aunali9

Will do Nancy. Thanks for everything! I've learned not to put a time frame to anything. Or a quantity really. It's all about learning to read and understand the body language and behavior and remain vigilant

Thank you for understanding Nancy. No excuse for a stupidity like buying an unweaned baby though. I know there are too many people in the world who buy pets because they look good or may be smart animals. Few people really care. I hope I don't pass off as either but unfortunately even the breeders, sellers, and worst of all the vets in a third world country like Pakistan aren't as knowledgeable as in other parts of the world and generally cater to people who would sell their animals and buy new ones because their fur isn't like it was when they were younger. I'm trying hard to strike a balance between the readily available but inadequate local help and the more detailed yet physically distant advice I'm getting here. As a result I have just too many unanswered questions and opinions in my head. I've chosen to follow Dave's advice through however and have found a capable vet with emergency services. Dave definitely sounds like he knows what he is talking about. Its just daunting when some one tells you face to face that the advice you're taking from the internet is wrong. Makes me think/worry more than I should. After the little one is weaned I think I'll make a thread in the nursery section detailing exactly how and why its so terrifying to get an unweaned bird.

And just one other query I have is that as the pin feathers are opening, one of his wings feathers are a tad bit longer than the other wing. They are both coming out fast but one side have opened up a little more. Is this normal?

Well. I'm paranoid because I hope my bird doesn't pay any price. The vet told me more or less the same thing you just did. But yeah I'll try feeding him till he stops by himself again. I can't agree more with the board regarding unweaned chicks. I wish the exposure to animal care was greater in this country. But at the moment there isn't a lot I can do about it but do my best to care for my parrot. As always thanks for the advice and assurance Dave!

Dave I hope I'm not bothering you too much about this. Yesterday I let him feed till he refused and he ended up finishing 60ml at which point I stopped because he could hardly stand for how full his crop was. He always made high pitched sqwaking noises when I normally fed him but at 60ml his voice changed and he sounded hoarse. Before the voice change he was bobbing his head a whole lot but if I brought the syringe near his head without even touching it he still wanted more. I freaked thinking he probably vomited but couldn't get it out and aspirated it. After that he was making the hoarse sounds for a while. He also looked very drowsy and less active for a long time after wards. When his crop started to empty again he became active once more. But looking up any respiratory issues he might have developed I read about tail bobbing. As such he hardly has any tail feathers. His tail makes an upwards and outwards movement when he vocalises but not when he is silent or sleeping/resting. Very rarely after maybe 15 normal breaths he makes a slight whistle even in his sleep. I've got an appointment with a vet about 12 hours from now just in case but I can not help but worry. He might have been doing these things even normally before the feeding incident and it might just be a manifestation of my paranoia. Any thoughts? PS I swear I'm going to write an article for the local news paper highlighting how frightening it can be to adopt an unweaned baby bird. Or any animal for that matter.

Haha alright. I don't make a habit of sniffing it from 6 inches but I figured I should have some means of quantifying the strength of an odor. Didn't see a better way to explain. The rest is self explanatory. And yes you are right I hadn't mentioned an amount before. But as you put it, the amount shouldn't be a consideration. I should just make extra per feeding and keep feeding him till he pulls away or no longer wants more. It should be the birds choice completely. Got that. I generally wait an hour after his crop is completely empty for the next feed and just play around with him during that time so he doesn't pressure his crop and puke or something. Thanks again for the help and advice!

Hi guys, I'm still new to the whole bird rearing process and haven't smelled too many bird craps yet. Yet I know bird poop should not stink and have read how the shape should be etc. Due to reasons pertaining to lax animal sales and breeding/smuggling laws where I live, the only way to buy a parrot is during its hand feeding years. My African grey baby is almost 7 weeks old. Dave helped me a little earlier and I hope to hear from him again. Dave mentioned that I should feed him till he refuses to eat formula further but the problem is he doesn't refuse! He went from refusing 20ml of formula to eating more than 40 in 2 weeks! And I read a post in the nursery section about feeding volumes based on age and it said 30-45 but by this rate he'll be asking for 60ml a good 2 weeks before the guide. Should I only feed him till his crop feels full? Currently I'm stopping a safe amount before it hangs down on his chest. I feel like he will eat till he bursts. I will add that I'm using a syringe with a tube tightly secured (I try to tug it off myself before every feed first before feeding) but I'm only using it to drop the formula on his tongue very slowly rather than stick it down his throat. Also I figure his poop looks normal. There is the small amount of urates, a well formed brown poop, and fluid. But some times there is only fluid. Is that normal? 15 minutes after that he takes a regular crap. But scares the shit out of me when there is no poop in it. Also is it supposed to be completely scentless? Like 100%? Because my birds poop doesn't have an offensive odor or one so strong it invades the room, but if I clean it with a tissue off the floor when he's out, it does have a slight smell. I can smell it if its 6 inches from my nose. Lastly, he seems to recognize me as the person who feeds him, but that's all he seems to associate me with. No cuddling no affection. If I try to scratch his head he starts to eat my finger making his rhythmic head bobbing movements. Its like the sight of my hands means food.

Alright! Thanks a lot for the help Dave! Are you a vet or something btw? Can I pm you in the future if I need help with anything? This was more informative and explained better than anything I could find online. Being a doctor myself I'm too well aware of the accidents that infants experience so I'm kinda freaking out about the baby parrot. He looks a lot more fragile!

Well I wanted to know if some of his behavior was normal among other things. After I feed him he stretches his neck out and makes sliding movements with his lower jaw/beak. He started walking around more on his claws than his knees today so I'm guessing I'm doing something right. But a lot of times I find him using his beak or head as an assist in getting up. Plus he is very quiet... I expected him to be noisy. He makes sqwaking noises in the mornings or if a new sound startles him around the house like the first time he heard the TV come on. I want to know if I should make the formula in a greater quantity because a week back he refused to eat more than 18ml of formula. Today he was still holding his beak open like when he's hungry even after the full 20 that I make. Should I just let him feed till he refuses further? And his poop is like one solid turd with a very small amount of white stuff around it and a bunch of fluid. Is it a good means of knowing he is doing well? And his dark grey wing feathers are out now, but at the breeders they dropped some formula on him while feeding him and it dried. So should I use a warm wet cloth to clean that off? The rest of him is all fuzzy and furry now but his back is matted with formula.

i shall do just that then. thank you katana.

Hi guys. I live in Pakistan where due to the lax legal approach towards bringing in animals to the country through smuggling means that to ensure you don't end up with an I'll bird or one with behavior problems, you end up having to buy a baby African grey. The banding process and all isn't reliable either. I understand and completely agree that getting a baby bird before its weaned can be very dangerous but that's the only way any parrot can be purchased here. I wanted to know if there is anyone around with professional or hand feeding experience here whom I can direct some general questions towards. I have been feeding my 5 week old bird myself since the last one week and I think I've been doing alright. The breeder is some one I know well and I purchased the bird after many visits and guided practice.