Cockatiel Weaning

Question
Hi Chrys,
My cockatiel was handfed bedfore I got it from about 2 or 3days old. It was flying at 7 weeks and we have the wings cliped now. The trouble is that the bird always wants to get out of the cage and often ignores the food in the cage offered. However, if we get it out and offer food we don't want to teach it that it gets food only when it gets out... I feel if we offered warm foods in the morning in a low dish or something, it would ignore them, and coninue running at the front of the cage wolf whistling to get out!
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
Hi,
I have a 10 weeks old cockatiel whom I have been hand feeding since it was 4 weeks. I introduced millet seed vegetables fruit all in the cage from about 6 weeks and it is very good now at eating all of them. It is on a morning and night syringe feed of Kaytee's exact, and I have been trying to cut out the morning feed. However, the bird is not eating enough to maintain its average body weight which is about 95 grams. I cut the morning feed down 10% to get it off the morning feed, but unless there is 5ml given in the morning then its crying by evening. However, I am strict and wait until "feed time". Do u have any tips or suggestions? I am worried that it is getting to old and may take along time to eat independently.
-----Answer-----
Hi, Liz.  Thanks for posting!

Could it be that your tiel is losing some of it's weight due to fledging?  Your tiel should be or might have already fledged.  When a baby bird fledges, some weight loss is normal.  Therefore, could this be what you are seeing with your baby tiel?  Also, during the weaning process, you should start out with warm foods, such as cooked brown rice with shredded veggies mixed in, cream of wheat (without milk and sugar), oatmeal, whole/multi grain foods, corn bread, etc., because the baby is used to eating warm handfeeding formula.  Offering warm foods might get your tiel eating better.  Move on to room temperature/cold foods as the bird becomes more used to eating a variety of foods.  

I believe in abundance weaning.  This means during the weaning process, you make as much food available to a baby bird as possible during the day so they stay filled and, therefore, not want handfeedings.  The morning and evening handfeedings are the hardest to wean a young bird from.  First thing in the morning, give your baby tiel as much warm food as you think s/he might eat.  Offer a variety and allow your baby to choose from this variety.  Just because you offer a bird a type of food, doesn't mean s/he will like it!  This is why you offer the variety.  

There is no set time that a baby bird should be weaned.  They should be weaned at their own pace, not by a set standard.  If you didn't start handfeeding this baby until it was 4 weeks of age, it actually started late (usually begin handfeedings at 2 weeks of age).  It may want to handfeed for a longer period of time.

Come back with any questions.

Chrys

Answer
Hi again, Liz.

What you have is a young bird who loves flying, just like all other young parrots.  Young birds would rather fly than eat!  This is perfectly normal.  I think what you might have to do is not let your bird out of it's cage until it eats it's food.  This will be hard at first, but if you want your tiel to eat mainly in it's cage, and eat what's good for s/he (or eat period), your bird will need to learn that it has to eat before it gets play time outside it's cage.  In the morning or whenever you feed, put food in the cage and don't let s/he out until it eats.  As soon as it eats what you feel is enough, let your bird out.  S/he'll soon associate eating with being let out of it's cage.

If this doesn't work, let me know and we'll try something else!

Chrys