Hi everyone from MALDIVES..

[iiyanx7]

Hello everyone. I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is ian. I live in Male', Maldives. For those of you who're wondering what the hell is this Maldives I'll clarify it for you. Maldives is a group of low-lying islands in the Indian Ocean. Anyhow, I just got a 4 week old baby african grey. I know what you're thinking. Why'd I get a baby bird at such a young age. Well, its mainly because there is no one else to take care of it. I haven't handfed another bird before except for a baby eclectus but that was only for a few days. But I have read a lot of material online and am reading this book called "The African Grey". I am using a syringe with a tube to feed my baby. I've been feeding it for 4 days now and I don't seem to have any problem. Although it sometimes makes this kind of "hiccup" sound for a bit and then starts calling out in his voice again. The breeder person taught me how to make its formula (ready made commercially available powder) and he also advised me on the times and which amount I need to feed it. But, after I feed it, it keeps on calling out for a long time. I feed it till its crop is full. Although, when I mix the food in the ratio that the breeder asked me to, the powder doesn't get fully dissolved in the water solution. It only gets partially dissolved and a good number of powder is left undissolved.

 

Anyways we people at Maldives are very unfortunate because there are NO vets or avian vets in Maldives whatsoever. There's just NO ONE! So, if we encounter a problem I don't know what to do. There are a couple of bird lovers here in Maldives and I have seen people taking care of all kinds of birds from eclectuses to african greys to macaws to sun conures and pretty much every exotic bird species is found here. I haven't named the baby yet. Still looking for that perfect name. So any advice any of you lovely people can offer me would be highly appreciated.. Thanks and sorry my post is really long.. hehe..

[Codys Mom]

Hi ian and welcome to the forum, I'am currently handfeeding a baby grey right now to , her name is Rudy and she is 12 weeks old as of today and she crys out to but lately it's just been in the mornings and her crop is full I was told it's a sercurity thing and she just needs a little comfort and cuddling after her feeding , this is the first baby parrot that has cried on me I have handfed around 6 or 7 baby parrots before and never had one cry on me until my Rudy came along I'am sure a more exoerienced person will be along soon , someone with years of knowledge what formula are you useing? I have Rudy on Kaytee Exact

[ranaz]

Hi Ian and welcome to our family. Congratulations for your new baby congo. Its a great life companion and having a baby is a great thing. Its demanding as having a human baby , and this forum will provide you a lot of support. Try to find a bird expert close to you, at least to help you in case of emergency.

 

Best of luck and if possible post some pictures of your baby.

Good luck in finding a name

 

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[Joolesgreyuk]

Hi Ian, welcome to the forum. Wow, you live in a beautiful place indeed!

 

There are some experts on here who will be able to help you with your companion. Hopefully your grey will stay happy and healthy and there are many things you can to to help keep illnesses at bay, however I'm not sure what you would be able to do in case of emergency but having a pc will surely be a help to you.

[judygram]

Hello Ian and welcome to our family, we are so glad you could join us and we look forward to hearing more about you and this baby grey.

 

I have heard of the Maldive Islands, it must be so beautiful to live there but being remote you lack on some things the others here take for granted like the avian vets. If I were you I would become fast friends with anyone you know who either has birds or knows a lot about them to be able to help you if you need it.

 

We have many members here who have either handfed baby greys or are very knowledgeable that will be more than happy to give you any advice, all you have to do is ask. In the meantime read thru the threads in the nursery room, there is a lot of helpful information on handfeeding there and you will find useful info in our many threads in the forum. Don't hesitate to ask us any questions you may have and we will help you in any way we can,

 

We do love pictures here especially of the babies so if you can share some with us we would really appreciate it.

[Luvparrots]

Hi Ian, what a great thing you have done taking in a baby grey. I don't have any experience caring for a baby grey, I just wanted to welcome to you the grey family.

[Tycos_mom]

Your formula should be mixed with warm water til it is the consistency of pudding or gravy make sure its not to hot or the baby's crop will burn just so it feels barely warm on the inside of your wrist like you would test a baby's bottle. Tube feeding can be dangerous your better off to just use a syringe because if the tube falls off it could get stuck in the baby's crop. Since you don't have any Avian vets around this could be fatal. make sure the formula is nice and smooth you don't want any undissolved formula because your baby may have a hard time digesting it and if it sits in the crop for to long your baby can get a bacterial crop infection. If the crop is not completely empty at least one every 24 hours it is dangerous you can help the baby empty its crop by giving him of her a little apple sauce but only if the crop is not completely emptying between feedings. I hope this helps a bit and welcome to the family.

[iiyanx7]

thanks everyone for your great comments and making me feel welcome. I gotta tell you.. this is the friendliest forum with the most helpful people. I got a question though. Well, I put beddings in the cage that I put the baby in you know, to keep it warm. Its like small pieces of wood shavings (the people at the petshop even had little baby birds in this kind of stuff). Now the baby doesn't open one eye and when it does open that eye, its watery. What should I do? Is this an infection or sumthing? I suspect the wood shavings. Its now like 4 nd a half weeks old and I was wondering whether I should keep it warm. Like out of a room where theres a fan or somthing. Thanks.

[danmcq]

Welcome Ian and baby CAG!!

 

At 4 weeks old chicks are kept in a brooder or other such heated area. They should be kept around 90 degrees. Their body temperature runs around 106 degrees.

 

The others have given GreYt advice in terms of hand feeding and getting rid of the tube.

 

Yes, use material as you've listed for the floor area your keeping your baby in and change it often as it gets dumped on by your baby, which is often due to the formula consistancy.

[Codys Mom]

wood shaveings? u mean pine shaveings, I have heard cedar chips or shaveings are really bad for pets includeing birds but pine shaveings are ok just make sure u change them very often, sorry can't help u with the babies eye, go ask about this in the nursery section ok am sure someone can help u there