Chuckie Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 this is my first post here. Unfortunately I did not read that much in detail about greys and now that I have, I seem to understand that one should not buy an unweaned grey unless they are experts. Anyway, what is done is done, the hand-rearing experience me and my wife have is with two cockatiels which we brought home at the age of about 4 weeks (one of which ran away ). following is the story of the grey: Yesterday we went to a pet shop to get a grey we wanted (we actually called the breeder, who we have been told is a respectable one - he told us that he has one for sale at this pet shop), the petshop owner told us that he already started eating some seeds and that he feeds him twice a day 60cc each feed. when we got him home our tiel was very curious and wanted to take a close look but the grey was really scared of him. When the tiel got close to him, the gray sarted making a sound like he is running out of breath - so we kept them away from eachother. Anway, evening came and when we came to feed him it didn't seem he was that much hungry (we remember the tiels would destroy the syringe if they could). Slowly and patiently we gave him about 30cc and I was getting a bit worried that he isn't eating as much as he should. This morning when we tried to feed him he absolutely didn't want any, at that time he weighed 510g, also we could see some broken seed shells so he must have ate a bit during the night.I checked that the food was at 39degrees and stirred it very well to avoid any hot/cold spots. Since we got worried we called the petshop who told us he used to give him food at room temp!! I was shocked...but there was nothing to do now. at mid day I weighed him at 493g and tried to give him food at room temperature which is 25degrees and he ate about 20cc, his weight got back up to 510g. he doesn't look week or anything, when we put him out he is running around playing with any shiny/colourful objects. and now that he's alone i can hear him making very faint short whistles and other noises - some of which resemble a dog's cry. im worried that my grey isnt eating enough, or is this normal since he started eating some seeds? Also about the temperature of the food, anyone can suggest anything? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 He's a beautiful baby! I'm a newbie, but someone with experience will come along and give you some advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 (edited) this is my first post here. Unfortunately I did not read that much in detail about greys and now that I have, I seem to understand that one should not buy an unweaned grey unless they are experts. Anyway, what is done is done, the hand-rearing experience me and my wife have is with two cockatiels which we brought home at the age of about 4 weeks (one of which ran away ). following is the story of the grey: Yesterday we went to a pet shop to get a grey we wanted (we actually called the breeder, who we have been told is a respectable one - he told us that he has one for sale at this pet shop), the petshop owner told us that he already started eating some seeds and that he feeds him twice a day 60cc each feed. when we got him home our tiel was very curious and wanted to take a close look but the grey was really scared of him. When the tiel got close to him, the gray sarted making a sound like he is running out of breath - so we kept them away from eachother. Anway, evening came and when we came to feed him it didn't seem he was that much hungry (we remember the tiels would destroy the syringe if they could). Slowly and patiently we gave him about 30cc and I was getting a bit worried that he isn't eating as much as he should. This morning when we tried to feed him he absolutely didn't want any, at that time he weighed 510g, also we could see some broken seed shells so he must have ate a bit during the night.I checked that the food was at 39degrees and stirred it very well to avoid any hot/cold spots. Since we got worried we called the petshop who told us he used to give him food at room temp!! I was shocked...but there was nothing to do now. at mid day I weighed him at 493g and tried to give him food at room temperature which is 25degrees and he ate about 20cc, his weight got back up to 510g. he doesn't look week or anything, when we put him out he is running around playing with any shiny/colourful objects. and now that he's alone i can hear him making very faint short whistles and other noises - some of which resemble a dog's cry. im worried that my grey isnt eating enough, or is this normal since he started eating some seeds? Also about the temperature of the food, anyone can suggest anything? Thanks It's very normal for all baby greys to lose their baby fat. Eventually they can be as muc as 50 to 70 gms less than now after sarting to eat eat solid food with no formula involved. There's a method of feeding formula to growing babies. It'a called Abundance Feeding. What happens is that a certain formula feeding is completely refused by the bird. The bird is growing up and mother nature is telling the bird's system to eat more solid food. Never put time limits on this method. Some greys greys take longer to get to that plateau. Others take a shorter amount of time. What happens is that the bird is telling you to stop that particular feeding. Always have his solid food around---veggies, cheerios, some pellets. Tiny amount of parrot mix. Change veggies when they go bad ( usually every 3 hrs) Feed the formula a little warmer than room temp but not hot. Your bird is at that age where he can handle warm to warmer feedings. Also feed some warm parially solid oatmeal. You can get that at the supermarket.--Get the 10 pack that has various flavors. Don't worry about the sugar content becuse there's very little in that oatmeal. Quaker Oats is a good brand. Give as much formula as he wants but when he refuses it you'll know why. And if he's in good spirits that will also tell you that you're good right thing. Edited November 3, 2012 by Dave007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 You have a beautiful baby and a great attitude to do your best for him. Welcome to the forum. Have you chosen a name for him yet? I noticed his leg band is a different style from any I have seen and the temperatures you are discussing may be Celcius. Our members are from many parts of the world and we learn so much from our unique situations. Dave is much more experienced to give you good advice on babies and on feedings. Good luck with learning along with your little one. There is nothing like sharing our home with such an exquisite little character, you are going to have many happy surprises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted November 3, 2012 Author Share Posted November 3, 2012 Wow thanks for your response you really given me some peace of mind. His (or her) with name is chuckie. I tend to worry a bit too much. In the afternoon he was sleeping completely lying on his chest and I was also worrying, but when he woke up he started playing with us and he is also getting used to our tiel Kiki. That thing on his right foot is the shackle, the pet shop owner told me that if u don't put it on him when he is very young he would never be able to get used to it. On his left foot he has the closed numbered ring. Btw I am sending this from Malta. Also a friend of my wife's who has a grey told her to start giving him vitamins which apparently are in some kind of drop from (added to the water or on top of his food) with what do you think about it? Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 Dave has given you some great advice and you have an adorable baby grey. About the vitamin drops do not use them for if they have a balanced diet added vitamins are not necessary and could be harmful, always go with your avian vet's advice. I don't understand why there should be a shackle on his leg, of course over there in your country it is probably used to keep them on a stand when outside but it looks like a cruel practice to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLB Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 Beautiful baby. So good that you found this forum as there is a lot of great information here. I am also curious about this "shackle?" Can you explain more about it's use? I have trained my Panama Amazon baby to the Aviator harness for use in keeping her safe outdoors. I have really enjoyed the freedom it gives her without any risk of damaging her legs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 Chuckie is quite a handsome grey and Dave007 has given you excellent advice on how to care for him. Looking forward to watching Chuckie grow with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 Wow thanks for your response you really given me some peace of mind. His (or her) with name is chuckie. I tend to worry a bit too much. In the afternoon he was sleeping completely lying on his chest and I was also worrying, but when he woke up he started playing with us and he is also getting used to our tiel Kiki. That thing on his right foot is the shackle, the pet shop owner told me that if u don't put it on him when he is very young he would never be able to get used to it. On his left foot he has the closed numbered ring. Btw I am sending this from Malta. Also a friend of my wife's who has a grey told her to start giving him vitamins which apparently are in some kind of drop from (added to the water or on top of his food) with what do you think about it? Thanks again Shackle????? Used For what?? I hope you don't mean *restraining* him from going here to there or keeping him on some sort of stand. That's bad news and that practice was stopped about 20 yrs ago. Using those things can cause a parrot to break or fracture legs. Shackles for birds aren't even sold anywhere. Vitamins in water don't do much. Parrots drink very little water. Parrots get all of vitamins and nutrients from veggies and some human food. Vitamins that are used in water and on food is basically used for tiny softbill birds such canaries, finches and some budgies. Just because bird vitamin powder is sold in pet stores doesn't mean they're good for all birds. Lots of items are sold in pet stores that aren't good for animals. That includes all animals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted November 3, 2012 Author Share Posted November 3, 2012 Thanks for the advice on the vitamins, I had no clue that's why I asked. About the shackle yes it's meant for restraining him from flying around and I have no intention of using it. I was thinking about removing it however I don't want frighten the bird, as it could be hard to remove. I'll just leave it there for now and remove it when he has more confidence with us. We already have a bird who is flying around with us all day so it won't be a problem having the second one (just a bit more of poop cleaning to do ) . I don't even like the idea of clipping their wings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 Thanks for the advice on the vitamins, I had no clue that's why I asked. About the shackle yes it's meant for restraining him from flying around and I have no intention of using it. I was thinking about removing it however I don't want frighten the bird, as it could be hard to remove. I'll just leave it there for now and remove it when he has more confidence with us. We already have a bird who is flying around with us all day so it won't be a problem having the second one (just a bit more of poop cleaning to do ) . I don't even like the idea of clipping their wings. Well, good for you concerning the shackle. That's a relief. Little tip----most avian vets can remove the shackle easily. Those vets also remove ID bands by the thousands from birds legs. Doing it with a vet means that the bird is mad at the vet, not you although vets do it very quickly so the birds don't even have enough time to get angry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 So glad to hear you will not be using this shackle and also you are leaving the wings unclipped, you will have a more confident bird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 We all get lots of advice in the beginning when we get our parrots. Sometimes, with certain foods like chocolate, avocado, alcohol and caffeine there are immediate toxic results. Sometimes it is advice to avoid the teflon in pans. This is something that may accumulate over a life time, or it can be lethal when heated over 400 degrees Fahrenheit very quickly. This type of thing we can avoid and take great care of our new companions. Other things are less clear. What works for one species of parrot may not be particularly healthy for another. Some of our breeders are adamant about clipping wings because it prevents loss of a first parrot when inexperienced owners don't realize what kind of intelligence they have and how they might look for a chance to follow a beloved person right out an open door. This type of leg leash may be one of those things. You have a chance to read and ask others in your country what the positive aspects and potential risks are and as you become more aware, you will make a choice based on your own research, it is a removeable device if you find enough support to keep Charlie safe in a different way. I have no experience with this sort of thing and have never seen one. When you see your avian vet for Charlie's first visit, you will surely get more information there. I don't have experience with vitamins or supplements either. Our vet recommended a commercial pellet formulated for African greys with the calcium he needs along with other recommended nutrients. But that is just a part of his diet because the vet also recommended lots of vegetables, grains and almost the same nutritional needs as a healthy human diet low fats, but not as much fruit as we would normally enjoy. One thing is sure, Charlie is beautiful and you are learning just what an amazing bond you will create with him and you will search and learn as you go. Best of luck for you and Charlie and your whole family. This is one journey of companionship that will last your lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffNOK Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 You seem like you are a very concerned and committed parrot parent. You have a beautiful grey, and I'm sure all will go well. Chuckie is a lucky little guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I believe most grey babies should be around 16-20 weeks before they should be allowed to take a grey home. In think Dave can help you with the best advice. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 Hi all, chuckie is doing good. I managed to remove that shackle in no time without him even noticing. He is all playful and now when we call him from far he will answer back with a light whistle :-), he also started flying on the spot and perching. On rare occasions he plays roughly and bites a bit harder than usual I'm not sure of what I should do to avoid him doing that. Yesterday he didn't eat much formula, I tried with pallets but it seems he does not manage to crush them, I'm monitoring his weight and poop but everything looks good. I gave him some boiled carrots and he really liked them. Then in the evening my wife came home and he took 30cc of formula from her (I guess he already has his favorite parent). This morning he also took another 25cc of formula. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayd Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Hi, great job your doing and so much wonderful advice...If I may, your baby should be on a feeding schedule for the formula, example: same time each morning when you rise, and just before you put em to bed, feed all other foods though out the day. As Dave said, Abundant feeding is very important, scheduled feeding will provide this, this way your baby knows what and when he's going to get the formula, this will help em decide when to wean from it....Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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