how do I wean a handfed umbrella cockatoo?

Question

it is 11 weeks old

Answer 1

Ummmm....where did you get this bird from? If you don't know how to do it, and the breeder didn't give you REALLY good instructions how, you could kill her. If you don't have information and can't get information, get her to a vet and have him explain everything to you in detail.

In the meantime...Jeez. I'm a macaw person, but I don't ever bring them home unweened. Our Greenwing is 18 weeks old and only visits home. She doesn't live here yet, and won't until like the middle of February. I've never hand fed a macaw before and the very good place we got her would never release a baby without her being weened.

You need to get ahold of your breeder and find out what the hell. Hopefully someone here can help, but she'll still probably be on 4 feeds a day...you need REAL help ASAP...this isn't the type of question you should be getting answered here.

Answer 2

This bird is FAR TOO YOUNG to be "weaning" and by that I mean no syringes or spoon fed baby food. You MUST get this right: forced weaning totally screws up the parrot because it is cruel and absolutely unnatural. As a result they develop mega behavioural problems including but not limited to feather picking (self-mutilation), screaming and biting. This is VERY VERY OFTEN THE CASE WITH UMBIES. A fullgrown umbie is a huge bird who can do serious damage (nevermind breaking your nerves with incessant screaming heard around the block- and then some). There are articles by Phoebe Linden you MUST read about "Abundance Weaning". Learn everything. Also, look up some CREDIBLE information about umbie's. Umbies are the #1 bird to land in shelters: the general consensus simply put, is that this species does NOT belong in captivity. Go also to Sally Blanchard's site for her magazine "Companion Parrot Quarterly". You will find useful articles to read there. Please learn all you can: it would be a real bloody shame for yet ANOTHER umbie to land in a rescue shelter! Best of luck with it and I hope you two have a long and happy life together.

I just read over the first post to your question: I assume you have been taught how to syringe or spoonfeed? If you are not experienced then DON'T use the syringe: it's far too dangerous. I hope you were taught about the correct temperature of the food, how often to feed, how much...I will tell you right now that the breeder was WHOLLY irresponsible for selling such a young bird. It's all about profit for him: now that he's got his dough he can move onto the next chick farming it out to whomever and whether it lives or dies, suffers or thrives - the jerk just doesn't care, Email me if you have specific concerns - don't hesitate.

Answer 3

Umbrella Cockatoo Description actual Description super white chook. The white crest is amazingly super and white. Small women human beings weigh as low as 400g, and massive adult males as much as 700g. length 20 Inches Ave. Lifespan Sexing the female cockatoos have a dismal reddish brown iris, the adult males have a black. (in spite of the undeniable fact that there have been exceptions to this generalization commencing place: got here across on the Moluccan islands of Indonesia Trainability The Umbrella is amazingly friendly chook. Loudness they are quiet for the main area, yet do have a noisy call. Pricing $800 - $1400

Answer 4

Have you begun placing cut fruits and vegetables in his cage? When they are almost fully feathered, they'll be more adventurous. Some birds will not eat anything out of a toxic looking (bright blue, pink, black etc) bowl so go with plain white or cream coloured bowls. They'll nibble and taste and not eat much.. Continue with formula feeding. There is no real age to wean, your bird will wean when it is ready. Do not starve your bird into weaning. When you begin to see the bird eating more, you can slowly cut down the formula but this may go on for another month or two. It will get increasingly harder to feed the bird and that's when you know he's no longer interested in formula and wants adult food. There's lots of info on the web should you wish to read up more. Good luck.

Answer 5

http://www.kaytee.com/companion_animals/birds/hand_feeding/#video.that is a good website that shows EXACTLY how to hand feed a baby.ugggg.. i volunteer at foster parrots in rockland,ma and there are more 'toos than any other bird. that breeder is horrible for selling you a cockatoo that was not weened.people like that are for profit only..theyll sell quickly to anyone who puts up the money. i am so sorry for you to be put in this situation.but be sure that you CAN do it.it takes a lot of time and patience,i hope you did a lot of research before you chose this type of bird.theres another web site,, http://www.mytoos.com/ that is very informative as well.it shows the pros and cons of cockatoo ownership.please follow through with everything you start.cockatoos are a diffficult bird to begin with and are not for everyone.the right owner will have many years of enjoyment and lots of fun with them. i just hope you didnt get youreself into something you cant get out of..i hope you dont think im being too negative i just know first hand being at the shelter how it is....

Answer 6

I can't agree more with Baba Yaga. I used to work at a store that hand raised baby cockatoos. Yours is WAY too young to be weaned! And as has already been suggested - don't use a syringe if you haven't been trained. You need to contact a vet, store, breeder, etc immediately. Good luck to your little umbrella too.

Answer 7

Yea, that bird is way to young to be taken home. At 3 months, we came to the pet store and had supervised feedings. When that pet store was sure that we were able to hand feed then we could take the parrot home. If you don't know, double check your sources, go to a vet, talk to the breeder who sold you the cockatoo, and have them show you exactly how to hand feed that baby. The reason is because if the food is too hot you risk burning it's crop. Overfeed a baby cockatoo, and the baby bird could seriously hurt himself. Please have someone show you or hand him over to his vet or breeder for proper care. Best of luck!!

Answer 8

Go back to the breeder and ask him.
or give him back the bird and pick him up when hes weaned.
It can be very bad for the bird even in the long run. if they are not weand the right way.

Answer 9

It is natural(instinct) for them to graduate to solid food. Not that hard--place her food dish in reach,get her curiosity up, and watch what happens. Actually, with my Amazon, I stuck my head in his food bowl, pretended to eat, and he came running to watch!!! He learned from example as well. While changing to solid diet, you must still supplement, with 2-3 hand-feedings for 1-2 wks. depending on how quickly he learns to eat regular food. Watch closely, check his craw to see he is eating enough, and nature will take its course---Birdman

Answer 10

try holding the food cup thing in your hand for a while, then after it gets comfortable eating out of that then leave the cup thing in the cage.