Iggy is 13 weeks old this week.
The first 2 weeks have been tough. We are trying to understand the difference in his cries and noises, what kind of toys he likes, when he wants to come out and visit and of course what foods he likes.
The breeder fed him the fruity eclectus blend pellets and seeds but since doing tons of research I knew we did not want to go that route. I tried several kinds of birdie bread with chunks of vegetables and fruits, he was not interested all, he did was cry.
Here is a video of the hungry cry...
After the second day with his constant crying and not really eating well we went to the store and got him some organic baby food, sweet potato, apple, corn and squash and gave it to him slightly warm and very slowly with a medicine syringe from the pharmacy.
I would just barely squirt it into his lower beak and let him eat it I wanted to avoid possibly getting it in his lungs. This worked really well to ensure he was eating healthy fruits and vegetables and I believe it made him feel full and comfortable and helped him learn to trust us to take care of his needs.
For a few days we gave him baby food from a syringe and after the third day we reduced the amount to half and then gave him a bowl of "birdie salsa" including finely diced and chopped kale, sweet potato, corn, grapes, apple, strawberry, blueberries and corn which he ate really well when warmed just a little.
After a couple more days we would attempt to give him the mash before the baby food until he no longer cried for it and was happy and full eating his fresh foods.
The bad thing about the birdie salsa was that it is very sticky and messy and would get caked all over his beak, but he was eating good food and that's all that mattered.
So every few days I cut the pieces just a little bit bigger and add in a couple of new items such as pomegranate, quinoa, lentils, figs, steamed pumpkin and squash and spinach. This is working really well for us. It is a little less sticky and messy and much easier to see exactly what he is picking out as favorites.
We now just give corn on the cob and strawberries as treats on a skewer. But he really enjoyed the pomegranate seeds.
He takes about 2 hours to eat, during this time he does not like to be disturbed and makes it clear with a nice big BWAAAAK!
Here he is unhappy when I talk to him while eating
At first I would sit with him while he eats to see what he picks up and eats the most of, I try to name the items so he can learn what they are and hopefully one day ask for them by name but he would just squawk at me like it annoys him so I have stopped for now.
We try to give him some time after eating and then ask him if he wants to come out for a while and he usually steps right up and chatters while we take him outside to the screen room or into the living room.
We weigh him every day before he eats and he has remained a constant 338g. Once he gets used to it and more comfortable we will try before and after but its just to overwhelming right now.
We weigh him every day before he eats and he has remained a constant 338g. Once he gets used to it and more comfortable we will try before and after but its just to overwhelming right now.
After two weeks I feel we are making progress and he is really enjoying the abundance of new tasty foods to try every day.
