I know it''s early in the game, I just want to know what I can do to help or make it easier on her. My budgie is 4 weeks and 2 days old, she''s with her dad in a nursery cage and her mom''s in another cage below her. She can jump, somewhat fly (though she falls), climbs, and tries to chew on seeds. She hasn''t touched her food though and I have specifically mashed it with greens and a weaning food, plus regular seed, romaine, carrot, and celery and millet. She still whines to her father for food but he ignores her. Instead of following him she goes to the bottom of the cage to either sit at the corner and rest, (she''s resting a lot), or chew on fallen sees but doesn''t break them.
She''s semi-tame, I can hold and pet her and take her out with little to no fuss and I did call a vet and she said that at a month to five weeks she can eat on her own. I just want to know what I can do to make it easier or maybe something i''ve missed that''s crucial for her? She hasn''t lost any weight so far either so i''m not worried about her starving, unless she doesn''t eat herself and father won''t feed her.
@Abigeal - I question your ''experience'' because one who is an experienced bird breeder would know that occasionally the parents can attack their young - which is exactly what happened when I put the mother with her baby and the father. She wouldn''t let her baby eat, she would bite her and push her to the bottom of the cage and then leave her alone while the baby sat in a corner and slept. I had to remove her temporarily. Also, you can''t just ''point'' at the food and expect them to go to it like that. My birds aren''t hand tamed, aside from 2 who are partially. The baby still won''t eat the food but her father keeps trying to show her. He feeds her on occasion. I have food on the bottom and top of the cage because she likes to climb and sit at the swing at the very top where she occasionally sleeps. Thank you for answering but it didn''t help, though some blame falls to me for taking the advice.
Bird OWNER*
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A normal weaning age is usually 5-6 weeks of age. Depending on each individual chick, weaning times actually vary. Some take longer, others are weaned in no time. You are doing great by offering it the diet that you do. Continue with the diet, and perhaps in a week introduce to her vegetables that aren''t mashed. Things like broccoli is bright, and gets their attention, and they are very curious so she may take a taste. If so, she may become intrigued to try other things too! She will get better and better as she ages with weaning, just be persistent with her. She is doing what a 4 week old would normally as far as getting the seed, but not breaking it open. That behavior is common, and shows they are actually beginning to become curious about seed, and are beginning the stage of weaning. Sleeping in the corners is another normal behavior for her at this age. They are like newborns, they don''t have the best balance, and they get very tired, very often, so they will rest on the bottom quite often.
Also, don''t let a little bit of weight loss panic you. They will lose 10 to 25% of their body weight before they are fledged (weaned) It is because of the behavior that you are observing. The parents simply ignore most of their begging pleas for food, and will instead give instructions to them as your male is doing. They do gain back some of the weight after they are weaned, but not all. The father may be feeding her when you aren''t observing, during weaning they feed a few times a day, and that''s it. This may be why you haven''t noticed a weight loss quite yet.
You do have to keep in mind that parents teach them by example. If dad doesn''t eat the mashed food, chances are, she won''t either at this moment. Once curious however, she may. You could mix some seeds with her mashed meal since this is what she is familiar with, and she will identify that.
Since she isn''t with mom you can attempt weaning by co parenting, which means you remove her when you are feeding her more solid foods. When she is around a feeding parent, she may rather beg for food, than eat some on her own. It sounds like she is developing with weaning appropriately for her age. I wish you the best!
- Let her in to her mother and let them all in a room together and put seeds on front of them. Point to the seeds and leave them alone for a while and then check back on them and if they havent coached the baby bird to eat then there is something very wrong. :)
- take her to the vet
