problem with my ringneck

Question
QUESTION: helo
i have a baby indian ringneck parrot
when it was 2 weeks its parents stop to feeding it and after that i took the baby to handfeeding
it was at bad condition,stand in one feet the other feet hasnt enough power,lithargy, cant stand it head up.
with handfeeding (keytee formula and multi vitamins)the baby goes good and looks healthy, climping at cage many hours in a day.
now it is 8 week and is at weaning state, eat itself (prefer peanuts,fruit and seeds,no so much pellets)but in small quantities. it refuse the handfeeding except at night when i handfeeding it 2 times ( totally 15-20 cc kaytee formula).From yesterday appear the same signs like before, stand in one foot, the other foot hasnt enough power and trembling and doesnt climb to it cage. i am very afraid about that and i dont know what can i do.
I cant find any veterinarian specialist for birds here in greece.Thank you very much for your time and help




ANSWER: Hi, Nicholas.

I'd say this baby bird is most likely not getting enough nutrition.  When baby parrots refuse handfeedings, this means they are ready to wean.  This baby's beak may not be hard enough yet for it to eat certain foods like seed and pellets.  Therefore, you need to wean it to more soft-type foods, such as cooked brown rice with veggies mixed in, try a warm baked potato (no butter or sauce), cooked oatmeal/cream of wheat, corn bread or other healthy, nutritious whole or multigrain breads/dry, sugarless cereals, fruits....a variety of healthy, nutritious foods.  Since this baby is used to eating hot handfeeding formula, it still may prefer warm foods....gradually introduce other foods at room temperature.  You need to provide these foods several times per day....called abundance weaning.  I think your bird is weak and lethargic because it isn't eating enough.  Be aware that a baby bird doesn't know what a food or water dish is, so offer these foods in flat dishes, such as a jar lid or something similar that doesn't have sides so the bird can see the food.  Once the bird learns that food is down in the food/water dishes, then you can place food in the dishes.  Worse comes to worse, you may need to ensure you handfeed enough at least once per day.  This bird also needs to have sufficient water every day.  Hopefully, the bird knows how to drink water????

Let me know how it goes.

Chrys

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hello
thank you very much for your response,support and help
i'm very appreciated about that
before my babies weaning stage, i used to handfeeding him with syringe 4 - 5 times per day, totally about 40 cc food in a day (KAYTEE formula 13cc,water and fruit juice 27 cc).
At the weaning i handfeeding him 2 times per day, 15cc per day, but the problem appear.
Now from yesterday,i'll try to handfeeding him 5 times/day,totally 30+ cc (KAYTEE handfeeding and KAYTEE weaning with water and juice)
My baby now is about 8 weeks old
do you believe that 30cc is ok for him?
I
He knows where the food is, i think knows where the water is but i don't know if he knows to drink it. But i regard his droppings and have enough water, maybe a little more than usual.
i'll give him the foods you suggest, but how?
i put the warm potato in a dish to feed himself? After few minutes the potato will cold ( room temperature is about 80F ), how soon i must change it?


Answer
Hi again, Nicholas.

Your bird is undernourished.  First of all, you can't go from 4-5 handfeedings per day down to 2 without gradually bringing the number of feedings down.  In addition, you weren't/aren't handfeeding enough at each feeding.  An IRN at 6 weeks of age should be eating about 20 cc's if not more at each feeding.  If you were only feeding 40 cc's per day, this bird was starving.  At 8 weeks of age, 30 cc's is not enough unless this is 30 cc's per feeding.  The problem appeared when you dropped the baby down from 4-5 feedings to 2 feedings.

What you need to do is start handfeeding this bird 3-4 times per day so the bird can get its strength/health.  Ensure you are feeding the handfeeding formula at 102-104 degrees F...the food must enter the bird's body at 102-104 degrees F.  Baby birds will refuse formula that isn't hot enough and the formula won't be able to metabolize if it's not hot enough.  Feed enough formula at each feeding to fill up the bird's crop.  You should be able to see through the bird's skin how full the crop is.  If you see food backing up into the bird's neck, you've feed too much.  You shouldn't wean this baby if it isn't strong enough because weaning will result in stress and this baby can't tolerate any more stress right now.  Forget the juice, the water is good...this baby needs as much nutrition right now as he can get.

Once this baby starts getting stronger, then you can start the weaning process again.  If the baby is accepting, you can still offer other foods at the same time you are still handfeeding.  You place these foods I've suggested in one of his food dishes if he knows how to use food dishes.  If he doesn't, place these foods in a flat dish of some sort or jar lid on the cage bottom so the baby can see the food.  The baby will need to eat these things on his own...don't put in a handfeeding syringe.  Sure the food will cool down, but as long as it's still room temperature, it's OK.  Cooling down gets the bird used to eating cool/cold foods.  You can leave the fresh food in the cage for about an hour....depending on the temperature and the type of food.  Don't let the bird eat spoiled food.  Keep a water dish with fresh water in cage at all times.  You may have to help the bird learn where the water is by flipping the water around a bit in the dish so the bird can see it, perhaps flip a little water on the bird gentle or let some drip off the end of your finger into the side of the bird's mouth.  

Chrys