at the vet, they fed hom via tube which I can't do. He said the baby is younger that I was told and the breeder uses the wrong food.

Re: Please help

Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2014 9:40 am
by MissK
Looks like you may be paying the vet to raise your baby?

Re: Please help

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 11:23 am
by Baby bird sky
I got my baby eating like a dream!