bringing home Mojo...

[chelsE08]

I recently bought a grey from a breeder, but after researching and bringing him home I'm afraid the breeder I purchased him from was more like a puppy mill for parrots... The cages of the adults were nice enough and they showed us cages of all different sizes with different types of parrots, but when they brought my Mojo out he was in a small plastic container, the bottom lined with papertowels. At first I thought this was just what they used for transport but now I realize alot of what they told me about Mojo wasnt true and I'm starting to think thats what they kept him in...they sold him to me and told me that he was nine weeks old and should be starting to eat solids very soon...and that "all i had to do" was feed him a formula mix every four hours (which they gave me) and put seed mixes and fuit in his cage and he would eventually start eatig the solids. After hours and days of research Ive found out Mojo coulnt possibly have been nine weeks (since he barely had any pin feathers and was mostly downy fuzz). I have him in a large aquarium now with wood chips on the bottom and a small perch and of course some toys, I offer him small seeds. Ive noticed that he likes to pick the woodchips and play with them in his beak, since they are small Im wondering if it would be harmful to him if he accidently were to swallow any and if I should take them out, or if he 'knows' that these arent for eating, since I've heard greys often like to chew on wood? Also, I was wondering if someone with experience could tell me from the pictures about what age he is now? The first picture is of him a week ago when we first got him and the second one is of him now...I realize I probably shouldn't have taken him home so early knowning what I know now, but Im trying my hardest to give him what he needs and deserves, and I'm hoping I can get a few pointers along the way. This site so far has proved to be very helpful and I am grateful for all the information I have aquired thus far.

Thanks,

Chelsea

 

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/oRcaLuFf/P11509101.jpg

 

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/oRcaLuFf/P11700631.jpg<br><br>Post edited by: chelsE08, at: 2009/07/12 12:05

[danmcq]

Welcome Chelsea!

 

It's GreYt having you here.

 

Your Grey was about 6 weeks old in the 1st photo, thus 7 and the second. This is a VERY YOUNG grey and should not be having any millet or other such seed at such a young age.

 

IN the nursery room (Where you posted this) there is a topic at the top on Formula feeding and on weaning. Please read this carefully.

 

It is maddening to hear of breeder doing this to inexperienced and knowledgeable people buying a Parrot for the first time.

 

Feeding formula to a young baby like yours is a very risky thing to be doing and you need to carefully read the information on it.

 

It's good you have come to this forum and we will help you all we can through this.

 

Looking forward to hearing more from you. :-)

 

You have a beautiful healthy looking baby there!!

[casper]

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/the-nursery/73409-handfeeding-a-baby-grey.html

 

Hiya and welcome to the forum.

Above is a link to handfeeding which Dan mentioned. Have a good read through and see if this helps you.

Any questions please dont hesitate to ask we have many members on here who have hand fed their babies.

 

I also agree with Dan on the age of your baby. Below is a guide in pictures and shows you the babies at different ages which is a good guideline for you to use.

 

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/the-nursery/72900-the-journey-from-an-egg-in-pictures.html

 

I cant believe this breeder would sell the baby so young but you have done the right thing in posting and will get plenty of advice from some great people here.

Read the threads in the Nursery room which should help as well, if you cant find anything just post and we will help.

 

Enjoy the forum:)

[Eckobird]

Hi ChelsE, how are things going with Mojo? Danmcq and Casper have given you great advice, I highly recommend you to read through those threads. How much are you feeding him? Is he eating ok? I hope all is going well with your new baby, your a great parront to be concerned about your baby and coming here to get help. I hope to hear more from you.

[Luvparrots]

How is Mojo doing Chelsea?

[chelsE08]

Mojo is doing great thanks for all the answers and concern, I actually took him to the avian vet today and she told me that he looks great, but took a stool sample justtt in case, to test for worms ect. But she says he looks healthy and hes gaining the right weight for his age... Im a stay at home mom so I have all the time in the world for him, and Ive grown so attached and its only been a week...I started a blog about him, Im hoping to get on there and update it as much as possible. Im feeding him about 45cc of this special grey formula and mixing eggfood in with it, the directions say at his age I should be giving him 30 percent formula, 30 percent eggfood and 40 percent seed, but I talked to a breeder in tx just recently and she told me that giving him those seeds is just like giving him fat...so she told me to substite it with babyfood? I feed him every four-five hours...my biggest concern right now is crop burn, Ive been reading into the dangers of handfeeding so much Im afraid Im reallyyy overly protective about making the food too hot, but at the same time trying not to make it cold. Anyone know how to tell if the baby does get crop burn I dont think he has it because hes digesting fine and gaining weight but id still like to know what looking for...on the other hand i heard it could also hurt him/her if i make it too cold (sour crop) Im feeding him at temp around 95 degrees, is this ok? I heard when they are very little they eat it as 103-108 degrees but at his age (7.5 weeks)they can tolerate it colder around 80-90...sorry i wrote a novel, but thanks for

your time and help...lots to learn to get it right

[Dave007]

You should line that aquarium with a towel. At night, put a towel on tank but only cover 1/2 of the top. Put a fluffy toy in there so that he can cuddle and sleep with it during the day and night. Keep the temp of food between 95 to 98 deg. It when they are much younger than 7 weeks is when you need to worry about crop burn. He won't eat the cedar chips but honestly, at that age your bird should be in an aquarium that has a soft towel on the bottom even though it's gonna get messy. You need to remember that your bird will start to tip forward after his crop is filled and it's better that his face hit a soft towel. Actually, you would have to have a couple of towels handy for the bottom after each gets dirty. Towels radiate heat. Cedar doesn't. Towels let you see the accurate color of the feces .At his age put some cheerios ( multicolored is best) in the bottom of the tank and let him play and test them out. No seed. Could you possibly tell me the name of this special formula you were told about?

 

 

6 Weeks

 

7 weeks

 

8 weeks

 

9 weeks

 

11 weeks

[chelsE08]

the bird formula I was given is a CeDe brand of handrearing food for african greys. I couldnt find a picture of it online anywhere...so i took a picture of it and tried to attach it (havent had much luck with that)..thanks for the pics of the greys as they get older...Mojo looks to be almost at the 8 week mark <br><br>Post edited by: chelsE08, at: 2009/07/15 12:39