over feeding

[Teresauk]

hiya
im really scared of over feeding my senegal baby ( when i get him)

how many times per time should i feed him and how much approx.

[captwest]

Are you buying a unweaned baby? we need a little more info. Your breeder should be a good source of info, but we'll be glad to help.

[Teresauk]

hiya
i cant have him til he is fully weaned, hes approx ten weeks old now.

i was just worrying incase i gave him too much, im sure my breder will give me info on feeding when i get louis, but just incase he doesnt, im learning all i can.x

[patdbunny]

Newly weaned baby - you can't overfeed. give your new baby a truck load of assorted foods so he gets used to the idea of a varied diet. He'll waste a lot of it, or just won't touch it. Don't stop. I tell people who get my babies to use foods as toys - apple slices, broccoli chunks, orange wedges - the more destruction the better.

Roz

[zazanomore]

My birds always have fresh food and water. They eat and drink when they need to. Remember, birds have very high metabolisms!

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I only know of two possible negative consequences to overfeeding a weaned bird (not talking of hand feeding, that's a different ballgame and not one I have experience with).

1) The bird gains too much weight. If you monitor your bird's weight with a kitchen scale, you can cut back the feed if he begins to get fat.

2) Abundance triggers hormonal behavior in the spring.

As far as I can tell, most birds do well with free-choice feeding of dried (pellet/seed) foods. Fresh food can also be presented in abundance, but shouldn't be left out so long it spoils.

[patdbunny]

I guess I'm primarily encouraging tons of assortment for maybe the first 3 months home. That seems to be the most impressionable time for a new baby. I primarily feed sprouts and veggie assortment so I don't think too much about turning them into fatties.

Try to pick up fresh foods within four hours to prevent access to spoiled foods. Or once you get to know your bird and its eating a good assortment you can ration it just what it will completely consume w/in an hour or so.

Good points, Entranced. Sometimes it's hard to keep in mind what someone new to birds may not know.