[TheChad]

I just bought an 8 week-old QP on Sunday and have been handfeeding him twice a day, around 12ccs a meal as instructed by the breeder. She said he was close to being weaned as he's been cracking seeds and doing lots of eating on his own.

This morning when I fed him he bobbed his head and shook like normal when I got out the syringe, but only wanted about 6ccs of food. He then paced around the top of his cage and started bobbing his head again like he wanted more, then threw it all back up. I decided to hold off on the handfeeding until his second meal of the day and he ate seed and pellets until then. When it came time for his second meal, the same thing happened so I called the breeder and did a little bit of googling to see if I could get some advice.

The breeder said he might just be rejecting the handfeeding and wanting to be weaned sooner, suggesting to only feed him about 3ccs at a time with a couple of hours in between or to mix the formula thicker and put it in a dish in his cage.

Some of what I read on various websites suggested that baby birds will regurgitate for fun and that the head-bobbing beforehand usually indicates that it is not due to an illness.

He has been the most active today since I got him, chirping and squawking, playing with his toys, climbing all over his cage, etc. He's also been drinking a lot more water and eating food without me suggesting it to him so I assumed he probably was not sick, although I have made an appointment with my veterinarian.

Any advice that anyone here has would be greatly appreciated.

Attached is a picture of Yoshi hiding under his favorite toy.  yoshi.jpg (35.07K)
Number of downloads: 27

[QTQP4me]

regurgitating for fun? ew. lol.

i don't have an answer, just a "what i would do in that situation" type answer. i would be on the phone ASAP to the vet. aside from impressing a mate (which seems unlikely given the age), the only time i have heard about bringing a meal up has been serious stuff. it's promising that he seems to be acting normal, still eating, drinking, etc. but it's possible that something is going on internally.

good luck! hopefully someone will be along soon with a better answer.

kris

[Casey's Mom]

Welcome to the forum and Congrats on your new baby!

I don't really have an answer either, so this is more of a BUMP for other members... the only thing I can think of would be the temperature. Was it too cold or too hot? What temperature are you feeding it at?

Also, I'm not sure if you mentioned this already (sorry if you did) but you probably should be introducing pellets (not just seeds). Seeds are very high in fat and Quakers are prone to fatty liver disease and should be on a pelleted diet (along with frits, veggies, grains, pastas, meat etc.) with seeds as treats only.

Good luck, others should be around shortly with some more useful information!

[btrain]

I have actually also heard that as quakers wean, their crops become smaller which may be the cause of unknown regurgitating after eating an amount of food they once were able to keep down. that was my two cents. good luck.

[TheChad]

Thanks for the responses guys, today he has been much more sleepy and still throwing up. I let him take a steamy shower with me this morning which he seemed to enjoy, but after that he just wanted to sleep so I'm thinking it's got to be more than regurgitation. I called the breeder again and she asked me to bring him in for a look until I can get to the vet. Hopefully it's nothing too serious. :\

[Uncle Zippy]

I've got no real significant thoughts either, not being a vet.

I would think though that 8 weeks is a bit on the young side to be weaning. Not that it couldn't happen, but I'd cover the bases and make sure it isn't a medical concern first, before looking at other causes. A vet visit is definately in order.

Cute little fella though.

[TheChad]

Well guys, nevermind. I was loading up his stuff to take him to the breeder and he vomited again then started flapping a lot and died. I spoke with her and she said she'd still like me to bring him in so she can take a look at him and she's still got one of his brothers who is doing fine. No idea what could have happened to cause his death so quickly like that...

[Casey's Mom]

I'm so sorry.

Maybe you should let the breeder handfeed his brothers and wait for them to be weaned before you bring home the next one. You might also want her to test them to make sure he didn't have any illnesses etc. so you don't have to go through the heartache again.

Good luck.

[QTQP4me]

omg i am so sorry to hear this. i was also a little shocked when i read it, i guess. wow. sorry for your loss.

kris

[Esther C]

So sorry what a awful thing to happen to a baby. I also would not take him home until he is fully weaned.Go to the vet as soon as you get him for a check-up to make sure it's okay.

[TheChad]

Well I had him checked out and he appeared to be a completely healthy bird, meat on his bones, crop was fine, normal feces, etc. She said what most likely happened, in some very freak accident was he got formula in his lungs and was trying to vomit it out, though of course the formula in the lung killed it anyway. I was hesitant to bring home another one so soon, but she was convinced this was nothing more than a bizarre chance happening and it was beyond my control. So now I have his slimmer but more lively sibling and I've sanitized everything and am getting him acquainted with my home, hopefully for a better experience than Yoshi had...

[QTQP4me]

Well I had him checked out and he appeared to be a completely healthy bird, meat on his bones, crop was fine, normal feces, etc. She said what most likely happened, in some very freak accident was he got formula in his lungs and was trying to vomit it out, though of course the formula in the lung killed it anyway. I was hesitant to bring home another one so soon, but she was convinced this was nothing more than a bizarre chance happening and it was beyond my control. So now I have his slimmer but more lively sibling and I've sanitized everything and am getting him acquainted with my home, hopefully for a better experience than Yoshi had...

i'm just curious. had you handfed a bird before? while i have heard that it's not exactly rocket science, i have also heard that it's not something you want to learn as you go necessarily as it can can be a bit of an exact science. what i do know is that handfeeding isn't something i would want to be responsible for.

the new bird, is he/she unweaned also? and the breeder isn't concerned that it might happen again? i'm not trying to be harsh or anything, just wondering about the mindset of the breeder.

kris

[so102778]

My two cents: if your bird isn't weaned, bring it back now until it is.

Birds breathing in formula is not a freak accident. It is due to improper handfeeding.

Handfeeding isn't hard, but it is easy to mess up if you are not trained properly.

If you do decide to keep this one and hand feed it, go to your vet tomorrow to get him/her checked out. Have the Vet show you how to hand feed (temperature, amount, etc), find out what the weight of your bird should be, and monitor their weight. If you are not comfortable handfeeding, most Vets will do it for a fee.

[Uncle Zippy]

My two cents: if your bird isn't weaned, bring it back now until it is.

Birds breathing in formula is not a freak accident. It is due to improper handfeeding.

Handfeeding isn't hard, but it is easy to mess up if you are not trained properly.

If you do decide to keep this one and hand feed it, go to your vet tomorrow to get him/her checked out. Have the Vet show you how to hand feed (temperature, amount, etc), find out what the weight of your bird should be, and monitor their weight. If you are not comfortable handfeeding, most Vets will do it for a fee.

Yay!

Thanks for saving me from having to post that.

I TOTALY agree.

[QPdad]

My two cents: if your bird isn't weaned, bring it back now until it is.

Birds breathing in formula is not a freak accident. It is due to improper handfeeding.

Handfeeding isn't hard, but it is easy to mess up if you are not trained properly.

If you do decide to keep this one and hand feed it, go to your vet tomorrow to get him/her checked out. Have the Vet show you how to hand feed (temperature, amount, etc), find out what the weight of your bird should be, and monitor their weight. If you are not comfortable handfeeding, most Vets will do it for a fee.

Yay!

Thanks for saving me from having to post that.

I TOTALY agree.

I'm afraid I have to agree with them.

[TheChad]

The breeder gave me a clear demonstration on handfeeding, checking the consistency and temperature, and had me demonstrate the method to make sure I was doing it correctly. I have also handfed birds at the local bird sanctuary, where wild birds are brought in and raised to be released back into the wild. We are both comfortable with my ability to handfeed but I suppose I will get second and third opinions if necessary from any avian veterinarians. Thanks for the advice.

[Sunny and Friend]

I have a question.

I went to see my baby today and the breeder told me that she said that the quaker refused one of the feedings yesterday
which was a good sign and this morning it actually threw up some of the feeding as she thought is was trying to wean
off.

Is that a good sign? The baby is 12 weeks old and she/he looked great today. I hope the vomiting is just the fact
that is starting to reject the formula instead and starting to eat the pellets. She had put some tomatoes and popcorn
into the cage to see if it would be interested in playing with the food or taking some of it. She did notice that the popcorn
has been worked on and found the popcorn in the pellet bowl as well so it is attempting something.

I hope it does wean off soon and starts eating the "pretty bird" pellets. I am ready to bring the baby home but only
if I know it is ready to come home.

Anyway -- wasn't sure if the vomiting was something to be concerned about or not?

[so102778]

Was it vomiting or just spitting the formula out (like a baby would if they ate a bit too much or had enough)?

Rejecting a hand feeding and spitting up/out food is a sign of weaning. If the bird actually vomited, then I would be concerned.

[Sunny and Friend]

That is a good question????

She used the word vomiting but also said spit back up the formula
so I am really not sure. but I wasn't there to see it.
She however, also said it was a good sign to her.

I am going to go see her/him again tomorrow and see how
its been doing for this 24 hour period.

She was going to try and give it some vegatables this afternoon as well
and see what kind of interest it may show as well as watch to see
if it is eating the pellets.

She told me today that she is a fanatic about her birds and refused
to let that bird go until she can actually seeing it eat normally for
several several days without the formula. She is good and that is what
I would expect from her. She just says you never know how one
will do at that last part of the weaning.

[so102778]

If I were you, to cut back on the chances of the bird wanting formula when you move it to your home, I would leave your Quaker with the breeder for at least a week. The longer you leave it there eating seed, the better your chances are of it not wanting formula and trying to revert back.