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What do i do when I first bring my AG home???

Riyam Alenezi

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Riyam Alenezi
When I first get my grey... any advice? Because once I bought a plumb headed parrot from the store, it was so playful and would play with anyone, once I got it home it freaked like I just kidnapped it and he turned from a playful little bundle to a growling aggressive parrot... :jawdrop1: And every time I turned off the lights at night he would make a racket in his cage knocking his beak on the cage angrily as if to say OPEN THE LIGHTS! And when I did open it he would stop.

Im not good with first impressions :/ Any tips? Should I leave it alone for the first 2 days or is that a bad idea...

p.s, im getting a 4 month old grey
 

Gypsy

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Be sure the grey is completely weaned onto solid food before bringing it home. If not, you encounter all kinds of issues.
 

Riyam Alenezi

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He eats solid food on his own but also formula.
 

Gypsy

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You want a bird that is not eating formula. I have read other people having problems with crops getting burned, not emptying correctly or even bacterial problems. I hope others will chime in with more advice about unweaned birds.
 

BeakFace

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Do yourself a favor and let the breeder property wean your baby! Why bring stress into such a great new time! Why take a chance! Things can go wrong and unless you are a professional with years of experience don't do it!
 

JLcribber

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Where is this Plumb headed parrot now?

You seem woefully unprepared and uninformed to bring this bird into your home. Especially an unweaned baby. Doesn't look good from this side of the track.

Because once I bought a plumb headed parrot from the store, it was so playful and would play with anyone, once I got it home it freaked like I just kidnapped it
Because if you stand back and look at the situation as a whole, technically you did kidnap him. The only difference being you paid a little money to someone for the right to do it.
 
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Riyam Alenezi

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I might or might not get it now, it eats on its own but can be fed a little formula im not buying anything until I've had a proper talk and see down at the pet store. Is it really such a bad idea? Its almost fully weaned. I see people buying young ones all the time here.
 

Gypsy

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Ask the seller what type of formula and how often it would need to be fed. Ask yourself if you will have the time to do it? Will you have to rely on another family member if you have to be in school? If something goes wrong, do you have a vet at your disposal? So many things can happen with a baby. We are trying to protect you as a buyer as well as the little soul who will be dependent on you. It is against the law in some states to sell unweaned baby parrots. When I purchased my macaw, I did not wean it myself and was willing to pay a little extra to have the seller do it. I did not want to chance it because I did not have a vet nearby nor wish to lose my investment if it perished due to my ignorance. Also while it was weaning, the bird was learning how to perch.

Good things comes to those who show patience.
 
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JLcribber

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I'll repeat. What happened to the plumb headed parrot?
 

Gypsy

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I wondered about that as well. If the OP had a pet bird previously, then many of the questions would not be necessary.
 

Riyam Alenezi

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@Gypsy @JLcribber sorry for late reply, I didn't think it was necessary to say it in the older post and I was also busy on something but since you want the answer, I'll be very honest; We had this plumb head a long while back and since we keep chickens and doves outside in the aviary and also for some sunshine and fresh air we kept the canaries and budgies cages hung up outside about 4 metres high in a warm but shady place often where we could watch them from our windows. We have been doing this for 3 years and kept an eye every time we went outside and monitored in case of anything, one day when we kept our plumb head outside as well, and this pretty darn hungry stray cat happened to climb a pole and somehow jump really high onto the cage which fell and smashed, she ate up the plumb head. Evidence from the feathers on the floor and the cat there that afternoon, the plumb head could have flown away since its wings weren't clipped. We took that cat to a better place though.

Oh and also I posted an update on my older post but I'll re paste it:

News. I got my little grey 2 days ago, from a really good pet shop, we ended up getting a congo though which is funny! He is 4 months old almost finished with formula, eats handfuls of solid food and YES I did say formula, I was completely nervous on getting a baby grey on formula so I told the keeper I didn't want one on formula since its too tricky and he was like noooo you just need to follow the instructions and I was like but what if its too hot/too cold/ too thick/thin what if he gets crop burn? What if I have to feed him every 4 hours or so? I sure as hell didn't want him to be on formula because I have had little experience.

Turns out this formula is a piece of cake. Just mix boiling water with the formula powder, mix thoroughly for 2 minutes wait for it to settle a moment and then serve :) He gets it in the mornings, afternoons and before bed not more nor less. If anything I contact the keeper ASAP for guidance or help or anything at all. My dad helps, gives him a feed in the mornings. I asked the keeper a trillion questions and especially about the formula. I don't know what type you guys use but ours is safe and easy. We feed him by the syringe type of feeder instead of the spoon method.

He was a nipper and a growler when I got him home but the next day with some time, and training he settled. We have spent a LOT of time with him. We keep him indoors in the living room with the TV open every day. We have fallen in love with him already. I'm extremely cautious about everything but so far so good, he seems x50 more relaxed then when we first got him home, now I can pick him up with my hands on his body and he wouldn't mind :)
Any advice though since he is still young and what to expect from him when he gets older?

Oh and he is definitely not going outside until he at least gets his iris in because he needs to be kept warm at the moment as he is still a baby.
We now plan to keep him with us every day in the living room, his cage is at eye level too. He gets out to play very often and there's a stand on top of his cage.

But my research hasn't stopped :) Still asking some pro's I got in contact with and looking for more improvements and adventures.
 

Gypsy

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Staying on this forum is great, but you may want to join some Facebook groups as well that are dedicated to African Grey. I didn't know how many different bird related groups were available on Facebook until I did some searching.
 

Saskia

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@Gypsy @JLcribberHe is 4 months old almost finished with formula, eats handfuls of solid food and YES I did say formula, I was completely nervous on getting a baby grey on formula so I told the keeper I didn't want one on formula since its too tricky and he was like noooo you just need to follow the instructions and I was like but what if its too hot/too cold/ too thick/thin what if he gets crop burn? What if I have to feed him every 4 hours or so? I sure as hell didn't want him to be on formula because I have had little experience.

Turns out this formula is a piece of cake. Just mix boiling water with the formula powder, mix thoroughly for 2 minutes wait for it to settle a moment and then serve :)
I'm sorry, I have to chime in here. Formula raising is not a piece of cake. It's too bad the pet store owner told you that, but he wants to sell a bird. That is why it is up to the potential bird owner to do some research before attempting it.

A very simple google search about buying unweaned baby birds will reveal the potential dangers of an untrained person trying this. Here, I'll do it for you:

link1
link2

As you can see, there are numerous potential dangers here, some of which can be avoided by a bit of knowledge, but others which cannot. Aspiration, for instance, many times is just a matter of luck. If a chick aspirates in the care of an experienced hand-feeder, they know how to recognize the symptoms and have the equipment to handle the issue. You don't. There are many other examples of life-threatening complications as well--see here for a daunting yet incomplete list:

hand-feedingproblems


Sorry to maybe appear harsh, but hand-feeding baby birds is not a simple matter, and people spreading misinformation to that effect is the reason so many of them die at the hands of inexperienced caretakers. I really wish the whole practice of selling unweaned babies to the inexperienced were outlawed. I guess that's just another reason not to buy from questionable sources, because no reputable breeder will do it.

I am glad your baby is healthy and happy, and hope he stays that way. Please be vigilant. Things can and do go wrong.
 

pajarita

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Saskia is 100% right. I would also wonder at the way this bird was treated if he growled at you because babies are usually quite complacent...
 

Wolf

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Well, the deed is done and now it is time to move on to trying to be as much of a help to you and your bird as is possible. You were, however given the correct information by the people on the forum, but it is hard to follow it sometimes when faced with a living person telling you one thing and no one who has the experience there to help and give you support. There is a tremendous amount of misinformation available to you mixed in with the right information and when ever you need help before you do what it is that you have read about or are being told check here for the best way to proceed. I can assure you that we care about the well being of your bird as much as we do our own birds, and will be happy to advise you with any answers that you require. It is good for you and your new friend that you spend a lot of time together especially at this stage of your relationship, just don't spend it trying to train the bird there will be more than enough time for training in a couple of months. Right now you need to be working on building a good solid trusting relationship with your bird as it will prove to be the foundation for all that is to come. Spend a lot of time talking and singing to the bird, learn to decipher its body language, let its wings grow out, and let it climb on you if it wants to but do not push it to do this as it will do this all by itself if you let it . The difference will be that it will do so in its own time and it will do it because it wants to be with you and it trusts you. Start giving it a variety of fresh vegetables such as corn, peas, carrots. green leafy veggies, sweet potato and a little bit of fruit. No avocado as it is bad for them. The larger variety of safe foods that you can get it to eat the better.
 
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