Lots of Option.. need help from experienced..

[beccamann90]

Hello all. i have seen many of yalls picture and you have beautiful greys!!

 

Here is my question.. I have been researching and trying to find information about Congos because my husband and I have finally decided now is the right time to accept the responsibility of a baby. I stay at home now so i would have lots of time for the new addition plus my son is starting school. The entire day almost would be devoted to the new baby. I have found several breeders, some of which are much more expensive (the money doesn't bother me) and others are cheaper.

 

One breeder is nearly five hours away from me and i really want to travel down to meet the babies. She says they have three babies and it seems like as soon as i talked to her she sends me a email saying two more people have inquired about the babies.. im not sure if this is to rush me to give them a deposit to ensure a sell or if they really inquired.. (it was less than 10 minutes of talking on the phone with them)..

 

Another breeder is three hours away.. he also has three babies. Im making the trip to visit the babies this coming sunday. One thing that i question about this breeder is that he leaves the babies with their mothers the first month of life. I have read that this is bad...? Is it? Many breeder that i have talked to take the eggs and incubate asap.. is it bad that the baby has been with his bird mother more than humans at this point or is that fine? Also, i have read that no "good" breeder would ever let a baby go without being fully weaned. This breeder told me that it was my money and he wanted to make me happy.. if i wanted to take the baby at 9 weeks i would or i could leave the baby there til the weaning is finished.. it was my choice.. should this we something to worry about and wonder if they are good breeders? I have heard some people say that they hand fed their baby and everything turned out fine.. i mean i guess it was everyone first time at one point.. you weren't born a bird expert..

 

This will be my first Grey. So i am very weary of making mistakes. Im not rich so this is defiantly a huge investment for us..! Any help would be greatly appreciated..!!!

 

Rebecca:confused:

[danmcq]

Hello Rebecca and welcome!

 

GreYt questions. Leaving the baby greys with their parents until 3 or 4 weeks old is a good practice in my opinion. They are then removed and hand fed by the breeders from that time forward to weaning. Some breeders do give the option of taking home your grey before fully weaned. In many states this is against the law. I personally would never take an unweaned grey nor would I recommend it for anyone that is not completely experienced at hand feeding birds. If something went wrong and your baby grey dies, the breeder would not refund your money due to it being your fault. So if you do go with this breeder, let them wean it first.

[Dave007]

Hello all. i have seen many of yalls picture and you have beautiful greys!!

 

Here is my question.. I have been researching and trying to find information about Congos because my husband and I have finally decided now is the right time to accept the responsibility of a baby. I stay at home now so i would have lots of time for the new addition plus my son is starting school. The entire day almost would be devoted to the new baby. I have found several breeders, some of which are much more expensive (the money doesn't bother me) and others are cheaper.

 

One breeder is nearly five hours away from me and i really want to travel down to meet the babies. She says they have three babies and it seems like as soon as i talked to her she sends me a email saying two more people have inquired about the babies.. im not sure if this is to rush me to give them a deposit to ensure a sell or if they really inquired.. (it was less than 10 minutes of talking on the phone with them)..

 

Another breeder is three hours away.. he also has three babies. Im making the trip to visit the babies this coming sunday. One thing that i question about this breeder is that he leaves the babies with their mothers the first month of life. I have read that this is bad...? Is it? Many breeder that i have talked to take the eggs and incubate asap.. is it bad that the baby has been with his bird mother more than humans at this point or is that fine? Also, i have read that no "good" breeder would ever let a baby go without being fully weaned. This breeder told me that it was my money and he wanted to make me happy.. if i wanted to take the baby at 9 weeks i would or i could leave the baby there til the weaning is finished.. it was my choice.. should this we something to worry about and wonder if they are good breeders? I have heard some people say that they hand fed their baby and everything turned out fine.. i mean i guess it was everyone first time at one point.. you weren't born a bird expert..

 

This will be my first Grey. So i am very weary of making mistakes. Im not rich so this is defiantly a huge investment for us..! Any help would be greatly appreciated..!!!

 

Rebecca:confused:

 

Actually, the breeder who wants to leave the chicks with the parents for a month is giving those chicks a better chance at having a healthy beginning at life. The problem that many breeders have is taking the chicks away from the parents after they're with the parents after a long time so the chicks are taken away very early. Most breeder pairs become extremely aggressive with the breeder when that happens. Fortunately, there's people who are experienced enough to easily diminish that problem. If a breder tells you that selling a 9 wk old baby just to make a person happy is not thinking about the bird, just the money. Weaning should be done by the seller before releasing the baby bird. Hand feeding a bird that's been kept in a incubator without parents isn't as good as with the parents. ** I have read that this is bad...? ***. I don't know where you could have possibly read that. It's a subject that isn't brought up very often.

 

More important here is your inexprience with baby greys. You would have a very hard time weaning a baby bird. It's a difficult chore. In the UK, selling unweaned birds is against the law. Unfortunately, that law doesn't yet apply here.

I'm a breeder of greys and I always let the chicks stay with the parents for ata least 3 wks. My wife and I know how to handle that situation. I don't sell unweaned chicks even if a potential customer offers me double the price.

 

You're not rich?? Stay with us and we'll guide you through the whole process including what kind of money you need. We'll defoinitely save you plenty.

[SRSeedBurners]

I will tell you I opted NOT to go with a breeder who was right in my back door because she offered to let me take the Grey earlier at a discount. The one I finally went with had to convince me she understood the concept of abundance weaning, allowed the birds to learn to fly, and of course I found out this lady travels to conferences and such. She's by far the most expensive breeder I came across but my philosophy was - Grey's are easy to screw up, I wanted it done right from the beginning. Very professional. Plus we were able to go see her operation. There is another one in Austin that won't allow you to see their 'facility' - steer clear.

[JeffNOK]

A lot of recent research has shown that a chick staying with its parents longer is actually really good. Such greys are less prone to emotional and behavioral problems later in life. My grey stayed with her parents for 9 weeks before being taken. She had human contact during that time, however. In Europe this is becoming more common. A study called "The Influence of the Breeding Method on the Behaviour of Adult African Greys" by Schmid, Doherr, and Steiger found that greys who stayed with their parents 8 weeks or longer were the least likely to pluck, exhibit phobic or agressive behavior, or over-bond with their owners. The study showed that greys pulled before 2 weeks of age had the most problems followed by those pulled at 6 weeks. For some reason those pulled at 4 weeks did pretty well, but no group did as well as the one that stayed with their parents a full 8 weeks. Some have felt that pulling early makes for a tamer bird. I don't know. According to Jean Pattinson (a well known African Grey breeder from Florida known as the African Queen) there is no difference in tamness between the chicks she has pulled from day one or those pulled at 8 weeks. Good luck in your search. Don't rush things. Do your research and keep asking questions. I was on this forum a whole year before I got my grey. Slow and steady wins the race IMHO.

[Luvparrots]

When I brought my 5 month old CAG home the breeder sent me home with some formula. Sterling was eating "real" food but the breeder said that some young greys like to be given formula while adjusting to their new surroundings. Sterling took an evening feeding for two days after I brought him home and then rejected any more. After Sterling had had his fill, Ana Grey, my 2 year old TAG would finish up the formula. Now they both get oatmeal a couple of times a week.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

I've read all the advice. I can't add a thing! Nancy

[beccamann90]

Yall have been a lot of help. I am stuck between the two breeders still.. I wouldn't want to hand feed myself because i understand that i have no idea what i am doing. I will not risk losing that money or my baby that i have been waiting forever to have the chance to own!! I can be patient.. I am so glad that i have found this forum..! Just from these few comments i can tell that i have people that i can count on for just about anything!! I have an appointment to meet one breeder and his babies this weekend and then the other breeder next weekend. One is three hours away and the other is nearly four... but my baby will be worth it! The information that you have provided is awesome..! Thanks to everyone who contributed!

[beccamann90]

Thank you so much for your reply!! I'm glad that there are people out there who are willing to help the inexperienced!!

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

I wish babies lastedl that they could pick their parents, but in reality, they don't.Their is a HUGE demand for baby birds. Itis amazing! I'm at my birdstore all the time. SOLD stickers all the time! I'm glad Sophie at age two from a rich racecar driver, got to pick her owner.Interviewed. Many parents applied to adopt her. We had no experience. My interview sucked! I couldn't answer any of his questions as Sophie was " chewing my ear off" with absolute nonsense! I came home, told kids it wasn't going to happen. Surprise!Got called back for a second interview. It sucked as well. Couldn't talk to the owner. Sophie had too much to say, and I was focused on her. I knew it wasn'tgoing to happen, which really made me sad, as I knew I had a connection with Sophie. Amazingly, we, the least experienced, got picked! I was eccstatic! I asked " why"? Her owner told me... It was always about Sophie! She chose you twice. His words of wisdom... always listen to your bird. They will lead you. I follow this advice all the time. Nancy

[Greywings]

They listened to Sophie they had to be good people.

[Jayd]

Something to keep in mind. All parrots leave the nest at different times, a Conure is kicked/thrown out of the nest as soon as they can fly by the father, so you don't even have to hand feed them till that happens, a Grey stays in the nest for two years or longer, so human imprinting can wait for eight weeks with only benefits to the Grey. Cockatiel's we share/feed with the parents, we would remove the baby for one hand feeding a day and return them to the parents, we would hold the baby two or three times a day until fledged, we did this with a number of other parrots. Each parrot we bred from "TOO's to Macaws were hand fed differently. The more time they spent with the parents the better..............

Edited April 11, 2013 by Jayd
hand

[JeffNOK]

It is an interesting discussion about letting the bird choose you. I must admit, Gracie didn't choose me. I chose her before I met her. I was on this forum for a many months before I even met a breeder. Everyone said "Let the grey choose you." I was determined to do just that. I was going to be chosen. Well, when I found my breeder, I didn't follow that advice at all. I was told there was a chick and also a few eggs about ready to hatch. For some reason a little voice inside me said "reserve that baby chick sight unseen". I listened to that voice. In the weeks to come, I would meet three little chicks (the two eggs indeed hatched). Two were gregarious and loved cuddles and seemed to gravitate to people. One was independent and gave little attention to anyone. Lots of visitors came and went. They all Oooed and Ahhed over the two love muffins. Nobody paid much attention to the little solitary soul who nipped at people when they tried to pet her and flew off when given a chance. One lady even commented on the independent one saying "She is a grumpy one, isn't she?" Well, that grumpy little independent grey that chose nobody was the same little girl that I reserved sight unseen. Gracie didn't pick me, but I am sooooo glad I listened to that little voice that told me to choose her even before I met her.. I am not suggesting that others do as I did, but I feel like the luckiest grey parront around. Had I met all three chicks prior to reserving Gracie, I may have been tempted to choose one of the cuddly greys that just soaked up human attention. I often questioned myself. I spent a few weeks with all three grey babies before the other two were reserved. I could have changed my mind, but I couldn't deny that voice in my head that told me to pick Gracie. Looking back now 15 months since I brought Gracie home , I'm just thankful that she is mine. She is still independent--but we belong together heart and soul.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

JeffNOK aWWWW.! you guys were meant to be! Nancy

[Greywings]

Sweet! What works for you both is what is right.

[Ray P]

You have been given some great advice by our members and heard some great story`s also.

It all comes down to this. You and your grey must work together and form a bond and relationship for a happy life.

My grey picked us when she was a baby. We rehomed a 13 year old amazon with issues and they both turned out great.

[chacow]

 I am not suggesting that others do as I did, but I feel like the luckiest grey parront around. Had I met all three chicks prior to World knowledge reserving Gracie, I may have been tempted to choose one of the cuddly greys that just soaked up human attention. I often questioned myself.