Vicki5280

Ray and Birdhouse - what wonderful stories you have! I'm so glad you shared them!! Stories like that help not just those people who are owned by birds with a history, but those of us with blank slates as well.

Okey dokey! I honestly didn't know what I'd have done differently, even if he was younger. Essentially, 8 weeks or 12 weeks, you just feed them and love them until they're ready to eat on their own. I guess it's more that I just wanted another opinion... and now I've got two. This little guy is a doll. It only took us two feedings to figure out how to get our methods together. One of the hardest things I've found about taking over from someone else hand feeding is that everyone does it just a little bit different. The angle of the syringe is different, the type of syringe is different, the way we support the head is different... something is just enough different that it makes those first few feedings messy and frustrating for the hungry baby. (And if the hand feeder is new, it can be frustrating for them too.) I've had it take several days before a bird and I have gotten things straightened out, and in one instance, the bird weaned before we ever got our handfeeding rhythm down! (He just gave up on me, I think!) But Tuke and I have set a new record for me. Hey - another quick question - Do babies like to sleep snuggled down into crevices, holes, or blankets? Tuki is happiest when he is 80% covered and had his head buried like the proverbial ostrich in the sand. Is this typical? LOL!! I think it's precious!

And the person I got him from SWEARS that he hatched April 5th. Most of the descriptions I read and the photos I see have shown me that a 12 week old Grey should be fully feathered. Tuki still has down on his shoulders, all under his wings (and I know that's the last place to fill in on any bird), and down by his tail. The tips of his flight feathers are just barely longer than the tip of his tail. When he's just sitting on my knee with his feathers down resting, you cant tell any of this, but when he starts preening or fluffs, it's very obvious. So I'm curious... is this what a 12 week old baby looks like and I just totally missed the ball on this one? (Completely possible!) If not, why would he be looking this way? Might he be younger? If so, should I do anything different? I'm interested in what y'all have to say. Thanks!

He seems so tiny right now! It's hard to believe he'll grow to be the same size as the Greys I've taken care of in the past. Right now, his wings are longer than his cute little red and grey tail! And he's still got some of his fluffy down left - it's SOO precious! I just love everything about him. His eyes are so soulful... his charcoal feathers are so soft... his baby "turkey" sounds are too incredibly cute! (He sounds like a turkey when he makes his baby sounds, it sounds like a gobble gobble! too funny!) Anyway, I just thought I'd share my "new grey person" observations with you... maybe it'll bring back some memories

Meet Tuki! He finally made it! It was late yesterday evening but he made it!

Well... never mind! I found someone who is on her way to the airport now to feed the baby. I love how bird people are quick to help out a bird in need - whether it belongs to a friend or a stranger. We're just amazing people.

Apparently Delta decided to keep my baby overnight in Detroit. Lovely, he's still handfeeding. I'm hoping that I'll be able to find someone whose experienced at hand feeding who would be able to go to the airport and feed him tonight. Does anyone know anyone? Have any contacts? Please let me know. Thank you!

I've been sprouting for quite a long time. My simple method is uses a strainer and a bowl. First, I rinse the seeds until they rinse clean. Once they're clean, I put them in the bowl and give them a five minute soak in water with about 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) of apple cider vinegar (ACV). Then I dump that and give them a VERY quick rinse with clean water and let them sit and drain. I keep mine sitting by the kitchen sink so I see them all the time, and every time I see them, I give them a quick rinse under warm tap water and set them back on the bowl to drain. About every 12 hours I'll give them another short soak in the ACV water, another quick rinse, and start the process again. The sprouts are at the peak of their nutritional value when they are JUST starting to bud out their root tail - so watch them closely. At that point, you can give them a final rinse and drain and either serve them immediately or put them in a covered container in the refrigerator. The 'fridge will stop their growth and they'll last 2-3 days in there. My birds LOVE them - they have no idea they're not eating nasty, bad for them, dried seeds. I hope this helps!

luvparrots Once you have your grey home and have a chance to observed his personality, the naming will be a piece of cake. It is so hard to wait!! I know! He was supposed to come home on Monday, but my breeder had a family emergency so it was delayed and I had to wait. It's looking like tomorrow or Friday now... and I can hardly stand it! And you're right about the naming. Once I meet him, the name will likely come pretty easy. I've only had one bird that took me longer than a couple of days to come up with a name for - I'm just so anxious to find out who I'm going to have! LOL! Today 11:00 AMGreywings You have a fun list of names, sometimes they have a mind of their own when it comes to a name. I am leaning towards the more unusual names-Tuki, Banjo & Rufus all sound good to me. Yeah, I tend towards less common names as well. None of the names I've picked out are super common names - I don't THINK, anyway! Today 08:27 AMRay P If you named him Sue he could say , I`m Sue how do you do, and mean it. HAHA Today 04:57 AMdanmcq Just don't name him Sue..... referring to the Johnny Cash song. Sue never even occurred to me! lol! Yesterday 08:05 PMBrat Birds That is a neat list of names. You are right, you don't want a Winston with a Banjo personality! LOL I am so glad he is a Timneh - so is Peanut. I let my granddaughter name him, since she most likely will inherit him someday. Well, isn't that nice of you! It never would have occurred to me to let someone else name my bird, regardless of whether or not they'd end up with him eventually. I suppose I'm way more selfish than you. But, then again, I don't have grandkids and my kids are quite selfish enough on their own. Yesterday 05:52 PMTimbersmom Cool list of names! I'm leaning toward Levi... I like Levi too.. TODAY'S favorites list includes: Tuki, Winston, Kabi, Levi, and Ronan (Ronan is new to the list).

Hi all! My name is Augie - I'm not a Grey, I'm a cockatiel, but my mom tells me I'm going to have a BIG little brother really soon. I was reading over her shoulder (she doesn't know I've figgered out how to read) about y'alls key chewing and I had to tell you that THAT is my most favorite thing to do! I've pulled off almost half the keys from mom's 'puter-thingy! Every time I do it, she gets soooo mad! It's funny to see her sputter! I just fly off to our birdie playground where I'm safe and watch her try to get them back on!! BUT, she's gotten better lately, drat it all. She's started usin' her lapputer-thingy and just closes it when she's done and I can't get to the keys anymore. I can't wait till my new BIG little brother gets here so I can teach HIM about keys. Mebbe between the two of us, we can figger out how to get to the keys that she's closed off from us!

BratBirds - That does indeed help. Thank you very much! And to answer your question, we got the DNA back on him a couple of weeks ago - so he's definitely a boy. <3 I'm super excited - though it has nothing to do with his gender... I really didn't have a preference. I haven't heard anything about either one being "better" than the other than the "rule of thumb" that males in general are more easy going than females. But since I seem to have a bunch of persnickety hens that I call my babies, I figure it just doesn't really matter! LOL! I searched high and low for my bird. He's a Timneh. It took me months to find him. When I was finally ready to buy, all I could find were Congos. I'd done some research and compared the differences and decided that a Timneh was what I really wanted even though people kept trying to talk me out of one. Silly people! Don't they know how hard headed I am? I PLAN! And as for names, I've got a semi-short list that I'll try on when he gets here. I can't give him a name until I've met him ... I just have to make sure it fits. I can't name him Winston when he's got a Banjo personality, now can I? LOL! So here's the list, if you're interested. Chupi Tuki Winston Wally Frankie Kabi Alfie Abner Archie Banjo Levi Rufus Of course, who knows, I may end up calling him Leo, John, or Stitches... I'll just have to see! haha! So, that's the story on the baby to be! I just can't wait to get him here so I can see him!

Ray - I really appreciate your response. Like everyone here, I'm about to bust with the impatience of finally getting my own baby after raising them for so many other people. However, I'd rather bust than do something that would mess up my chances of long term happiness with my bird. Also, I hope I didn't sound too ugly or defensive in my original post. I guess I've just been a member of so many groups where people are attacked for buying unweaned that I made a preemptive strike. (That's my shame face.) I hope I'll be forgiven. Anyway, thank you for your opinion and for sharing your valuable experience. I greatly appreciate it!

So... This is the situation. I'm getting an unweaned baby this week. He's about 10 weeks old at this point. Despite the fact that I'm a very experienced hand feeder, most of what I've read and heard about Grey's tells me that the one who feeds them shouldn't be the one who wants to be their eventual "Person." That said, I also know that many people have ended up bringing their baby home while it's still on one feeding/day and they provide that fill-up/comfort feeding at night. What I've not been able to find, though, is whether or not them providing that single feeding at night might still end up forming a parent bond with their bird that the bird will feel a need to break in three or four years. Right now, I have another (very experienced) friend of mine who will be taking over the hand feeding process (from the breeder) for me. Some may question why, but there's a reason... you'll just have to go with me on this one. Anyway, I'm not planning on doing the handfeeding myself, but I'm wondering if I need to have her wean him completely for me or if I can bring him home when he's eating well and on one feed a day and not ruin my chances of a life long companion. All opinions are welcome. I'm not going defend my choices, I'm just really here for a discussion of the pro's and con's. Thanks in advance for everyone's help!!!