Help !!!! Noisy baby African Grey...weaning problems
Michelle Tribe
> Hi. I have a 20 wk. old African Grey named "ROCKET" which I received at
> 10wks,hand fed for another 4wks. which eats very little except for peanut
> butter sugar wafers.Cracks a few seeds but nothing major.Hasn't lost a
> significant amt. of weight. This is only the beginning of my problem.He
> chirps his 'I'm hungary" chirp (loudly,continuously ) the minute I wake
> up in the morning (he's in my bedroom,cage covered) when he hears me
> moving.He also continues this when I pick him up and pet him. So he
> doesn't do this from lack of attention (maybe too much attention?).Could
> I have weaned him to early?Please help me if you have any ideas or
> experience with baby African Greys.It's really driving everyone in the
> house a bit crazy and I do want to keep this little fellow. I've grown
> very fond of him. wheni put him on the perch in the living room he just
> continues to chirp incessantly.Don't know what to do.Will he grow out of
> this.should I start him back on the baby food once a day.Thank you for any
> input
--
E-mail me for Michelle R. Tribe
more info on the at...@freenet.carleton.ca
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C. Ganson
In <52r7b1$l...@freenet-news.carleton.ca> at...@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Michelle
It does sound like he may have weaned a little early. Some birds take
longer to wean than others but I don't think that is the immediate problem.
If he is just eating wafer and a little seed, your bird is being malnourished
and needs more GOOD food quickly! Buy Scenic brand of hand weaning pellets,
soften these and feed them to him. If hand weaning pellets are unavailable,
buy a good brand of pellet and soften it with fruit juices and feed them to him
slightly warmed. Also feed him cooked yams, potatoes, vegetables, cooked pasta
or any other softened foods. He is hungry! That's why he is chirping. Never
leave his soft foods out for more than 2 hours for this will begin breeding
bacteria and can make him sick.
Don't feed him seed as his primary diet ever. Buy a good pellet
like Hagen's, Zupreems, Zeiglers, Pretty Bird etc. Do you have a good
parrot book yet? Two very good books everyone should have are "My
Parrot, My Friend" by Bonnie Doane (which is mainly behavioral) and
"The Complete Bird Owner's Handbook", by Gary Gallerstein, DVM. Read
them cover to cover and you will be able to relate with and help your
bird so much more, and not have that helpless feeling.
Many people do not realize that buying a parrot means more work than
having a dog or cat. It's like having a child with you always. We all
need to read and be informed because our birds require more
responsibilty than any other companion pet. Good luck and I'm sure the
little guy will quiet down once he has the proper nutrition in him. If
you have any other problems a good Avian Vet will be able to help.
Charmaine & Evo (CAG)
Cherane Pefley, Certified Avian Specialist
In article <52r7b1$l...@freenet-news.carleton.ca> Michelle Tribe
wrote:
>Date: 1 Oct 1996 13:46:09 GMT
>From: at...@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Michelle Tribe)
>Sender: at...@freenet6.carleton.ca (Michelle Tribe)
>Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
>Subject: Help !!!! Noisy baby African Grey...weaning problems
>
>
>> Hi. I have a 20 wk. old African Grey named "ROCKET" which I
received at
>> 10wks,hand fed for another 4wks. which eats very little except
for peanut
>> butter sugar wafers.Cracks a few seeds but nothing major.Hasn't
lost a
>> significant amt. of weight. This is only the beginning of my
problem.He
>> chirps his 'I'm hungary" chirp (loudly,continuously ) the
minute I wake
>> up in the morning (he's in my bedroom,cage covered) when he
hears me
>> moving.He also continues this when I pick him up and pet him. So
he
>> continues to chirp incessantly.Don't know what to do.Will he
grow out of
>> this.should I start him back on the baby food once a day.Thank
you for
> any
>> input
>
>Hello, I don't like the idea of a crying baby for food, this is
not the way it is suppose to be.
I would regress this baby even further by feeding him in the
morning and evening, even if it is a few cc's of formula. then
hold him while he is NOT crying.
You either have to regress him now, or have behavour problems in
the future as simular to now.
do again, sam.....smile...ahhh, go ahead and feed the baby with
soften pellets by spoon with some baby vegies mixed so you can put
the same in his bowl, so he can nibble.
He probably is emotionally not weaned and a few cc's like twenty
may just give him that extra kind of attention he needs.
so it takes six months, so what? as long as you begin to see him
eating a lot and let him refuse the food from you....he will!
honest, but as long as this baby wants food and crys for it , give
it to him.
give him a scratch from me.....and formula
Cherane
ellen beth kessler
at
>> 10wks,hand fed for another 4wks. which eats very little except for
peanut
>> butter sugar wafers.Cracks a few seeds but nothing major.Hasn't lost
a
>> significant amt. of weight. This is only the beginning of my
problem.He
>> chirps his 'I'm hungary" chirp (loudly,continuously ) the minute I
wake
>> up in the morning (he's in my bedroom,cage covered) when he hears me
>> moving.He also continues this when I pick him up and pet him. So he
attention?).Could
>> I have weaned him to early?Please help me if you have any ideas or
>> experience with baby African Greys.It's really driving everyone in
the
>> house a bit crazy and I do want to keep this little fellow. I've
grown
>> very fond of him. wheni put him on the perch in the living room he
just
out of
>> this.should I start him back on the baby food once a day.Thank you
for any
>> input
>
>
>E-mail me for Michelle R. Tribe
>more info on the at...@freenet.carleton.ca
>Rat Fanciers of Ottawa
>Newsletters, meetings, information, discounts, shows, and more!
Under NORMAL circumstances, Greys wean at about 10-14 weeks. However,
your situation was NOT normal, in that the baby changed handfeeders at
10 weeks of age (moving to your home). That, obviously, has been a
major setback and extremely stressful event for Rocket. Frankly, he may
require handfeeding until he is six months old or better now.
My best advice is that if a baby is crying, he's hungry and must be
fed. Period. Satisfied babies do not cry. So you need to make believe
that Rocket is still about 6-8 weeks old and feed him SEVERAL TIMES a
day. Hopefully it's not too late to rebuild his security.
The other thing you wrote that leads me to believe he must be fed...and
frequently...is the fact that he's lost weight. At that age, he should
not be losing ANY weight.
I have a difficult time with breeders who sell unweaned birds, even to
experienced people, when they are facing the most difficult time of
their lives in learning how to eat on their own. If the wrongs are not
righted, these birds can go on to become pluckers or screamers or
biters. They may always feel insecure. Possibly they won't ever learn
to talk.
I've raised Congos for over five years and I never never never release
a baby to its new home until it's been eating on its own and
maintaining its weight for a full two weeks after I've stopped feeding.
That's no guarantee, because all Greys are different, but my track
record to date is darn good.
Anyway, get some food into that baby!
Ellen
Cherane Pefley, Certified Avian Specialist
In article <52seor$7...@dfw-ixnews4.ix.netcom.com> ellen beth
kessler wrote:
>Date: 2 Oct 1996 00:59:07 GMT
>From: ebk...@ix.netcom.com(ellen beth kessler)
>Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
>Subject: Re: Help !!!! Noisy baby African Grey...weaning problems
\
You got my vote on this score! I am at a loss with babies that cry
for food as this. I wish he could get a culture or two to the vets
for security reasons.
cherane
LARRY SCHUMACHER
Why are you feeding him peanut sugar wafers? Maybe he has developed
a sweet tooth? I am handfeeding a timneh that is now 6 wks old, He
has been eating 4 times a day until today I switched to 3. He also
has in his cage cheerios, millet, water, grated carrots, apples,
cauliflower and broccoli. He isn't eating alot of the veggies as he
is still young, but since I introduced them to him he is sampling
them. If you continue the hand feeding why not add some cut up
apples and veggies in his hand feeding formula. It is hard to get
any bird to accept veggies cold turkey, so to speak. After he
acquires a taste for the fruits and veggies he may accept them in his
food dish in his cage. Do you have a vet or a breeder you could call
and get some advice? I agree, don"t let your bird starve. He needs
help in learning what he needs to eat. Tammy
