3 wk cockatiel

Question
the baby cock swallows steadily then stops, I try for about 20 mins to get it to eat more, reheat the food and he will just let it back up in his mouth. How do I get the baby to keep swallowing? Thank you so much for your advise.
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
We have just been given a 3wk old cockatiel that needs to be formula fed. The baby weighs 3.5 grams, it eats 4x's day and 3-4 cc ea time. I read that it should be eating 20-30cc daily, at this age. Do you think it is getting enough? If not, how do I get it to eat more? Also, what temp do you recommend we keep its house at? Thank You
-----Answer-----
Hi, Marvin.  Thanks for posting!

No, this baby isn't being fed enough.  A cockatiel baby of 3 weeks old should be fed about 15-25 cc's at each feeding, not per day (depending on the baby's size).  You should fill the crop up at each feeding.  You've fed too much per feeding if you can see handfeeding formula backing up in the baby's neck (you can see the formula through the bird's skin).  It's not a matter of getting the bird to eat more...it's a matter of you feeding the bird more.  The bird's going to eat whatever amount you feed it.  

A baby this size probably has quite a lot of pin feathers.  Therefore, you need to keep this baby at about 85 degrees F, depending on what type of brooder you have the baby in.  The temperature can be reduced as more feathers grow in and the baby can keep itself warm.  Heat is not only for baby's warmth, but also for the baby to be able to metabolize the food it's being fed.

My website has much information on this subject:

www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html

Come back with any additional questions.

Chrys  

Answer
Hi again, Marvin.

Are you feeding the formula to the baby at 102 degrees F (must be this temperature when the food enters the mouth)?  If the formula isn't hot enough, babies won't eat it.  

What usually happens is that a baby gets some nice warm food in it's tummy and becomes "comfortable" and starts to drift off to dreamland!  What you need to do is to keep the baby awake/alert until you finish filling it's crop.  You should be soliciting a feeding response from the baby when you feed each time anyway in order to keep from aspirating it...in trying to solicit this feeding response, you should be able to keep the baby up.  Otherwise, instead of filling the bird up 4-5 times per day, you'll be feeding less formula more often each day.  Be sure to let the baby's crop empty nearly completely between feedings so the baby will be more apt to want to eat more when it is feeding time.  Sometimes it helps to allow the baby to go a little hungry, i.e., instead of feeding every 4 hours, wait an extra hour.

Also, this baby might be close to starting to wean off handfeeding formula.  I usually start weaning my baby tiels at 4 weeks.  If the baby is actually "refusing" to eat the formula, perhaps it's time to start weaning.  Otherwise, I'd say it's a case of just becoming sleepy as a result of warm food in the tummy.    

Chrys