mas Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 Hi guys! We have a 9 week old CAG and have concerns regarding some of Zazu's behaviour: (sorry this is a super long post!) 1. Whenever he comes out of his cage, he always wants to go into our bedroom. History: When he first came home for the first 2 nights, we were advised to keep him in a basket and he slept in our bedroom (this was 3 weeks ago now). We also sometimes play with him in our bedroom; however we want to discourage this now - as his poops are messing our carpet (we are thinking of investing in birdy diapers!); and secondly we want to encourage him to play in our living room, not only the bedroom. We think this desire to play in our bedroom may be because it is relatively comfy and quiet which he probably enjoys. Also, in our living room some furniture has moved so might this be irritating him? I should mention his cage is in our living room. He walks to our closed bedroom door and flies at the door sometimes (trying to gain entry) which is worrying - what if he gets hurt?? He is also learning to fly now, so maybe he is more comfortable flying in our bedroom?? The main thing we want to know is how can we encourage him to enjoy play in our living room and make him stop obsessing about going into our bedroom? (We live in a one bedroom apartment so we don't have heaps of space for him!) 2. Wandering about the house - he won't stay put in one area to play - how do we manage this best? At the moment we just return him to the area we want him to stay in... also today he just started attempted destruction of our blinds! I'm trying to just retrieve him and return him back to his play area without talking to him (to minimise attention given to this undesirable behaviour). 3. Getting him back into his cage - he NEVER wants to go back into his cage - at the moment I (Sameera) am not working so I'm home most of the time and I take him out quite frequently to play; however once I start back at work, I'll be working quite a hectic schedule and we don't want him to expect to be out of his cage all morning/afternoon. We always try to take him out when we are at home together in the evenings also. He is never short of attention. He often digs in a corner of his cage or climbs all over his cage bars to try to get us to take him out after going back in - we ignore this and when he stops we will talk to him - is this right?? 4. He is 9 weeks old and seems to be rejecting lunch and breakfast feeds - he is more interested in playing! However he does nibble and consume pellets and veges we give him.... but by 5.30pm when it is his dinner feed, you can see his crop area is empty empty empty! He is very active, curious and adventurous and doesn't seem to be starving so was just wondering if this is ok? I don't want to force feed him. I feed him with him on the floor and with a spoon...he always ends up running away to explore our house (hence making me run too when he goes "walkabout") 5. Tameness - he is not happy just sitting on our laps or our hands - he just wants to wander about! Is this normal for a baby? Will he be more happy to chill out with us when he gets older?? Is this just a phase? Ok, those are our concerns (hope we still have your attention and you haven't given up reading this looooong post!!)- any advice or resources we can be directed to would be greatly appreciated! (We have been doing heaps of reading, so am thinking maybe we are being a bit paranoid also??? :blink: ) Thanks everyone! Sameera and Ameen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tari Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 First off if you can take him back to the breeder and let them finish handfeding him. Way to many things can go wrong when you don't know what your doing. Even after 11 years of feeding babies things still go wrong with me so take him back if you can. And just visit him till he is eating on his own for a few weeks. Or if you can't take him back see if you can find someone you can pay to finish handfeding. Someone with lots of experince. Second everything you have stated is normal baby parrot things. You sound start setting acceptable behavior patterns now. You just have to keep doors close. Pick him up and return him to places he is allowed to be over and over again. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mas Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 Thanks Angie, its good to know that most of those behaviors are normal - will see what we are able to do about the weaning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Sameera, 9 weeks is too early for him to be weaned, he should still be getting handfeedings and Tari is right, take him back to the breeder for that if you have any doubts about how to do that. The other behaviors are consistent with greys, he will want to explore his world and he wants to be with you and that is fine, but he needs to be able to entertain himself for periods of time and not be dependent on you for that. When he comes off his perch just put him back, you will have to do this thousands of times, but eventually he will understand that he has to stay where you put him. Reading all you can is good and we have a lot of useful information here on this forum, so use it for all its worth. Please keep us informed as to what you do about getting him back into handfeedings, we want to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mas Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 judygram, we are still handfeeding him, but his rejecting the morn and afternoon feed, although the evening handfeed he eats nicely, so we started giving him another feed at night which he also eats nicely. its just the morning and afternoon feed he refuses it himself, even though we try to handfeed him. We put some veggies and pellets by him in the morning and afternoon and he eats a bit of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 I think you should consult with the breeder and see if he/she has any ideas or tips to get him to eat his feedings, he should be getting the nourishment and if he is refusing the feedings then he is not. Have you tried giving him some other soft foods, like cooked oatmeal or baby foods, he might be accepting of them and you could give them to him with a spoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mas Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 He is eating a wide variety of veggies such as: sweet potato, butternut, carrot, potato, green pepper, corn, peas. he also eats his pellets and occasional fruits by himself and we give him 4 handfeeds per day. Today he only had 2 handfeeds together with his veggies and pellets. We were just concerned about this and his behaviour. He is gaining weight though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Well if he is gaining weight then that is the important thing, sounds like he gets a good variety of veggies. Keep us informed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tari Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Nine weeks just seems way to young to only get two feedings a day. Maybe if you change the times? Or offer them later in the morning after he is done playing? Or maybe offer them right before he takes his nap. Mine naps almost every afternoon but I notice she usually eats right after she does. Also what temp are you feeding the formula at? Babies well refuse to eat if it not warm enough. I like to feed at 110 degrees. Have you tried spoon feeding? Some like that better. It's messy but they seem to like it better. Soft foods is good.<br><br>Post edited by: Tari, at: 2007/10/21 23:20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toni Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 yea 9 weeks is early alot of people on her knew it took Alcazar like 12 weeks. I would take him back and let them finish. If you dont have a scale you really dont know if hes healthy and maintaining his weight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toni Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 As for him wandering. I feel ts normal. ALcazar doesnt stay put either. he likes being to investigate. If he gets outta hand I return him to his cage. FOr awhile he would keep jumping away. Just keep returning him to the area even if its 1001 times. Gotta show them your the leader of the flock not them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mas Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 Hey all, Zahzu is gaining weight for sure - we are using a digital kitchen scale to weigh him. Also, we are using a spoon which we found on day 1 that he preferred and we give him food at approx 45deg celcius (I think thats around 110F). Today I did adjust his feed time to after a play - and this worked! Yesterday and the day before, maybe (I also suspect) he wasn't eating so well because I fed him in the living room which he was not used to (he'd been eating in the bedroom in the past-and for the past 2 days he has had the obsession of trying to get back into the bedroom, however this is slowing down now and he his more happy to play in the living room). Maybe he ate better today due to the fact that 1. I changed the time of feeding as Angie advised and 2. he's had a chance to explore his surroundings a bit more and wasn't so distractible? Anyway; these are all theories = the main thin is he ate his breakfast and is munching on veges now - will see how lunch goes next! I'm glad we asked for advice early because if we had let this go on for too long he may have lost weight The other concern we had was that a breeder actually told us to stop giving the lunch time feed once we see he is "playing" with the soft foods and warm moist pellets! We were totally uncomfortable with this (he told us about 1.5 weeks ago to cease the lunch feed-ofcourse we DID NOT do this). Toni, was Alcazar fully weaned at 12 weeks or was he on 2 feeds per day by 12 weeks? Thanks everyone for your early intervention assistance!! -sameera Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mas Posted October 23, 2007 Author Share Posted October 23, 2007 Hi This afternoon we took Zahzu to the vet, the vet said that Zahzu seems healthy and is just a bit fussy as the new formula is not as palatable as the formula he had when he was younger. The vet advised that we should keep giving him feeding and if he still doesn't eat tomorrow we should take him back. We thinking of adding some liquidised tastees into his formula to make it more enticing. The vet gave him an antibiotic injection "just incase" and a gauge feeding. will keep posted Thanks:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makena Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 When we were hand feeding Makena we would trade off his formula feeds with a pureed papaya, pine nut, pea and banana blend. We would usually give him formula in the morning and at night and give him the pureed blend for lunch. He seemed to really enjoy it, plus I think it helped get him used to other foods. We got him at 10 weeks old (which was WAY too early), the breeder lied to us and said he was weaned. They never should have sold us an unweaned bird, no one should be. They also lied about his age, they said he was 4 months old...only to find out later he was only 10 weeks. Unfortunately there was no way of taking him back to the breeder as we had to fly to get him. We also found out that Makena had some problems (worms and lice) so we didn't want to take him back to the breeder and have him exposed to that again. Lets just say we will never go back to those people!!! So basically we had to be learn to be good handfeeders quick. We did lots of research and were very cafeful. Lots of things can go wrong. Luckily I am a food scientist and have lots of equipment at home that came in handy (digital thermometers, digital gram scales, drying racks, etc). We were very careful to sanitize after every use and feed at the right temperature (Makena liked it between 105 and 108 degrees). Also make sure to heat the water, then add it to the powder, do not microwave the powder as there can be hot spots. We fed him through a syringe until the very end, he was never a fan of the spoon. He would eat around 45-55ml of food at each feeding. We gave him 3 feedings a day up until 4 and a 1/2 months old, then one week of 2 feedings and one week of one feeding. It was exactly 5 months before he was fully weaned. Obviously this is different for every bird, but just something to expect. We never force fed him, we learned to read his signs and would feed him when he was hungry. So there is some info on our experience... hope that helps. Definitely take him back if he still isn't eating... this is a very critical time for the bird, he needs to be getting sufficient calories. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mas Posted October 23, 2007 Author Share Posted October 23, 2007 Thanks so much Makena! We contacted the store where we got Zahzu from - and they "don't know who the breader is" they say they get their birds from the public (somewhat dubious I think!); however, tonight Zahzu ate a full feed! We mixed in some pureed veges with the formula to entice him more and it worked a charm - hopefully we are back on track! The vet said the formula we are now using (which is for older birds) is not as tasty as his previous one; however the vet advised that we must continue with that formula (unfortunately here in South Africa we don't have much variety!) We have also been doing heaps of reading about this and other topics; however hearing from "real people" on this forum is fantastic! It's off to sleep for us now here in South Africa! Thanks everyone! Will keep you all posted. -Sameera Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liefie1 Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 HI all Im new here so can any 1 help??? I moved to nigeria about 3 mouths ago (im from south africa) and on sunday a drove past a streat market and noticed a small grey chick in a big ugly cage, i stopped ofcourse ( i had a grey in south africa but had to leave it behind )the guy was selling the bird i also nopticed the beans they have been force feeding him. :angry: I told the guy he is crazy and should not be feeding him that!!! he just looked at me and laughed, i was livid (needless to say) He just said with a smile if you wana feed it buy it!!! I ended up buying the bird to save him but need some help cause the 1 i had in sa was already weaned. he is feeding well every 3 hours but there still seem to be some beans in his crop!!! i can not find a vet as there is 3 public holidays till friday . He also seem too have lice what can i use for that??? I took a pic of him so you can see im not sure of his age!!! PLEASE ANY HELP WOULD BE MUCH APRECIATED Kind regards Yvette<br><br>Post edited by: liefie1, at: 2008/09/30 01:14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 Yvette here is a link to hand feeding...please be sure to take your baby to the vet on Friday,you need to get him a health check & the mite/flea situation lookes at http://www.greyforums.net/forums/the-nursery/73409-handfeeding-a-baby-grey.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liefie1 Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 Thanks so much!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaedyn Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 liefie!: I just ran across your rescue's photo and the questions in your blog. Have you asked any of those questions on the forum and received any answers? If not, you might want to ask them in a new forum post. It's difficult to tell from the photo, but assuming the bird is just a wee baby, it makes sense that he's missing feathers. If he's not as young as he appears, then he could be plucking due to the lice. You'll definitely want to take him to a vet as soon as possible. There is nothing wrong with bathing your bird. Actually, it's pretty much a must-do item. You'll want to bathe them at least once or twice a week, but more often isn't a problem. Typically, it's recommended that you wait until they are fully feathered, but not knowing your bird's age and specific situation, again I recommend asking your vet. If he is plucking a bath in aloe-vera juice should help soothe his skin. As for the food, if all you have to feed is Pronutro, then do that until you can get him to the vet and get better food. Just beware not to feed him the chocolate version, since chocolate is toxic to birds. If you can find some fruits and vegetables to feed, that would be better. Try including some that are high in vitamins and calcium, such as sweet potatos and broccoli or kale. I don't know what's available in your region, but others here might have some advice. Just avoid avocados and onions, those too are toxic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liefie1 Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Thanks for the reply kaedyn!!! I will get him to a vet as soon as i can find one i am just worried about keeping him alive untill then . again thanks a bunch !!!! Kind regards Yvette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Yvette, why don't you introduce yourself in the welcome room and tell us a little more about you and this grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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