Hello Everyone!

[raykat143]

hi. my name is kathryn, and my boyfriend and i got our first bird 4 weeks ago. we got him from a breeder at 5 weeks old.

 

i joined the forum in effort to seek out advice from more experienced bird owners on how to care for my grey properly. at this time, he is not showing great interest in eating 3 times a day, so i've most recently cut out his dinner time feeding. i have colorful baby crunchies i put in a ceramic bowl; however, i don't see him eating much of it. i have put apple slices and other goodies before hime, and he just isn't interested.

 

my greatest fear is that i won't give my bird what he needs. i would love to hear from everyone who is willing to help guide me through this process.

 

glad to be a new member!

[lovemyGreys]

Hi kathryn

 

 

 

Here is a link on hand feeding a young grey..

 

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/bird-food/36364-hand-feeding-a-baby-grey.html

 

And a visual link...

 

http://www.babygreys.co.uk/12-weeks.htm

 

please read through the many threads in the bird food room.

[judygram]

Hello Kathryn and welcome to the family, glad you could join us and we look forward to hearing more about you and this new grey.

 

Nine weeks is a young baby and you are still handfeeding it, the breeder should have given you some information on continuing this or preferably should not have let you take it home until it was weaned. We all feel here that unless you know what you are doing the handfeeding and weaning are best left to those who know what to do.

 

But now that you already have it lets see what we can do to help you, LMG has given you a link that will help you a lot and others will chime in with their suggestions.

 

You should be offering him lots of different kinds of vegetables, some fruits, grains, legumes and some pellets. Pretend to eat some yourself to entice him to try them, and offer him some of your food off your plate at the evening meal.

 

Please read thru the many threads here on various topics for lots of useful information and do not hesitate to ask questions, we do our best to get some answers and help you in any way we can.

 

If you have some pictures of your grey you would like to share with us we would love to see him, btw what is his name?

[danmcq]

Welcme Kathryn!!

 

Lovemygreys gave some really good links that should answer many of your questions a diet.

 

We'll look forward to hearing more from you. :-)

[Laurie]

Hi, and welcome!

We're glad you're here, and look forward to hearing more from you & your baby!

[raykat143]

I apologize to everyone for being an inexperienced CAG owner who is weaning a baby. I did not understand the potential threat to my baby zoey when I received him. Regardless, I am reading every day in effort to be the best owner possible.

 

Last night I read through several of the messages previously posted addressing similar questions as to the ones I have. Zoey is now 9 weeks and 2 days, and he most recently stopped showing a great interest in completing his 3-a-day 40cc feedings. The man from whom I purchased my baby CAG told me to cut out the night time feeding and present him with the baby pellets with which he provided me. Unfortunately, for two days Zoe expressed no real interest in consuming them. It wasn't until last night while reading through members' suggestions that I tried putting the pellets on a flat plate and drizzling warm water on top of them. I am happy to say that Zoey chowed them down. What an adorable mess to see! Tonight I will try the same approach.

 

My next question is, when do I stop giving him his afternoon feeding? Even today, he doesn't show great motivation in eating. When I asked the breeder about giving him veggies and seeds, he asked me not to and to please stick with just pellets. This is hard because I would enjoy providing an array of foods to appease Zoey's every wish.

 

Another big step in my CAG's life was entering his big boy cage for the first time. I was nervous putting him on the bottom, in fear that he would get a leg caught and break it. To my surprise, last night and today he stepped up onto his perch, which sits approximately 3 inches high. I am now concerned he doesn't have enough action in his cage. I see photos of other CAGs who seem to enjoy ladders, ropes and bells. What can everyone suggest to entertain our birds?

 

I am very happy to have found this forum and greatly appreciate how helpful each of the members who have responded have been.

 

p.s. I will send some photos when I locate my digital camera (I recently moved).

[Guest]

Kathryn, welcome here It is good to have you

[danmcq]

That's Great news Kathryn on getting your new baby to start trying our some soaked pellets.

 

You can start giving him fruits and veggies to explore now also. The more you expose him to, the better. he may just play and check them out more than eat them. But, this is how babies learn the taste and texture of different food items. :-)

[MazyAK]

raykat: Glad you could join our family. Sounds like you're here just in time. There are so many people here to help answer your questions.

I'm a little worried about advice your getting from your breeder as far as exposing him to various other foods other than pellets. I agree with judygram so start exposing him to veggies and limited fruits. A breeder who sends a bird out before being weened is a concern also, but it sounds like he's taking to other foods.

I'd drop your breeders advice and use the knowledge available here.

Good luck and let's see some pictures.

Bruce & Mazy

[raykat143]

about introducing my CAG to veggies and some fruits at 9 weeks & 3 days...

 

i read that if i don't introduce my bird to pellets now that i will never get him to eat pellets later, and i guess this is better for one reason or another.

 

would someone be so kind as to explain the difference in feeding a CAG pellets v. seed. i am so confused.

[danmcq]

Hello Raykat,

 

I am not certain where you have read, that if you don't introduce pellets now he will never eat them. That is a false statement.

 

You should abundance wean your Grey. Introduce Pellets, seeds, nuts, fruits, veggies, pasta, rice, oatmeal, coked eggs...etc. I think you get the jest of ABUNDANCE weaning. Also, they may not even touch something one day and then tear into it a few days later.

 

They key to all this and the ultimate goal, is to ensure your grey has a health diet that gives them all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals they need to maintain optimum health. This can only be done by providing them with a well rounded diet that would approximate that of them living in the wild. They feed on Nuts, Fruits, Seeds, Veggies and many things through each day depending on whats in season and the local they reside in.

 

I hope this helps you in providing your grey with a good diet and dispels any false information you may have read somewhere. :-)

 

Please check out the Food room for a ton of great information on this very topic.