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Why you should never buy an UNWEANED baby parrot

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Re: Why you should never buy an UNWEANED baby parrot

Postby pchela » Tue Aug 10, 2010 7:57 pm

bmsweb wrote:
Kim S wrote:. . that it is actually not good for your bond with the bird to wean it yourself.

So they are programmed to leave the one who raises them and bond with another. Natures way of preventing incest I guess.


I'm interested to see how this turns out with us. I'm currently hand rearing our baby conures and it will be interesting to see if the one we keep bonds with me or another member of the family.


I'll be interested to hear the results as well. I know that there are cases where the bird remains bonded to the hand feeder and I wonder what causes one to remain bonded and one to switch bonds.
"I bet the sparrow looks at the parrot and thinks, yes, you can talk, but LISTEN TO YOURSELF!" ~ Jack Handy ~ Deep Thoughts
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Re: Why you should never buy an UNWEANED baby parrot

Postby bmsweb » Tue Aug 10, 2010 8:28 pm

pchela,

The whole process has been fascinating so far and we've learned so much. The good thing is we've documented everything and I do mean everything. I'm guessing it will be some time before I can comment on how our little guy turns out :)

Unless people are intentionally breeding I have no idea why anyone would want an unweaned baby bird. In the end its going to cost you so much more in money and time that its not funny. Not to mention all the things that can go wrong.

Keeping a brooder heated at the right temperature, changing the underlay, needing to be home at specific times to feed your bird is just insane. I can't imagine it from a breeders point of view, letting a bird go at a young age. I know the people that have purchased our birds all want them as soon as possible, but I've told them they will only go when we are sure they are well and truly weaned. I would be devastated if anything happened to one of these little guys :(

I find whole concept of unweaned babies being sold so hard to understand in so many way.
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Re: Why you should never buy an UNWEANED baby parrot

Postby Kim S » Wed Aug 11, 2010 6:04 am

It is a really difficult thing to do, handfeeding a baby. I am at this moment deciding weather or not to pull some tiels out of the nest. The parents do feed them properly, but they pluck them. their heads and necks are completely naked.
I really dont want to take on the responsibility of feeding them 4 to 5 times a day for the next 4 to 5 weeks. But this is an economic decision as well. I know most of you dont like to hear this, but I do want you to understand how a breeder thinks about this. Let it be clear, I do not breed for the money, but sometimes you need to make difficult decissions.

If I dont pull them from the nest and handfeed them, whey will be plucked till they leave their parents. These young birds will be very difficult to sell with their vulture apearance. I will have to wait till they are completely feathered again before I can even think of advertising them. Be honoust. How many of you will buy a plucked bird?
This means I will have to keep them for at least three of four weeks longer than the other young birds. Four extra weeks of providing food, water and a cage. Four extra weeks of handling them every day to keep them tame. Especially that last part is difficult. I can handle up to 5 young birds to make tame at one time. That is about one nest. Add these two, and I wont be able to give every young bird the attention it will need.

I can also decide to not tame them and sell them as aviary birds. That way they can be placed in my aviary with the rest untill they look ok. Point is, these are not very special colours. One is a whiteface and the other a pearl whiteface. They wont be easy to sell if not tame.

I probably will let them stay with their parents and sell them as aviarybirds. But I just want you to know how difficult it is to do the right thing.
Kika: Senegal Parrot.
Guus: Cockatiel, Yellowcheek, cinnamon, pearl, pied.
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Re: Why you should never buy an UNWEANED baby parrot

Postby bmsweb » Mon Sep 13, 2010 6:49 pm

pchela wrote:I'll be interested to hear the results as well. I know that there are cases where the bird remains bonded to the hand feeder and I wonder what causes one to remain bonded and one to switch bonds.


Just a quick update. Our little one has been flying since 6 weeks old and she is now almost at 10 weeks. She seems well and truly bonded to all of us and I can't see this changing any time soon. Her strongest bond is with me, so she seems to be exhibiting the same behaviour as our other birds. I assume this is purely due to the fact that I spend the most time with them and feed and clean cages etc.

The only difference between her and our other birds is she trusts us 100% and I'm a little concerned about that at the moment.

Will report on this again in a few more weeks.
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Re: Why you should never buy an UNWEANED baby parrot

Postby ldallas04 » Fri Nov 19, 2010 10:32 pm

There are many breeders in the area of Cincinnati and generally the state of Ohio that say they will sell unweaned parrots to experienced hand-feeders only. Do you think a method of sale such as this is geared more toward other breeders looking to expand their flocks or maybe the seller just wants to lighten the load? The lady who bred Max :gcc: (and coming home tomorrow is Apollo :sun: ) sent Max home with us saying he was taking one feeding a day. She taught me how to feed him but he pretty much did all the work and didn't want much. We didn't even bother with the formula after the third day as he simply refused two days in a row to take more than a drop or two. He'd been eating veggies, fruits, pellets and seeds long before we ever took him home. She seemed insistant that we at least try to give him that last feeding or two just to be sure he would adjust well to a new situation. A 'comfort feeding' of sorts. I am wondering if Apollo will be the same story.
Lindsay, :gcc: (Max) & :sun: (Apollo)
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Re: Why you should never buy an UNWEANED baby parrot

Postby Kyle » Wed Nov 24, 2010 3:24 am

Hi

I am in SA and I ordered my first bird (White-fronted Amazon).
By chance I can only pick it up on 9 Jan, it will be 12 weeks old.
The breeder has given me a option of a younger bird (3 times formula a day). They only sell the birds minimum 8 weeks old.
Im worried about the bonding, should I go for the younger bird (8 weeks) or the older bird
(12 weeks)?

Thanks
Kyle
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Re: Why you should never buy an UNWEANED baby parrot

Postby ldallas04 » Wed Nov 24, 2010 7:34 am

If you are not an experienced hand feeder and this is your first bird this article recommends that you choose the older bird if it is fully weaned. There is good evidence against the bird bonding most to you even if you are the hand feeder. Sort of like... 'mommy fed me but its not likely I will want a lifetime companion in my mother'. I'm sure whatever bird you get will respond to the love you give and want to always be with only you.... unweaned or not when first received, although I hear that hand feeding a baby is a great experience, but it should be done when you have the experience.
Lindsay, :gcc: (Max) & :sun: (Apollo)
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Re: Why you should never buy an UNWEANED baby parrot

Postby Kyle » Wed Nov 24, 2010 8:18 am

OK, thanks. Ill get it at 12 weeks, it will probally be weaned but might need a few hand feeds still.
Att breeder picture of parrot. I see you have a sun conure, are they very noisy?
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Kyle
Lovebird
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 28
Location: Botswana
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: White fronted amazon.
Flight: No

Re: Why you should never buy an UNWEANED baby parrot

Postby ldallas04 » Wed Nov 24, 2010 8:28 am

Glad I could help. Even my baby Apollo is on one comfort feeding a day. He is doing really well. He's 12 weeks too. But I honestly dont think he needs it to survive. He eats really well on his own. A good breeder knows how to get the baby to eat a good variety of food. Make sure you ask about what he eats as he develops :)
Lindsay, :gcc: (Max) & :sun: (Apollo)
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Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Re: Why you should never buy an UNWEANED baby parrot

Postby pchela » Wed Nov 24, 2010 1:41 pm

An amazon will most likely not be weaned at 12 weeks. If you read through the article, it explains why you should allow a breeder to handfeed and wean the bird. I would personally not buy from a breeder who will sell babies at 8 weeks old as it is irresponsible on their part. If they care so little for the babies, then they probably aren't getting great care to begin with. If you go ahead and get him, please try to learn as much as you can... it's not as simple as loading a syringe with formula and shooting into the babies mouth. You can easily kill a baby if you don't know what you're doing. Good luck.
"I bet the sparrow looks at the parrot and thinks, yes, you can talk, but LISTEN TO YOURSELF!" ~ Jack Handy ~ Deep Thoughts
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pchela
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Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 1281
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal -Pippin
Red Belly - Nicholas
Lesser Jardine's - Rupert
Timneh African Grey - Isabeau (Ibby)
Flight: Yes

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