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Post by princessparrot on Sept 3, 2012 16:23:51 GMT 10
i have a baby bourky and i need abit of help weaning it.
its about 5-6 weeks old and going well but im not sure what i should start weaning him on to.
i put a small spray of millit in with him and he started eating it at first,but not sure if he still is.
how long do they take to wean
how do i know if he's feeding and when should i stop feeding him?
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Post by princessparrot on Sept 4, 2012 15:24:03 GMT 10
people...
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Post by avinet on Sept 4, 2012 22:04:01 GMT 10
5 or 6 weeks is a bit early to expect it to wean - maybe a week earlier than I would expect. Millet spray is a good first food - and I would expect it to start nibbling on it pretty quickly. Some of the seed might be swallowed whole and some will be husked - it seems to take a little practice to get the hang of husking seed. I would also start placing chopped up veggie sin the cage, and it would be a good idea to give some sprouted seed as well. My normal practice for birds such as this would be to place a small dish of fresh food in the cage after each hand feed - and I would be feeding still 3 times a day at 6 weeks. By the time it takes first flights then look at reducing to 2 feeds, and have fresh food in a dish, seed in another dish and the millet spray as well. As soon a sit is eating dry food such as seed then make sure there is some water present. My article at scas.org.au/html/hand_rearing_part_1.html gives information about weaning. Bourkes are no different from other small parrots such as cockatiels for weaning - basically it is just putting a selection of food in the cage with it and their natural curiosity will do the rest. I will add however that it is usually slower when you have a single bird on it's own than if you have several together. Having others around seems to increase the willingness to try new things - I guess if one has a nibble the others copy to see what all the interest is. Sometimes you get a baby that just doesn't want to wean - often it is a bit of a cry baby. That is usually an indication of a baby that has some sort of infection in the digestive system.. that can be either yeast (Candida) or perhaps a bacterial infection, or even rarely a parasite problem. Usually a vet visit will be needed to sort out such a problem. cheers, Mike |
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Post by princessparrot on Sept 5, 2012 15:00:20 GMT 10
ok, i've put some food andstuff in. is him not eating as much when i feed him a good sighn? he is fully feathered and when he's out he's abit crazy and flys all over the place,at least he can control where he's flying now, but yeah. he still eats abit before bed though and loves a good cuddle  |
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Post by avinet on Sept 6, 2012 20:57:26 GMT 10
Sounds like h eis weaning if he is flying and eating less food - just keep food all the time in his age for him to start experimenting with. If he is flying then A/ he is probably around 7 weeks old, and B/ you can cut down to two feeds a day as soon as you see he is trying and eating some of the food in his cage.
Sounds like he is developing normally
cheers,
Mike
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Post by princessparrot on Sept 10, 2012 13:47:24 GMT 10
also, when should i move him into a cage and what would be some good toys for him
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Post by avinet on Sept 12, 2012 21:29:49 GMT 10
He should be in a cage befor ehe started flying, as soon as he looked fully feathered and starting to slow down his eating. It is really only in a cage that a proper job of weaning could be done.
Toys - anything that a cockatiel might play with, usually hanging toys, they are not foot toy types of birds.
cheers,
Mike
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