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Weaning
Dec 15, 2015 17:09:58 GMT -5
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Post by pickles on Dec 15, 2015 17:09:58 GMT -5
Hi everyone
My Quaker is 10 weeks old. I got him when he was 4 weeks or that was I told. I had hand feed him 3 times a day, sometimes 4 times. I offer him pellets, seeds, fresh fruit and vegetables. I can say by his poop that he had eaten some seeds or pellets. But basically he still completely unweaned. Today I fed him in the morning and went out to do some errands. When I came back at 2pm he was histerical. All his seeds outside the food bowl but untouched, pellets and fruits untouched too. Why there are some days he eat seeds and some days he just wait for me? Also, he hates his cage. It is full of toys, branches and food but he preferred to be outside his cage playing and flying around. I know this sound logical but I have to cook and do my house chores and it is almost impossible and unsafe with a little guy flying around you. Putting him back in his cage is a challenge, he start to fly away of it and tried to bite you when he sense he is going back. Another question, how often they are suppose to bath? Yesterday was the first time I notice he took a bath, it was a very cute moment.
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Post by easttex on Dec 15, 2015 18:50:26 GMT -5
Hi, and welcome to the forum! I have never had a parrot that young, but there are some articles on the main site (see QP Main Site, above). There is good advice there, including this one on abundance weaning: www.quakerparrots.com/?s=Abundance+weaningIt will direct you to other related articles, also. On bathing, they can be on very different schedules. Some will bathe once a week, and some will bathe several times a week. Try doing something fun with him between the time you pick him up and before you put him in the cage. That has worked really well for me with my African grey. I take her for a short walk around the house, or talk with her in front of a mirror. She looks forward to that more than she dreads being put in her cage. Good luck, and keep us posted on how things go.  |
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Post by pickles on Dec 15, 2015 21:24:43 GMT -5
I do a lot of things with him when he is outside his cage. That's the problem, I think he had so much fun outside that he don't want to go back alone to his cage :/
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Weaning
Dec 16, 2015 1:56:27 GMT -5
Post by biteybird on Dec 16, 2015 1:56:27 GMT -5
It could be that your quaker is a slow developer - at 10 weeks I think he should be able to eat on his own (our Bonnie was weaned at around 8 weeks, just before we got her from the breeder). Perhaps he's just taking his time. Maybe you could give him a couple more weeks and see if he's starting to eat more on his own. Then you can reassess.
Regarding his dislike of his cage, could you take some things out of it just to see if he'd like more space? Just an idea.
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Post by wsteinhoff on Dec 16, 2015 9:09:45 GMT -5
I've never had to wean a parrot but I've had to handfeed baby pigeons and rescued wild birds. With the pigeons I use peas (the safe kinds) that have been defrosted to room temperature. Had feed them the peas until they start picking them up on their own and they are soft so that they can easily grasp onto them. With the seed eating wild birds I'd use millet sprays. Put a spray of millet in there and they always end up pecking at it to see what it is and then they realize it's actually pretty tasty and start pecking at other things too. With parrots being both seed and veggie eaters I'd say either of these could work. If you have another bird though, my sparrow Casey weaned himself 2 1/2 weeks early by watching the other birds eat.
About your bathing question at least once or twice a week is good. I have birds who have refused to bathe their entire life and I have others who want to bathe every day. I just let them do it when they want to.
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Post by julianna on Dec 16, 2015 14:07:03 GMT -5
Hi pickles. When it comes to bed time, Oscar (my QP) does not want to go in the cage either so what I do is I go around the house and dim all the lights and eventually turn them off. As each light gets dimmer he knows it is bed time and will go and eat one last time. After he is finished, I get him to step up and then slip him in his cage. He does not like going but he knows he has to. I never used to need to close his door and cover him up but since his house made from tie wraps, is small now, I need to make sure he gets dark time.
For bathing you can give your QP a large bowl or glass container of some sort with water in it. The water should not be too warm and a little on the cool side. My QP loves to use my bathroom sink for his bath. The water should only come up to the top of his legs. Most QP's love water so it does not take too much convincing to get them to wash. Other people will use a clean spray bottle and spray their QP's. This also seems to work well. I offer Oscar a bath a few times a week and he will accept around every third day.
Good Luck and let us know how it works out.
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Weaning
Dec 17, 2015 18:02:41 GMT -5
Post by aaron on Dec 17, 2015 18:02:41 GMT -5
Our QP, Cupcake, is also a flighted Quaker who truly would prefer to be outside her cage all the time. And when we are home, she is always out, but she is completely willing to be put back in the cage when it's time for her to go in, because we always give her a treat when she goes into the cage willingly. She knows that cage = treat, and so she basically never objects.
Also, for your peace of mind-- you can get to the point where they will learn to be out and safely be nearby while you do your chores and will be fairly easy to keep safe. At first, Cupcake was all over the place, but she has learned, over time, where she is allowed to be and where she isn't, stays with us, and is basically tolerant of whatever it is that we are doing. Granted, she goes through phases and sometimes (especially when hormonal) a bit more challenging to keep track of, but the vast majority of the time, she is well behaved.
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Post by beccilouise on Jan 6, 2016 13:41:02 GMT -5
Hello Pickles! It could be a particular toy that he doesn't like in the cage? When we buy new toys for Byron, I leave them out of his cage but in his line of site for a few days so he knows it won't jump up and eat him, then I put it in. Sometimes, although regular change to their environment is healthy, too much change can be destabilising for them.
Byron insists on bathing in his water bowl, despite the fact that he has a perfectly good birdie bath. I tried a spray bottle but he hated it and doesn't like showers either. He bathes once or twice a week whenever he wants and that seems to suit him fine. Their habits do change as they mature and they an become more particular and pushy about their needs. Maybe just give him opportunities to different things and see which one he takes to most.
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