Harry is a messy eater and I have noticed that he has little bits of dry food stuck to him and just wondering if there is any easy way to remove this. I dont want him to be uncomfortable.

When do they start to groom themselves?

I got all my budgies when they were young 3 or 4 months of age they groomed at their age.

 

is this budgie ''henry'' just grown all his feathers recently?

If the food is on his chest or somewhere he can reach, if it is uncomfortable for him he should remove it himself. If the food is stuck on the facial feathers and you don't have another bird to groom him, you could do it yourself if he is tame enough to let you. If not, and it is not too caked on to where it obviously is pulling on those feathers, he will get it off himself using a perch or toy as he rubs his face against it. If you are allowed to groom him, you can either use a q-tip or damp cotton ball to get the feathers a little wet (or dip your fingers in a cup of warm water) and gently use the ends of your fingernails to rub the feathers together and hopefully get the food to stick to you. If he protests, don't worry too much unless as I said before the food has dried on the feathers and they are pulling on his skin. Then you will need to towel him, fill the sink with warm water, and use your fingers to remove the food.

Edited February 22, 200718 yr by Rainbow

Thanks for the advice, he is only 3 or 4 weeks old, he has his pin feathers but still waiting for his full feathers. he has let me groom the dried food of his feet but just not his chest which is still quite delicate. i shall leave that to him and just monitor it. Its not that bad I just worry to much and hope he is okay thats all.

i am very new to this and have become very fond of little Harry and just want to make sure he is okay

you may want to offer him a shallow dish of warm water and see if he tried to take a bath

 

Also what are you feeding thim that sticks to his chest? I know he is quite young did you handfeed him?

you may want to offer him a shallow dish of warm water and see if he tried to take a bath

 

Also what are you feeding thim that sticks to his chest? I know he is quite young did you handfeed him?

 

 

okay i shaqll try that.

 

i am feeding him a hand rearing formula that the vet gave me he used to eat it of the spoon but now that i have been handling him a little he prefers to eat of my finger.

Will i be able to tell when he is ready to try cracking seed? i have been told millet seed is good for young ones so i have some ready when he is ready

I didn't realize he was so young!

 

At 3-4 weeks you can start to offer different foods to him. Millet sprays are easier to hull, you can also soak them a little to soften them. I would also offer cooked foods, like brown rice or couscous, with small squares of carrot. You can also give cooked peas. Sprinkle some seeds over this. Good easy raw veggies to try at this age are baby spinach leaves, kale, or any dark lettuce. Don't bother giving iceberg lettuce, it is mostly water with very little nutritional value. Soaked or sprouted seeds are perfect at this age also, as they are much more nutritious than dry seed, and soft enough for him to find interesting to eat. Keep feeding the handrearing formula until at least 5 weeks of age, by then he should be eating some of the other foods also. Then you can begin to replace one feeding of formula he is least interested in with a feeding of only regular foods. Gradually wean him off the formula once he is eating other foods with regularity. I wouldn't think it would take more than a week or two after that. He will probably be fully weaned from the formula by 7 weeks. If not, don't worry about it, as I firmly believe abundance weaning is the way to go - and he will let you know when he doesn't want formula anymore. If he still likes the evening feed of formula from your fingers, so what? What better way for him to go to sleep than with warm food and cuddles from his favorite person?

I didn't realize he was so young!

 

At 3-4 weeks you can start to offer different foods to him. Millet sprays are easier to hull, you can also soak them a little to soften them. I would also offer cooked foods, like brown rice or couscous, with small squares of carrot. You can also give cooked peas. Sprinkle some seeds over this. Good easy raw veggies to try at this age are baby spinach leaves, kale, or any dark lettuce. Don't bother giving iceberg lettuce, it is mostly water with very little nutritional value. Soaked or sprouted seeds are perfect at this age also, as they are much more nutritious than dry seed, and soft enough for him to find interesting to eat. Keep feeding the handrearing formula until at least 5 weeks of age, by then he should be eating some of the other foods also. Then you can begin to replace one feeding of formula he is least interested in with a feeding of only regular foods. Gradually wean him off the formula once he is eating other foods with regularity. I wouldn't think it would take more than a week or two after that. He will probably be fully weaned from the formula by 7 weeks. If not, don't worry about it, as I firmly believe abundance weaning is the way to go - and he will let you know when he doesn't want formula anymore. If he still likes the evening feed of formula from your fingers, so what? What better way for him to go to sleep than with warm food and cuddles from his favorite person?

 

 

wonderful, this all helps. im keeping a small notebook of all this valuable info

its so great to know ppl can come here with problems, questions and get some advice.

Yes i must admit i do enjoy having him eat of my finger, it is sooo cute and he calms down allot quicker once he has his dinner and a little kiss