Question about Greys

[Brittany]

Hi!!

 

My parents are thinking about owning a grey...as my boyfriend and I have Pepper & have moved out of their house. They fell in love with Pepper, who they spoiled haha but anyways..

 

They found a bird they like, it's 4 1/2 months old. It was hand fed by the breeder. But they are wondering if it is better to get a bird that they have hand fed themselves?

 

Only because my bf and I hand fed Pepper and spent a lot of time with her, and in return we have an awesomely social bird. There has never been a person who Pepper does not like, and she even is approachable to kids. We've been around a ton of greys and still haven't seen one as sweet as Pepper lol.

 

So does it matter, really? Or should they be okay because the grey is still semi-young? thanks

[bigbird519]

i cannot speak except for my own experience. i got mojo from a breeder last week and he was hand fed from the breeder. mojo is a TAG and has attached to me just fine. he is five months old and taking to our home great! i would not really be to terribley concerned about having hand fed the bird myself. i have seen many people who have adopted older birds that have had great results.

 

is the bird a Timneh, or a Congo? i ask because i have read that Congos tend to be more of a one person bird and the Timnehs tend to do better as a family bird. again this is only from the research that i have read.

 

as for me, i was not at all concerned about getting a five month old who had been hand fed by some one else. by the second day Mojo has taken to me, as for my wife..... that will take a bit more work lol.

 

hope this helps.

[Jayd]

B) Good question...If they have no experience at hand feeding, than I would have to say no!!! There are so many risks involved. I can't explain what it's like to have a baby die in your hands...Please read the posts in "Nursery". At around a year old, a CAG leaves his family unit, [a timneh around 6mo's] so they're leaving one family to join there life family, it could be the same as getting a weaned and fledged baby? Go for the weaned... Jay

[Debandbella]

2 of mine were hand fed by the breeder, theyre both well adjusted birds, if your parents are unsure let the breeders do the feeding, when mine came to me they were fully weaned but because of their change of life they appreciated hand feeding with baby food for their security not nutrition, it was a good bond for us all.

[judygram]

I have to agree with the others, if your parents have no handfeeding experience with birds then it is best left to those who have, many here have got their greys as weaned babies and have bonded with their birds just fine as have I.

[Luvparrots]

I believe it all depends on the socialization that your grey gets from the breeder. I was very lucky in getting my grey as her grandparront was very particular on who got her very socialized babies. None of her babies leave home unless they are totally weaned and eating a variety of foods. I still have to smile at all the food that Ana Grey's breeder sent home with her and all the information about greys that she provided to me! So I agree with others, you don't need to handfeed your grey to be more bonded with your grey. Ana Grey trusts me totally and she is fearless, thanks to her great breeder who is always available for me to talk to about "her" baby.

[JillyBeanz]

I could never take on such a responsibility - I know you have to start somewhere - everyone who raises chicks had a "first", but I wouldn't want to do it!!

 

Harvey was hand raised/spoonfed from a breeder and we brought him home, fully weaned at 12 weeks. In the UK it is against the law to sell an unweaned bird - so it is really only breeders who have to hand rear birds (obviously the price tag rises when they are hand fed).

 

Harvey's fab - no detrimental effects from me not weaning him

[Dave007]

It's too bad that the US doesn't institute that type of law that exists in the UK.

Anyway, many times when a person buys an unweaned bird and decides to do it themselves, that can nullify the guarantee/warranty/exchange if a problem happens because a guaranteed thorough *well check* needs to be done on a fully weaned bird by a vet in order to get accurate results. If there's a problem, the breeder is responsible.

[Elvenking]

Yeah, I did get mine home at around 9 weeks, he was down to two feedings a day. The breeder trained me on feeding him...and personally....I loved every minute of it. She gave me the proper temperature range for the formula, formula mix, and the feeding syringe. It really is easy when you know what you are doing. But I have heard about people getting the formula too hot, or not warm enough. Or not knowing the amount of food which is enough or too much. I would say that if you are leary at all about it...do not do it.

 

My little boy, Issac, is at 13 weeks now, and he is currently beginning to slap the syringe tip with the edge of his wing. At first I could not figure out what this action was, because he was cocked back looking like he was ready for more...but what he was really saying is....'I am done, I am growing up daddy." Almost missed that little signal. So he is taking progressively less and less formula..with only 15cc's being accepted this morning. I imagine that by the end of the week, this lil guy will likely be fully weaned...but I will let him decide....he knows I know when to stop when he asks...but I will still let him tell me. This morning he was very uninvolved in the morning feeding, so I am guessing I will go to just one feeding at night soon.

 

Lol...more info than you wanted...but i can;t help going on about my beautiful baby. Beliow is a picture of him when he was 7 weeks.

 

 

Post edited by: Elvenking, at: 2010/02/15 21:37<br><br>Post edited by: Elvenking, at: 2010/02/15 21:38

[Jayd]

Really good post, have you read the one's on hand feeding?

I remember just last year, I was feeding Maggie-Mae, 7wk old 'Tiel, I was using a syringe, she heard a noise, jerked formula went down the wrong way, she dropped, flopping to the ground,formula got into her lungs and she was choking to death, wasn't my fault[?] she moved, thank God she was ok, nothing got into her lungs, she didn't die or get pneumonia!!!Last summer, feeding a 12wk old Green-wing Macaw, big eater,he stopped pumping and choked, luckily he spit it out on my face... Have you seen a Crop "Burn-through" or "crop Impaction" ? All things that can happen with out warning and with nothing but "Good" intention....Question? How many weeks of training by a Breeder is needed to be considered trained? In the hundred plus birds I worked with last year, you can not tell which one was hand fed!!!I'm not trying to be callous or mean, but it's hard to believe how many people I think to myself, "I told you so"..[and I shed tears each time] It's my personal opinion, it's not worth the risk...

Jay<br><br>Post edited by: Jayd, at: 2010/02/16 03:10

[Xtreme575]

I agree with all of the experienced posts in here, and am in the same mindset as Jill. I wouldn't even consider doing the hand-feeding myself, I'd be suicidal if anything happened! I got my parrot at 14 weeks, the breeder would not let me have him until he was off of formula all together and eating an adult diet.

 

I did buy an adult formuala in baby form that I used for the first few months (morning and night), but I didn't even do a real "spoon feed", I only offered it by spoon. He took it well, but once he pushed it away and didn't want what I was offering, it was over. Really, I don't think it would have made a difference to my parrots disposition.

 

Any chance they could get another bird from the same breeding pair that gave you Pepper? Perhaps DNA is more the issue.

[Spock]

Jay here, Extreme, wonderful post, karma, it is good to teach your Grey to "eat from a spoon". You mix up a couple spoons of formula, [or wet mashed pellets]at around 109 degrees F [by the time he/she get's the soon, the temp will have dropped a degree or two.], and let him/her eat it out of the spoon, don't let the temp go below 103 degrees F.

Jay<br><br>Post edited by: Spock, at: 2010/02/16 04:04

[rbpittman]

Having brought Beau home still on two feedings a day I wouldn't recommend bringing home an unweaned baby to an inexperienced owner. I had sufficient training, hands on with the shop owner he came from for more than a week. Unfortunately Beau's illness were caused by handfeeding - from an experienced person. Beau's crop was burned from handfeeding and the resulting effects were infection, plucking, over $1,500 in vet bills, not to mention the amount of time and energy put into keeping him alive. His weight was difficult to maintain until the injury healed, weaning to pellets was exhaustive. The emotional affects on Beau caused the increased time on formula. I brought him home unweaned because it was the right thing for Beau, one on one attention, better vet, and the ability to keep him out of his cage to prevent additional plucking. That was October, it is now February and he's just now getting all of his feathers back in on his chest, his right wing was destroyed due to his plucking and a few flights are coming back in. This doesn't mean the same thing would happen to anyone else's bird, but this is the experience with a handfeeding gone wrong with mine. I would do it again with Beau in a heartbeat, but I would never endeavor to bring home a baby that wasn't properly weaned by an experienced breeder if I weren't an expert on the subject myself.

 

Robin

[kittykittykitty]

Precious was not completely weaned (3 1/2 mo) when she came home. Feeding a baby grey is NOTHING underlined like feeding human, cat or dog babies! It takes a LOT of time, enrgy, patience. Fortunately we didn't burn her crop but I have seen a badly burned one. Don't go there. It's just too risky for pneumonia also. Get a hand fed bird. They are just as sweet, just as loving.<br><br>Post edited by: kittykittykitty, at: 2010/02/17 00:25

[Janfromboone]

I would think it would take some skill to hand feed a baby, but then I've never done that. Tobie was hand fed by the breeder and we are very close and well bonded. I doubt it really makes a difference.

[Suzzique]

It really doesn't matter if you are the one to hand feed or the breeder. You can still have a very loving and sweet bird. I would not try hand feeding myself. Just to much could go wrong. What really counts is what you do when your baby comes home. If you want a well ajusted social bird everyone in the house needs to spend time do stuff with the bird. He/she may still have a fav person but will happily spend time with others as well. Though Alex is still my bird he does and will go and spend time with everyone else in the house. I never make a fuss if he leaves me for someone else. I do need to start taking him out with me more so that he will be even more social. I just have to replace his harness first. He chewed threw one of the straps on the other one.