Size of my Grey

[Bronxboomer]

I bought an African Grey about 1 week ago but its still in the pet shop because its still hand feeding and they wont let me bring it home. I go to the shop every other day to visit so the bird will get use to me. My question is i notice all the other African Greys are more bigger and puffy then mine. My Bird looks very small and not that skinny but he is not as big as the others i asked the ppl at the store they said its because he is still young he was born on Feb 12 , 2007 he still has plenty to grew is this true. I would like to know some information before i bring this little guy home. Please anyone with any information i would be very greatful

[spookyhurst]

Do you know for certain it is a male? Maybe your bird is a female, and the others are male, which could explain the size difference. I have a female TAG, and she is only 290 grams.

[Caspersmum]

Hi Bronxboomer,

 

The other thing I'd want to know is how old the other birds are - are they older? It'd be unusual for the pet shop to have just one bird from the clutch, while still having other older birds (call me suspicious!),

 

Julia

[Bronxboomer]

All the Grey where born on Feb 12, 2007 There is a total of 5 Happens to be the one i picked it the smallest of them all the other ones look alittle bigger and more wide. They tell me its cause my bird is still young. I was wondering maybe my bird is a midget. No i don't know if my bird is a male or female they told me i would have to pay $40 for the DNA<br><br>Post edited by: Bronxboomer, at: 2007/05/27 16:02

[Guest Monique]

If you feel on his tummy and you do not feel a sharp breastbone then your bird should be in good weight. Sometimes at weaning time the birds will lose weight and then gain back. But you could compare this between the clutchmates. You could also ask them to weigh two of them so you could see how many grams different exactly. There was a post about weight a while back and there definitely are variations between individual greys.

[dblhelix]

Are you sure that all the babies you are looking at are from the same clutch (eg same parents/egg laying session)? Are they CAGs or TAGs? Certainly even w/in one clutch there can be pretty significant variation, just like with litters of puppies! So long as the bird is eating well and not underweight for its size it could just be that she/he is a smaller (cuter??) one Also the issue of male/female. Gernerally the females are smaller than males (though this is not a 100% rule), but it could be that you are looking at the one female in the clutch. At some point early on you should do the DNA sexing. This is generally recommended as it can be important information to know about the animal as it matures for health issues etc.

[raehamilton]

Monique,

 

I am new to this forum. Now I am worried. I brought my CAG home on 5/17/07 and I was told by the person that sold her to me that she was fully weaned and a few days past 3 months. She did warn me that Angie would probably lose weigh due to being in new surroundings and maybe not eating as much. I couldn't feel her breast bone before and now I can. She wasn't eating as much because I took away her seeds. The breeder also sent me home with a mixture of pellets & seeds. She also told me that this is what she has been feeding all her AG's for over 20 years and has never had problems. I bought Angie an all pellets food as advised by my Vet and she refused to eat it. I read another post on this forum with suggestions on how to get AG's to eat pellets. I added a little water and a little peanut butter, warmed it up and she is eating all her food now. The problem is that now she has diarreah. Last week at the Vet's she weighed 14.1 oz today she weighs 12.3 oz but she finally started eating. Anyone please, should I be worried?

[Talon]

I wouldn't make a drastic change in her diet just yet. She hasn't been home very long, and it takes a while for them to adjust to they're new sutrroundings and people.

I would keep her diet the same for now until she levels out with her weight. Once she is settled in, then I would very slowly start on her diet changes. They will starve themselves before they eat something they aren't really used to or sure about. I'm glad she started eating, just keep an eye on her weight.

[Bronxboomer]

I just called the pet shop where i bought my bird from they said its a congo Grey. Does they male and Female act differnet from each other or do they behave the same i know in dogs the females are more over protective. I also would like to know if anyone can tell me how warm or cool do I have to keep the room for my new bird being now its summer time is it okay to have the bird in the house with the Ac on or do they like to be in the heat.

 

Post edited by: Bronxboomer, at: 2007/05/27 21:16<br><br>Post edited by: Bronxboomer, at: 2007/05/27 21:19

[Caspersmum]

I don't think sex has much to do with personality - I think they're all individuals. Alot of people think that male birds prefer female humans (this definitely seems to be true with Casper, my CAG), and vice versa, but I don't know how true this is. As for temperature, I think keeping it constant is more impertant than the actual temperature. I'm not sure about air conditioning, but it's not a good idea to have them in full sunlight all the time (like in a conservatory), because they can get overheated with no way of cooling down.

 

Julia

 

PS, in response to your instant message, I'm doing great - revising infectious diseases for a test tomorrow. The fun never ends. How about you?!

[kiwibarb12]

I keep my house cold - 68 degrees and my TAG is just fine. Just a question - have you any books on african greys? There are several really good books out there that give basic info on grey care. I'm not saying you don't know what you are doing, but as you know it is very scarey to have that baby in your house, and be totally responsible for it. Having said that, when it comes to our birds, there are no stupid questions- just stupid people who won't ask them.:laugh:

 

I was lucky and got my TAG when he was 10 years old, so I (darn!!!) missed out on all the stress and anxiety of baby and childhood and puberty!!:woohoo: