Questions about baby Grey

[Sindi]

Hello Everyone!

 

I am Sindi and I am a new mommy to an almost 10 week old Grey baby. We have had 'him' for a week now.

 

I have done so much reading the last few days and the responses vary so much that I am still not sure about many things. I have also heard from many people that the Pet Shop Owner was actually not supposed to sell us an unweaned baby and although he took the time to show us exactly how to feed him and how much etc people are still very annoyed with me for not knowing better.

 

He is an adorable baby and we give him a lot of attention. He has also taken very well to our two young Maltese dogs and vice versa. It was important to us that they are introduced to each other and it is going very well.

 

I purchased a book (Parrots for Dummies) to also help answer some questions and I if I studied as hard in school as I study this book I would have probably had straight "A"s.

 

Getting to my questions.... I have noticed since yesterday that he is quite reluctant to eat. As per the Pet Shop Owner's instructions I feed him twice a day and if he doesn't eat a lot in the morning I give him a little in the afternoon to get him through to the next feeding. I hope I am doing the right thing. I has been very very hot here the last two days and I am not sure if he is just not that hungry due to the heat or if he is weaning. :confused:

 

At what age can I start adding seeds or pellets to his diet? Do I add it to his porridge or do I fill one of the bowls in the cage? If added to his porridge, how much? When do I start with pellets? I was told I had to soften the pellets in the beginning to get him use to the taste, but I am not sure at what age I need to do this. I took him to our local Bird Vet last week to make sure he was healthy and that the Pet Shop Owner didn't sell me an ill bird and I am very pleased to say he is perfectly fine. The Vet told me I will 'see' when he is weaning and can then start with the pellets, but what confuses me is when this will happen as I have read so many different things lately. Some people say they should be hand fed until a few months of age, others say a few weeks. He does drink water and I always make sure that he has fresh water in his cage. I am probably suppose to ask my Vet all these questions, but I hope you can help me.

 

I have many many more questions, but if you could please help me out with regards to feeding I will be most grateful.

 

Thank you so much!

 

Kind regards,

 

Sindi

[judygram]

Sindi, all these questions are exactly why we prefer breeders to keep the babies until they are weaned for this is best left to those who are skilled but enough of the criticism, just wanted to get that clear.

 

Have you read thru the threads in the nursery room for you will find the answers to most of your questions there, most of them are stickys so have a read thru.

Almost forgot, welcome to our family and we would love to see some pictures of your baby grey.

[Sindi]

Hi Judygram.

 

Whenever I ask any questions I seem to get the exact same response.

 

Whether or not the breeder was supposed to keep the baby, the point is, she didn't and we have him now and we want to make the best of it. Hence my reason for taking the time to read as much as I can and asking as many questions as I can to ensure my Grey is healthy, happy, and well looked after. (The Pet Shop Owner is actually the one that needs to be reprimanded)

 

Thank you for the tip, I will quickly have a look at the Nursery Room.

 

Kind regards,

 

Sindi

[judygram]

I know it sounds like a broken record and you are right, the pet shop owner who sold you the grey is the one that I would like to have a few words with but as long as people will buy them that way then they get away with it.

You will find those threads at the beginning of the nursery room and I do commend you for reading all you can so you can give the best start you can give to your new grey baby, we want the same thing you do, a healthy happy african grey.

[Sindi]

I only saw now that you added a welcome note. Thanx

[Dave007]

****Getting to my questions.... I have noticed since yesterday that he is quite reluctant to eat. As per the Pet Shop Owner's instructions I feed him twice a day and if he doesn't eat a lot in the morning I give him a little in the afternoon to get him through to the next feeding. I hope I am doing the right thing. I has been very very hot here the last two days and I am not sure if he is just not that hungry due to the heat or if he is weaning.*****

 

A parrot will lessen the amount of feedings of formula as it gets older whether you agree or disagree with the bird. The bird's internal system is regulating that.Feeding formula should stop when the bird absolutely refuses to take anyThat's the time to have more solid food around. That should be veggies, parrot seed, some pellets, a very small amount of fruit. It's a new experience for him and he'll find it interesting. Actually, more solid varied foods should have already been introduced. Now is the time that you'll be introducing foods to find out what he does or doesn't like. All parrots are different and they don't like the same things. Now is the time to get ready to waste money on different things including food, treats and toys.

 

****Do I add it to his porridge or do I fill one of the bowls in the cage? """""

 

That may contaminate the new foods. Your bird is old enough to use the beak to eat various things without it being mushy

 

Pet Shop Owner---- yes, he shouldn't have sold you an unweaned bird. Many things can possibly go wrong or maybe not but that's now in the past.

 

Pellets---yes you can feed pellets dampened or dry but not soaked. If your bird likes them, he'll eat them.

 

Reading Material--yes, it's good that you're taking the time to read up on them but the book you purchased isn't exactly the type of book to read. You need more personalized info which can be gotten from various African grey books.

 

Going to your vet to give him an update is fine but all the info here is basic, standard facts about African greys.

[Sindi]

Hi Dave.

 

Thank you for your response.

 

I don't disagree with anything. I simply want what's best for my Grey and any money spent on him will certainly not be a waste. It's a learning process for both of us and when ever I ask legitimate questions I always get told how the Pet Shop Owner should not have sold him to us.

 

The book I purchased might not be the correct book, but I have been able to get some valuable info from it. I have also purchased another African Grey book to gain as much knowledge as possible as this is very new to both my husband and I.

 

***Going to your vet to give him an update is fine but all the info here is basic, standard facts about African greys.*** I would like to get those 'basic, standard facts' minus the judgement.

 

Regards,

 

Sindi

[Dave007]

I'm not trying to judge you but because you have an unweaned bird, all areas need to be covered. As far as the seller, I told you to put it in the past. I didn't linger concerning him. I think I've responded to just about anything concerning food----formula, weaning, soft foods, harder foods, types of foods, when to start adding regular type foods, and the age to start all of this.

When I say agree or disagree, I'm referring to you and your bird, not other people.

You've read that people wanna talk all about whether the seller did the right thing and not get to the info you're looking for. I simply meant that the incident was in the past and nothing can change that. No sense dwelling on it.

So if you think I was insulting or judging you, what I said here should clear that up.