On 06-23-96, KATHY JOHNSON wrote to ALL:
Hi Kathy,
Long time no see me, eh?  How ya been?
Anyway, excuse the excessive quoting, but thought it best to keep your 
thoughts totally intact ... sigh ..
 KJ> Has anybody out here experienced a problem with handfed babies who 
 KJ> barf up part of every feeding? I have this problem with EVERY clutch 
 KJ> of Jendays I raise. The babies pass all vet health checkups with 
 KJ> flying colors. No sour crop, no bacteria, nothing wrong at all. The 
 KJ> vet feels it's developmental or behavioral. They start doing it at 
 KJ> about 5 weeks old, and do this for 2 to 3 weeks before growing out 
 KJ> of it. They give me back about 5cc's of every feeding, no matter how 
 KJ> much or how little I give them. When they begin to wean and take in 
 KJ> a bit of solid food, they begin to cease the barfing.
Rather than use the word "barf" I would rather use the word "regurgitate".
As you know, I'm not an experienced breeder, but have hand fed only ONE 
AG.
It is my understanding that as babies approach weaning they tend to 
regurgitate.  At least that is what I observed (with my little one) and 
what my Avian vet told me.  It is a natural reaction to wanting/needing 
solid food.  If you examine your post, you state that this happened at 
around 5 weeks old.  Some AG's are known to wean near 8 weeks tho 12 weeks 
is more common.  However, as you know, weaning is not like a switch.  It 
is a progression. So the process may start at 5 weeks ... eh?
 KJ> I've tried different formulas, different amounts, changing 
 KJ> temperatures, feeding more or less often, handling them (and NOT 
 KJ> handling them) before or after meals, distracting them after 
 KJ> feeding--nothing works. I'm VERY tired of cleaning barf off them 
 KJ> (they always seem to puke on each other...).
I see no reason to fight their natural tendancy to "upchuck"! ... except 
to recognize it as the start of weaning ... a good (albeit messy) sign ...
 KJ> I've heard this is fairly common in some other species, such as 
 KJ> Greys, but nobody I know with conures has had this happen with their 
 KJ> babies.
Hmmmm.  Perhaps other conure breeders will comment.
 KJ> Has anybody else had this problem, and if so, what did you do about 
 KJ> it?
All you had to do was to ask ...
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 * Freddie 1.2.5 * 
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