I need to fatten him up.

[jn46036]

I need to fatten him up
My new little baby is not gaining weight, I am having trouble getting him to eat. When I took him to see Dr. C the other day he was 70 g. I weighed him on my scale and his weight is only 2.4 oz/ 68.03 g. He is about half starved, he acts like he is afraid that if he eats he will have nothing later. I wanted to reassure him he was not going to starve to death so I put full food dishes all over his cage, one on every wall. I put a treat bar in there, and we are giving him lots and lots of millit. he is eating the millit and nibbling at the treat bar, a few nibbles of the seeds and has not touched his pellets, or any fruits, veggies, or other solid foods we offer. So I am feeding him home made baby food with a syringe. I think I am doing the correct thing? Start him over like he was a baby again, he is so frail. Does any one have an ideas for getting him to eat more and put on some weight?
Thank you
Jannette & Tony

[CocosMomma]

Awww - he is absolutely adorable!:wub:
What is that little darling's name??

Out of curiosity - do you know how old he is? Such a sweet face!

Petey was only 65 grams when I first got him...I felt a bit on edge while waiting for Petey to slowly gain weight. :heart:

[jn46036]

I put a post on here the other day and just put a new one on here with some more pictures, lol sorry I forget they dont all show up together. His name is Bossy. I have no clue how old he is.

[CocosMomma]

oh-oh-oh-oh-oh.. I'm back up to speed now:doh: you are Tootie's daughter!;)
Nothing gets past me...:rolleyes: (yeah, right...):doh:

Well, you're in good hands with Dr. C.! :heart: Lucky you for being near her.:agree:

:goodjob: that you are weighing him!!! Do you have a gram scale, or are you weighing him on a oz scale and doing the math?

So, Bossy is good with eating the millet it sounds like! And going after the treat stick! Good job, Bossy! Does he eat seeds? Pellets?

Baby Petey is not very adventurous with his food choices... it can be a challenge to get our fids to eat right sometimes!:agree: I still have not gotten Petey to try so much as a piece of pasta, let alone a vegetable, and I've had him 6 months. He did taste a piece of banana off of Sammy's beak (Sammy was not amused...)

You probably already know this... depending on the time of day you select to weigh Bossy (and if it is before or after a meal), his weight can fluctuate greatly. I like to do the weighings first thing in the morning before the birds eat if possible.

[Shirley]

Hello there,

Home made baby food -- Please explain. What's in it?

Dr. C will be out all day tomorrow and Sunday - Avian conference - she might be online tomorrow night, but not necessarily.

I realize you don't know how old he is, but was he somewhat recently weaned? Is this one that someone gave you?

[tootiehead]

JN, I'll see Shirley and Dr. C today (at least I hope I will) and I'll tell them about what you're feeding him. Poor baby! I dreamed last night I took him home with me. He really needs to be at his grandma's house to fatten him up! Look at how good I did to fatten up Nummies. Oh, I forgot, she didn't need to be fattened up. :)

[jn46036]

Well mom just called and said don't feed him spinach (too late) His baby food is just like we did for my kids when they where little, all the fixens in the blender... chicken, veggies, fruits... he really seems to love being bottle fed, and his medication is like a treat to him. He snuggles up to Tony like a little baby when he sees that little plastic syringe.. scary because he would take your fingers off any other time. Yes my scale is OZ. and I am converting. No momma you cant take him home with you. Tony is so in love with his new little baby he has stayed home all week with him, he said Bossy was so traumatized, he needs all the love and attention he can get and not moved around. Sorry but if you want to see your grand birdy you have to come visit,lol.

[CocosMomma]

JN, I'll see Shirley and Dr. C today (at least I hope I will) and I'll tell them about what you're feeding him. Poor baby! I dreamed last night I took him home with me. He really needs to be at his grandma's house to fatten him up! Look at how good I did to fatten up Nummies. Oh, I forgot, she didn't need to be fattened up. :)

In Nummie's defense, I don't think he's fat!:wub:

[tootiehead]

Nummies thanks you Robin. ;)

[jn46036]

Well Bossy is eating the bird formula now that mom sent over ontop of his little nibbling........ Gaining weight too! He is up to 76.54 gr. Nibbles is up to 85.05 gr.

[CocosMomma]

Woo - hoo! Good for you, Bossy, eating your birdy formula... way to go littl' guy! Keep it up, and we'll have to start calling you 'big guy'!!!:thumbup:

[tootiehead]

I'm very happy for you, Jannette. (Yes, she has a name.) (But, believe it or not, JN is a nick name of her's.) So, now I can rest easier. But, not totally. Not until I see what happens with the eggs. (Ha, I started a whole new storie!)

[Shirley]

Super news!! :dance: