New Sun Baby Not Eating

[hstein]

Hello!

I just bought a new sun baby. I had my last for a little over 25 years so until now I though myself pretty good with them. I was told by the breeder of my new guy that the babies were all hand fed and fairly tame. It is clear that this guy was parent raised and never let out of the cage he was born in. I'm fully aware of the adjustment period in terms of socializing him and him getting comfortable with me. My biggest concern is he seems too scared to move around his new cage which obviously means he isn't eating or drinking. I've tried hand feeding him a bit but he seems scared of hands and water cups. He is 10 weeks from hatch date. I just brought him home today so I'm not sure if this is just him getting used to new home away from parents. Is it too late to start hand feeding? Any other tips?

Thanks!

[Wolf]

I am not the best person to assist you with this particular problem, but perhaps I can help you a little.
It is not uncommon for parrots, especially the more high strung ones to be so scared as to refuse food and water for a day or more, when thrust into a new environment. This, in an older bird, would not bother me too much, but this bird is not even properly weaned.
I will keep an eye out for the person that I consider to be the most knowledgeable in this area to come online tomorrow and if they don't see your post, I will ask them to look for it.
While I am here allow me to welcome you to the forum, I hope that you will enjoy it and share regularly.

[Pajarita]

Get him soft foods and put them on the bottom of the cage in some sort of flat bowl (I have these little stainless steel very shallow bowls which I use for situations like this one but even a white paper plate will do). Make some polenta (cooked corn meal), some oatmeal (the old-fashioned kind), some brown rice, some lentils (make sure they are thoroughly cooked) and mix them with pureed veggies or mashed fruits (like pumpkin, sweet potatoes, carrots -you can use baby jars for this- banana, grated apple or apple sauce, that sort of thing). You can also offer some bread (my birds LOVE Arnold's NuttyAlmond so I use it on occasion as a special treat). You can also soak pellets, mash them and mix them with some fruit juice (like white grape or apple but make sure the apple is organic) or baby food. Couscous and whole grain noodles work, too. Also, get yourself some millet sprays or, if you can't find them, get a commercial budgie (parakeet) seed mix (it's mostly millet which is soft enough for a baby to 'peel')

Put the cage in a quiet spot (no lots of human traffic) and cover half of it with a towel so he feels safe. Keep him warm and put a soft towel in the bottom for comfort. Measure the food you put in (like so many tablespoons) and measure the food you take out (you need to change these foods twice a day) to see if he's eating. Check his poop for quantity and quality. You need to make sure he is consuming both solids and liquids so there should be a nice little 'worm' of feces which should be either green or brown (brown when you feed pellets but, otherwise, green) a bit of white ureates and a stain of urine (this has no color, like water). If he is not eating or drinking enough (no big difference in the food you put in and the one you take out, little poop, no urine, etc) you will need to take him to an avian vet (he could have sour crop, a yeast or bacterial infection, etc) and they will show you how to handfeed with a syringe (do not, under any circumstance allow the vet to gavage (crop needle) feed him! It's the fastest and easiest way to do it but it's HUGELY traumatic to them).

Get yourself a scale and start weighing him daily. It must be always at the same time of the day (like early morning, after his big poop and before his breakfast) but, for the first few days, leave him alone and just look at his poop and food consumption.

[Wolf]

Thank you, Pajarita, I am so glad that you saw this one and came to the rescue. I was going to PM you if you hadn't seen this one, as I trust you more than anyone else I have seen on here to have the right answer for this type of situation. Thanks again.

[Pajarita]

Happy to be of service to a bird keeper and help to a little baby bird, Wolf, so no thanks necessary. It's my pleasure.

[Wolf]

Happy to be of service to a bird keeper and help to a little baby bird, Wolf, so no thanks necessary. It's my pleasure.

I understand, but still in order. At least in my mind.