What should Tweaty be Eating?

Hi - me again!

Just a few questions about what diet he should be having - any supplements, etc?

I'm currently feeding him seed mix for wild birds, which has a bit of everything in it. Plus he's having his defrosted sweetcorn which he does enjoy. He's still fairly rubbish at pecking - throwing it around in the bottom of his beak and then firing it out at his feet, and therefore losing sight of it But we are in training every day and he is improving very slowly. He's currently trying to peck the specks out of the pattern in the carpet :For Shame:

I'm still trying to bottle feed him about 3 times a day - sometimes he's very interested, but other times he doesn't want to know. He seems to be losing interest in his food and doesn't seem to be eating as much as when he was a baby. He also hasn't grown much in the past 3 or 4 days and his crop looks fairly empty.

I'm worried he's not getting enough and wonder if there's something else I can tempt him with that will make him peck and be enjoyable to eat? He loves playing with lettuce, but there's no way he'd ever get it in his mouth the swallow at the moment :Rolling eyes: He does seem fairly happy and cheeky though.

I think having a mate arrive on Sunday will be such a help. The trouble is, I've never experienced this before so I don't know what's normal and what isn't. I'm probably far to obsessed with it all.

I think he is a boy - he did that pigeon 'bow' to my hubby's hand earlier today I think he's far too young to be thinking of mating with someone's hand, but there you go!

Wend.

Personally, I would discontinue the formula feeding and move on th hand feeding whole foods. The following is copied from another post because I recommend this method frequently.


You can hand feed defrosted corn and peas. Run some hot water over them until they are defrosted and slightly warmed. Put the bird on your lap and hold it next to your body. I f it helps, you can wrap a towel around it or put it in the sleeve of a tee shirt, with the head out the wrist. That confines them without hurting them and makes it easier to handle. Gently open the beak and pop the piece of corn and peas at the back of the mouth and over the throat. You will need to feed 40-50 per feeding and every time the bird’s crop empties until you know it is eating on their own.
This is a wonderful method for teaching babies to eat because they feel the whole food in their mouth and it’s soft and easy to pick up and hang on to. The next step… seeds.
The crop is located right below the throat and with food it fills up like a little balloon. The peas and corn make it lumpy and squishy.
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I give my youngsters sunflower hearts and crumbled peanuts (from Pets at Home), conditioning mix (which should contain: Wheat, Red Dari, Naked Oats, White Dari, Safflower, Buckwheat, Linseed, Mung Beans, Black Rapseed, White Millet, Canary Seed, Rice, Aniseed) and something that John gets called treats mix which is some tiny seeds that they thoroughly enjoy.

Cynthia wrote:

I give my youngsters sunflower hearts and crumbled peanuts (from Pets at Home), conditioning mix (which should contain: Wheat, Red Dari, Naked Oats, White Dari, Safflower, Buckwheat, Linseed, Mung Beans, Black Rapseed, White Millet, Canary Seed, Rice, Aniseed) and something that John gets called treats mix which is some tiny seeds that they thoroughly enjoy.

That's a nice variety in the conditioning mix, Cynthia.

That does sound a nice mix. Thanks for all the suggestions. Agree he needs to come of chick crumbs now, although he's been having those mixed quarter to two thirds the wild bird seed.

We've got a pets at home in our local town so will pop down tomorrow and see what they've got.

We haven't heard about tweety in a long time...how's it going?