Why do they develop more problems?

[hlasdf]

I read in another thread that hand-reared parrots have more problems later in life than parent-reared. What's the reason behind this?

[pennyandrocky]

they can't learn proper bird behavior from humans like preening.mya is a feather chewer/plucker she preens her feathers roughly. when i looked up possible causes for this one of them was hand rearing. they can have health problems later on form lacking proper nutrition parent raised birds recieve. i don't know why people think it's ok for birds when cats and dogs have to be weaned before they are sold or given away. the only benifit of handreared parrots is to the breeder who gains a bigger profit by convincing people they will have a better bond with their bird. my birds all came to me older and the only way they could be more bonded with me is if they were surgically attached, which i'm sure they would love since they can't stand to have me out of their sight for one minute.

[mrbowlerhat]

I've never actually understood why anyone would even want to handfeed a bird? Like... Why? Who even came up with that? Wouldn't it be WAY BETTER for everyone involved just to make sure the babies get to interact with people while being raised by their actual parents? Baby birds does not need to be fed by people in order to accept them as companions. I don't get why anyone would believe that. Just interact with the birds from the start. Let them learn from their parents how to be birds and how to handle situations no human could possibly teach them about. Let their parents feed and raise them, but also let them interact with humans. Show them that it's okay to be a bird and interact with people at the same time.
You don't automatically get a tame pet bird because you snatch the poor thing from the nest and feed it through a syringe. You get a bird who never learned how to be a bird, who thinks you're her parent, who believes she's a person, but who will never actually become one. That's frustrating. That's creating problems.

[hlasdf]

I thought "Hand-reared" just meant that the babies were pulled from the nest and then handfed from that point on. But from what you guys are saying, it means that humans feed it from the moment they're born?

[Michael]

Not quite. There's a bit more to it than that. But when it comes to the average and especially below average owner, then the bird may as well be coparented.

[pennyandrocky]

breeders came up with the idea for profit. they get rid of babies lowering the food costs also the parents will replace the babies that were taken more babies for the breeder to sell. some will even sell eggs people can hatch themselves.

[Eric&Rebecca]

We have a hand reared cockatiel but our new cockatiel is parent raised as we felt it will help to encourage Edmund to develop more birdie behaviours. Previously, we have always had parent raised birds or ones that were parent raised and then tamed down later on once they were independent.

I am looking forward to getting the vet appointment and results after quarantine out the way so we can begin introducing them. Although both birds have been avian vet checked and we have papers for screenings (both blood, faecal and oral) we usually get them examined after a 30 day period anyway as you should do.

The things I've noticed are:

1. The parent raised cockatiel (George) is far easier to convert to pellets, eat fresh veg and fruits or pretty much anything.

2. He's started showing his gender behaviour way sooner that Edmund did. (He was dna'd via a feather sample so we know what he is anyway)

3. Training him has been far easier than Edmund. Although Edmund was tamed when we got him the parent raised bird once hand tame is able to be far more cooperative than Edmund with flight recall etc.

4. The parent raised cockatiel is for some reason a lot bigger than Edmund at that age but that could be coincidental as all birds are different sizes and statures.

5. Oddly, George is far more cuddly than Edmund ever was. This could be a different personality but its certainly different.

6. George is way less picky about everything that Edmund. I can give him his vegetables and fruits in any way I want and he'll eat it. If I dared to give Edmund an apple that was in cubes not slices... well... enough said

7. George shows far more natural bird behaviour like foraging and takes to new situations far faster than Edmund. In fact, he's easily friends with everyone rather than just one person bird (at least for the moment).

I think its a mixture of things that cause problems but I think hand raised birds get a distinct lack of birdy behaviour which later becomes a problem or causes problems. Hence our decision to get a parent raised companion for Edmund so he can learn to be a bird not a huma-tiel or a cock-man :p