am I doing this right?

[Headhunt]

New to forum and need advice . . . or at least some reassurance that I am not killing these two birds. Okay so hubby brings home two african greys on mother's day then about 52 days old. They were fine on handfeeding glop (yuck) for a bit but then seemed to be pretty keen on new stuff. So their routine now is: oatmeal in the morning with pumpkin puree or squash, maybe some steamed kale or spinach, slightly soaked pellets. I clean them up and put them back in medium sized cage with a piece or two of apple and some pellets with cheerios and maybe a piece of brocoli. By mid-day they are hungry again - today they got an egg with shell and a bit more oatmeal (they go nuts for it) with some mixed veggies and two grapes. Dinner will prob be something along lines of oatmeal, pellets, squash, couple of almonds chopped up . .. sound right? they also may get a few peas or lentils during the day . . . they also like quinoa and brown rice. I will also sprinkle wheat germ on their food occasionally.

 

They still like to be handfed but then reject me outright and eat on their own. (fine by me) Finicky twosome - one day they will kill me for brocoli and the next they poop in it. :huh:

 

they don't seem to eat a lot of the pellets and they won't eat the hand-feeding glop anymore . . . so my concern is that they aren't getting the right balance. don't have a scale but they are getting bigger by the hour it seems and they poop like crazy. Seem alert, content and all that good stuff.

 

another query - how much are they supposed to eat more or less? I read stuff on the net and it goes on and on about 6 fruits/6 veggies, organic this, and so on but there's no minimum listed ...

 

if anyone can let me know if I am at least in the right direction, that would be great. Thank you sooo much. Gwyn<br><br>Post edited by: Headhunt, at: 2007/06/14 19:12

[Guest briansmum]

you sound like you are giving them a wonderful varied diet.. oatmeal twice in one day might be too much, but see what others have to say on that. also make sure you dont give them too much egg, about 1tbs of scrambled per bird a couple of times a week is eough. i would encourage them to eat a good pellet food too and make sure they always have access to that. the crazy pooping is probably due to the soft foods they have had like the baby formula and the oatmeal, the poop becomes solider and more scheduled as they move onto more solid foods. as for how much they are supposed to eat, i would say they will let you know when they have had enough just as they will let you know when they are hungry. as long as theyre not eating mountains and mountains of things and unhealthy foods there is no reason they cant eat as much as they want, till they are full up.

[Guest briansmum]

just thought i'd add.... :woohoo: 2 greys! you brave lady, you must have your work cut out

[Headhunt]

My husband brings home many things for me (and then goes off to his office) . . . two basset hounds, two cats, two children (i helped on those), orchids galore. Question if I don't give them oatmeal this evening for their handfeeding, what would be a good alternative? if i could have a rotation, then i wouldn't feel quite so overwhelmed lol.

[Talon]

Try baby food, or cream of wheat.

[Headhunt]

I am feeding them ZuPreem fruit pellet and the Tropican maintenance but like I said they seem to eat it some days and not others. These two, Capt. Jack and Maggie Mae are going to be the death of me. It's like having babies all over again. Knew there was a reason I didn't have a third child!!!

 

another question (sorry I don't know where to go) - water. If I give them little cups of water, it goes everywhere. I read in one place that bottles are HORRIBLE ... in another publication, it's ideal. :unsure:

 

An aside, I find what is out there about African Greys, do and don't lists, etc. are sooooooo extreme and confusing. Very grateful for this forum (go google!!). Seems like a sensible place to start.

[Guest briansmum]

zupreem do a good weaning food.. they are small "o" shaped nuggets that you can soak to different consistencies and gradually let them get harder and the birds get more used to harder food. this is how i weaned brian off soft food completely... although i still have a few left in the bag.. so he gets a soft squishy treat every now and then

 

i don't like the idea of water bottles i think it makes it difficult with them having a beak and all, i would just stick with water bowls, yes they do make a mess, but get used to it.. greys make a mess with everything! i have bits of fruit splattered up my wall paper! hopefully as they get older they will stop slashing in their water and just drink it :laugh:

[Headhunt]

They are beyond messy . . . but like I said they seem pretty happy and well adjusted. Not very skittish, very curious about everything and love to get our of their cage and go exploring. And everyday they get a little more gorgeous. Feathers are coming in really nicely and I feel like I've been sucked into a grey vaccum when I talk about them like this. Very opinionated creatures that's for sure. Thank you for your reassurances. It means a lot to me. I was serious when I wrote that I didn't want to kill them (or keep wasting so much food - I cook more for them than my family now!)

[Guest briansmum]

they're wonderful creatures, and im sure once you've got them completely sussed they'll fast become part of the family. i'm sure you'll get used to how much they eat and be able to adjust portion sizes, that will cut down on waste. my boyfriend complains that everytime i go shopping i come back with more things for the bird than i do him.... jelousy i think :laugh:

[Caspersmum]

Hi Headhunt,

 

Beccy's been giving you superb advice, and there's not really anything I can add on the food front. If you're having trouble with water dishes, you can get plastic ones that screw firmly onto the side of the cage - I can't remember what the make is, but I found mine on-line. My grey paddles in his, but at least he can't remove the whole thing from the side of his cage!

 

Julia

[judygram]

Greys are messy, thats something we all can agree on. But my hat is off to you for getting 2 greys at the same time but at least raised together they should get along ok and be cage mates. You have been given excellent advice by the other posts on this thread.

Welcome to our family here at the forum.

[Guest Monique]

Hi! Something you can do to make it easier on yourself is make some mixes that you can easily defrost and give them vs. spending so much time every day. Maybe you are already doing this .

 

1) Frozen veggies are great dethawed - different kinds

2) Fresh or frozen corn on the cob

3) Fresh or Frozen fruit - dethawed - different kinds

4) Make a macaroni salad with noodles, squares of cheese, pepperoncini, perhaps some olives, you could add rice and any beans, then divvy out into freezer bags and freeze. To a good base you can add anything and make this a good daily meal either defrosted in the fridge or warmed

 

We give our birds a morning meal with some of the above, oatmeal and/or scrambled egg, along with fresh fruit too of course mixed in with their pellets. After that they get straight pellets the rest of the day. You can soak pellets in fruit juice or other things to make them soft. A good pellet is a well-rounded meal so I would use the fresh food as a supplement vs. the other way around if you know what I mean.

 

Right now you probably need to keep feeding them the soft food and the frequency you are because they're not that old to be completely weaned. I would really highly recommend you buy a scale. Just a food scale from the dime store would work just fine. Birds do not show illness very well. They truly "fake it til they make it" and because of this one of the only ways to detect a health problem is via regular weighing.

 

Also, if your babies are going to stay pets you're going to need to get two cages for them if you haven't already. The next 3-4 weeks should be okay with them together but after that you'll really need to split them apart if you want them to bond to you and your husband as family instead of one another.

 

I don't use water bottles because I like my birds to be able to wash their food but if you prefer it they are just fine. One thing you have to remember though is you still have to empty them, clean them, and refill them each day. Some people get in trouble with them because they stay looking so clean they leave them until empty and then their bird gets yucky water!!

 

Welcome to the forum. I hope I haven't bored you to death!!!

 

P.S. Does your husband ALWAYS buy you things in pairs? LOL.

[Headhunt]

Thank you all for your suggestions. Good question re: husband. Sadly there is a bit of a noah's ark phenomenon here but I've been with him 20 yrs so I must be okay with it (which really makes me pathetic). Have tried mixing food with these two but they haven't liked it so much - maybe I tried too much when they were too young. They didn't like birdie bread either . . . by the way another question . .. what should the consistency of birdie bread be? dry, more moist?? and what about banana bread that I make or pumpkin loaf? can they eat that or not?? The recipes I use are from scratch, low salt, etc. I don't use commercial, prepackaged stuff.

[Guest islandgirltexas]

GRITS!!! THAT IS IF YOU ARE A SOUTHERNER AND KNOW WHAT THAT IS..HAHAHA..CREAM OF WHEAT IS GOOD TOO.

[Caspersmum]

Hey Headhunt - where are you from? Just looked on your porfile, and have no idea! It really helps when giving advice

 

Julia

[judygram]

Mmmmmmmmmmmm, grits and red eye gravy, now thats some kind of good. Oh you meant for the grey, grits would be okay without the salt of course.:lol:

[Headhunt]

Red eye gravy . . . haven't heard anyone talk about that stuff since I was a kid. Texan dad and West Texas barbecues with ribs, salad with red eye gravy, corn on the cob. Just made chili this weekend . . . grits . . .hmm. used to be that if you lived in NYC (or basically above the mason-dixon line) you couldn't find grits but that is not the case anymore.

 

thank you again to everyone for your suggestions. Have a great monday!