Eating Issues

[Cupid07]

Hi Maggie,

I'm sorry I haven't written or sent pictures in a couple weeks. Kismet is home with me now & keeps me busy. Actually he's been home for about 5 weeks now. He's such a cute little squirt and a lot of fun to be around. He's very playful & happy & squeaks & makes noises at me constantly. He's very verbal for a little one.

My question is this. He's not eating very well in my opinion. He is on 2 formula feedings a day which is fine except for now he actually regurgitates a whole bunch of the formula up after I feed him. This is something new he's been doing the last couple weeks.

He is also a very picky eater. He was originally eating his pellets well but then stopped, he also doesn't eat very many veggies. I've tried so many different ones to find his favorites. I can get him to eat peas fairly well & a raw baby carrot & brussel sprout & jalopeno pepper slice but he won't eat any fruit at all and the veggies he will eat isn't very aggressive or in very big quantities. This worries me. I have tried his pellets in various ways, crunched up, soaked in water so it's soft, mixed with fruit juice, mixed with a variety of hot sauces. Today, he didn't eat any of his veggies all day long & I kind of convinced him to eat a little corn tonight & his formula. I"m at a complete loss. I have tried so many different foods & varieties but he just has no interest in food. I tried hanging his papaya & banana from a kabob to make it more fun & he will pick at it but not really eat it.

He's 15 weeks old on Wednesday & I realize he's young but is this normal? By this age, shouldn't he be weaning down & eating more solid foods? I've tried a variety of mash contraptions as well as the fresh straight foods. Still no interest. But he also doesn't want more formula. I tried increasing his feedings again in case he needed more but he didn't want it. As it is, he only eats 4-5 syringe's of formula each feeding which seems low too.

He's in his big cage now & as I said, is very playfull, vocal & happy. He's getting used to the cage & does move around to play with various toys although I have noticed he spends most of his time in one spot when I'm not home. But when he's out he's all over the place playing & having a ball. He's flying now & seems to really enjoy that too. I am going to clip him after he's flown for a bit because of the dogs but the vet also suggested I let him fly a bit longer so he'll get more stable. Oh - I took him to the vet last week as an inital check up & because I was worried about his eating habits & she said he seems very healthy & happy but is on the thinner side. She is going to do a few tests to make sure there are no digestive issues. I can't force him to eat & as I said, he regurgitates a lot of his formula back up now when I give it to him so what do I do? He dislikes anything sweet so far which amazes me and shows so little interest in anything else that I worry about him.

Any ideas on what I can do? The vet suggested taking the veggies away forcing him to eat more of his Harrison's pellets but I would hate to think he's going hungry because he doesn't have the things at least I know he'll eat a little of. I do weigh him every day to make sure he isn't loosing weight which he's not but he's also not gaining & he is light for a grey I think.

I probably repeated myself a few times & I'm sorry for that. I would love any advise you could offer on how to possibly get this little one to eat more. Is this normal for one this young? Do you know what age
they stop eating their formula? I can't remember that part.

I'll send you an updated photo because I think the ones on your site are still before his feathers came in.

Thanks!

Linda & Kismet

[Maggie-]

Hi Linda & Kismet,

I agree with you. Forcing doesn't work. You cannot ,make him eat pellets. When you try to force a bird to eat something, they mat starve instead...especially if they really don;'t see something as food. You need tp spend lots of time by the cage eating the foods yourself. Be the mommy bird and teach him this is what he should be doing...but do not give him food that has bee near your mouth. QWe have bacteria that can make them sick.

It is normally hard to get them to eat right at this age. They also generally are skinnier when learning to eat on their own. It is like having this wonderful fattening stuff then learning to eat celery. They generally lose a little weight when learning to eat on their own. As long as you are supplementing him with formula, things should be okay.

Go to the Helpful Hints section of this site. There are lots of ideas for serving food. You just have to keep trying different things. But mostly, you have to show him it is food and teach him to want to eat it.

You guys are doing very well! Pleasae keep us posted...and ask any questions.

GREY'T Blessings,
Maggie-

[Cupid07]

Hi Maggie,

I've pretty much been doing what you suggested. Eating everything myself, making the yummy noises. He hasn't been all that interested until just recently he has started to want to try what I have. So, I give him his own & he bites at it & then spits it back out. Except for a few select things. Green beans is one. He does not like sweet things at all oddly enough.

I did start giving him his evening feeding later & then trying to have him eat veggies & pellets at his normal dinner time. I figure that way he's still getting his formula at night but hopefully will try the veggies when he's hungry.

I do not like the fact that he's spending so much time at the bottom of his cage now. That's something new over the past couple days which concerns me a bit. But, when he's out he's chirping at me, snuggling up with me & playing with all his toys & play gyms so I know he's happy. But I also have heard that sitting on the bottom of their cages is usually a sign of illness.

I'll keep trying various things. I'm running out of veggies to offer him. The local grocery store honestly must think I am one of the healthiest eaters in the area because of all the variety of fruits & veggies I have been buying the past few weeks. Ha Ha.

I'll keep you posted on his eating. Hopefully it's something he's grow out of as he gets older. He's 15 weeks today so he's still a youngster.

Thanks, as always for the advice.

Linda & Kismet

[Maggie]

Hi Linda,

Sitting on the bottom of the cage does not necessarily mean a bird is sick. My birds sit there every day.

The issue is if it is normal behavior NOT to be on the cage bottom and then the bird does, that is different. But you are just learning normal daily behavior. They are partial ground feeders in the wild, and many Greys do like to hang out and play and meditate on the cage bottom.

If Kismet is showing other signs of illness, I would look into it. But Kismet sounds in good form.

Keep up the feeding process. It takes time. You're doing very well!

GREY'T Blessings,
Maggie-