Many questions about our new baby

[gbdb_kcb]

Gretting from the Florida Keys,

 

Hi all,

I am a new Mommy to a CAG "Nittles Bird" who is going to be 5 months on Feb 10th. We have had Nittles for almost 2 months and love her to pieces:) I just have a couple of questions to see if this is normal or not. I am a nervous Mommy, I want to make sure I do everything right. Ok, here goes. 1. She sits most of the day on her back door perch (perch is on the backside of her cage and it about 12 inches away from a window) We have manythings in the air down here so I think she always finds something to amuse herself but mostly she sleeps back there. My schedule is opposite to most and I sleep late in the day and am up late and early morning, do you think that is ok? I do not put a cover over her and her cage is in the living room, do you think that is ok or should we get her a sleeping cage and place her in our room? We are always in the living room (myself, husband and black lab Barley). 2. She seems to only like seed right now, I make her a gourmet breakfast and dinner daily, but she doesnt seem to eat any fresh food unless she is on my shoulder? Is this something I would concern myself with? I guess that is it for now, except she does not like to bathe at all. I mist her and am introducing her to the shower. THank you so much for your help:) - Nittles and Barley's Mom:dry: :huh:

[danmcq]

That all sounds ok gbdb. The most important thing is a consistency in the daily schedule for her.

 

Just keep offering the breakfast and veggies, fruits nuts etc. and she will eventually start eating them. She is still fairly young and getting adjusted to new foods and experiences.

 

I would recommend taking the seed out at night and then only placing the breakfast you make and veggies in the mornings when she will be the hungriest. This would help in enticing her to try new things faster. :-)

[judygram]

Your schedule is a little different from most but if this is consistent from day to day then she will adjust to your routine.

 

Follow Dan's advice on removing the seed from the cage at night so she will be hungry in the mornings, she will be more inclined to try new things then.

 

Don't worry about her reluctance to bathe, a lot of greys do not like getting wet but most of us do bathe or mist our birds at least 2 times a week.

[lovemyGreys]

As Judy said, she will adjust to your lifestyle, as long as it is consistent, greys love routine, so have a routine & try not to deviate it from it to much

As for the diet, offer fruit & veg in the mornings, i agree remove the seed at night but once you know she has a good feed before bedtime.

[chapala]

Sounds like you have a nice baby Grey there! I mist Kali, and he bathes in the aviary water bowl. He does not like the human shower and I stopped trying that with him. What I did with misting is tell him how much fun it is in a happy voice - WOW, Shower!! Good shower!! etc. with a light mist falling down on him like rain. He likes it, and asks for showers now, fluffs his feathers out.

 

Re the diet, an all seed diet is too high in fat and deficient in nutrients especially vit. A which is very important for parrots. So, I suggest you introduce nutritous fresh vegetables in the following way. First make up a grain/seed mix of at least 4 of the following: wheat/kamut/spelt berries, red/white millet, quinoa, amaranth, hulless barley, oat groats. You can include some hulled sunflower seeds (no more than 10% of the mix)since when they are soaked and begin to germinate, the nutrients increase while the fat decreases.

 

Your bird should eat the mix pretty well since she is used to seeds. Scoop some of the dry mix out of the jar you've put it in (maybe 2 Tbs. for just one bird), place in a strainer, rinse well, and put in a cup or small bowl. Cover with water and leave overnight. In the morning, drain the mix into a strainer, rinse, then let drain over the cup. You can feed them in the morning (just overnight soaked which has already started the germination process), and continue to sprout the remaining mix by rinsing a few times during the day (still in the strainer). When you just see tiny tails or anytime before that, allow the sprouts to drain well (you want them not to be sopping wet, but not completely dry), and then store in a small covered container in the frig. They will keep for three days and you can feed them each morning. Don't offer your bird the dry seed mix you're feeding in the morning.

 

As soon as your bird is eating the soaked/sprouted mix, you can begin adding in some VERY finely chopped vegetables, just a little at first, increasing as the bird gets used to it. Try for vegetables like kale, collard, mustard greens, carrot tops, dandelion greens, broccoli, bok choy. Other vegetables are fine too, but you want to make sure she's getting some of the nutrient dense ones. Just keep offering every single morning, and your bird will start to eat vegetables. You also can feed a little fruit maybe as an afternoon treat, but the vegetables are most important. Other food to introduce would be plain, cooked and mashed sweet potatoes. They can be mixed (just a little at first) with the soaked/sprouted mix also along with the fresh vegetables.

 

Patience and consistently offering healthy foods is what will get your bird improving her diet. Show her that you eat these wonderful vegetables (or at least pretend to!). You may also want to think about a good pellet - mix them with a little of the seeds you're feeding and that can be the dry mix offered later in the day.

Reta

[gbdb_kcb]

OMG, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!! I cant tell you how much I appreiciate the advice. I have been reading everything there is, but it is nice to hear (read) it from people who own Grey's. Again, I cant tell you how much I appreciate it.

 

lovemyGreys- I love your quote! it is awesome.

Reta & all- we have a very small Organic Store in town, but would you say that is where I could get most of the ingredients? Our grociery stores here are very limited in anything organic so I go to the farmers market in Homestead which has fruits and veggies.

Thank you all again so much. Just a cute thing Nittles Bird did today, she was climbing downher cage to get to her back perch, when she mistepped and tumbled, of course my first reaction was to run over and save her, but having read the forum and books, I kept myself from doing so and just watched to see what she could do, she attempted to climb back on top of her perch, but couldnt get passed the lip on the cage, so (and tell me if this is ok) I sat on the floor and called to her. I told her "You are ok Nittles Bird, you are ok" then I said "Come here, (she was on the back side of the cage so I didnt want to act like a predator and crawl under the cage) I pat the floor and then my chest, AND then she slid down from the leg of the cage

and came waddling over to me. I then told her that she was ok, she gave me a kiss, stepped on my hand, then I put her back on her perch. This is a good thing, yeah, for establishing trust?!

 

Sorry if I ask a million questions, I just want her to be a happy and healthy bird. I am home all day 5 days a week, as I work from home and 2 days work onsite, so our routine is getting solidified.

 

Oh and get this. I had a trip scheduled for LA about a month after we got her. The trip was originally for 10 days. I cute it down to 5. Did not want to be without her in this crititical time.

 

Sorry for rambling, and Dan thank you for a forum that I read that you had responded to, Nittle Bird, will bite if she is not in the mood to step up, and I would tell her no. So last night after reading the forum, she bit and boy did it hurt, but I bit my teeth and did not say a word.

 

THANK YOU ALL AGAIN SO MUCH AND SORRY FOR RAMBLING! I have just wanted her for so long!!!!!!!!

 

Thanks again,

 

Leigh:)

[lovemyGreys]

Leigh never apologise for asking to many questions, there is nearly always someone here to answer them, we have a worldwide member base so we are here at different times

[gbdb_kcb]

Aw thank you so much!

[danmcq]

No, thank you, for joining the forum Leigh!!

 

Ask away, thats what makes this place exciting and sometimes funny. :-)