Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 11/9/2006

Question
Hello!

I thank you for your past answers in helping me with my Pearl Cockatiel. I was the one which posted about the noise problem, and the weaning. She isn't doing to well with the weaning process. As I previously stated before, she's a little over 8 week's now. I'm trying to make her eat warm oatmeal in the mornings. She is reluctant to eat from her cup. I show her what's in her cup, by gently pressing her head down into it, but she's so stubborn, she doesn't want to eat it (And she loves oatmeal). I can't get her to eat anything out of her cup, and are afraid that she may have health problems if she doesn't eat something. I did as you said about waiting to feed her before bed time. She eat's 20CC's or more during that time, because she act's so hungry. It's not that she doesn't have fresh water, and food in there, it's just she's reluctant to eat from her cups.

Should I just allow this process to continue until she see's that I'm not going to give her the syringe everytime she yell's at me, and that she has no choice than to eat from her own cup, or should I handfeed her? I don't know what to do; she's very stubborn.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth

Answer
Hi again, Elizabeth.

Perhaps she doesn't know what the cup is or she's afraid of the cup.  Baby birds don't know what food and water dishes are...they have to learn these things.  Don't force her head down into the food...this is a sure way of making her NOT eat her food.  If anything, deposit a little bit of the food directly into her mouth so she can get a taste, and then see what happens.  Instead of a cup, try using something flat, like a jar lid or small flat saucer (if you have any little girls, perhaps they have toy saucers), etc.  If she loves oatmeal, she's eaten it before somehow...don't tell me you put the oatmeal in the handfeeding syringe and fed it to her that way?!  You have to realize that your baby tiel is a clean slate...she knows nothing other than what is instinctive or what she's learned so far in her young life.  Everything else has to be taught to her, including eating out of a dish (the parents usually teach these things and now you're the surrogate parent).  You have to start with a dish that is flat or low on the sides so she can see the food itself in the dish.  You may also have to place the dish on the cage bottom if she's not used to eating food from a dish attached to the side of her cage (she doesn't know her food comes like this).  In fact, you may have to put a clean piece of paper or a paper towel down on the cage bottom and provide her food directly on the paper until she starts taking her food from a dish.  This also applies to water dishes if you don't use a water bottle.  

Not all baby birds wean at the same time.  It might be that your tiel isn't ready to wean completely yet, however, you won't help this process if you keep her attached to the handfeeding syringe.  If she's not eating on her own during the day, by all means, you have to feed her; I mean, it isn't going to hurt at all if you handfeed your baby tiel until she's 3 months old if this is what you want...there isn't anything that says baby tiels must be weaned by a certain age.  However, the baby also has to become a bit hungry in order to try new/other foods and/or to eat other foods.  If all she has to do is cry/beg to you and you feed her with the syringe, the process will continue.  It's like taking the pacifier or bottle away from a human baby.

Try the above and see how it works.  Come back if you need to, and we'll try something else if it doesn't work.

Chryhs