Any one ever have luck weaning from long term handfeeding?

[mishellyshel]

I have been handfeeding Richie since April, 3 x a day & administer his meds. I leave fresh pellets & hay in his cage every day but he never touches it (well except to pee in the hay!) I will also attempt to give him a treat, such as 1/2 a shredded wheat or cheerio and i have even left a sliver of papaya in his cage to see if he would eat the softer treat........to no avail, he wont eat anything but the mix I feed him. I do feed him about 60 cc's at each feeding and his weight is holding steady around 650 g. He is doing really well on the current medicine schedule. But boy does he LOVE his time out of the cage with me. In the mornings & at night all i do is open his cage and he jumps on my shoulder! Afternoons he likes to play the hiding game!
But it is very time consuming on our current schedule. Any tips on weaning him? Or are his teeth just so sensitive I am destined to handfeed him indefinitely?

 

[RDZCRanch]

Try putting some of the mix(dry) you are feeding him on top of his pellets. Sometimes I've had luck with that working and sometimes it even helps when I'm handfeeding to leave some dry formula in there.

 

[tunes]

Put the CC in a dish and see if he'll eat it that way. Most chins will after long-term feedings. Then start putting in ground up pellets, slowly advancing to bigger pieces until there is little critical care and mostly pellets, then wean off.

 

[paris26]

Put the CC in a dish and see if he'll eat it that way. Most chins will after long-term feedings. Then start putting in ground up pellets, slowly advancing to bigger pieces until there is little critical care and mostly pellets, then wean off.

I am actually doing just that with the chin I'm working with who is a CC addict. I no longer feed him out of the syringe. He gets his portions twice daily in a dish. He's eating some of the pellets just not quite enough yet to maintain his current weight. What I've been doing is slowly, slowly, slowly cutting back on the CC (he was up to 3 feedings a day at one point) and making sure his pellets/hay are fresh. Trying different types of hay (i.e. bluegrass, orchard, brome) to see if that will entice him. I also weigh him daily to make sure he is at least maintaining his current weight.

 

[6Dusters]

Glad you posted this. I have a girl who is eating CC out of a dish. This is week two since her teeth have been done. She is very eager to eat the wet CC and I was thinking the same question. Thanks for the input everyone.