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Post by ebertwinkle on Mar 2, 2005 22:30:04 GMT -7
hello and thank you in advance for any help you can give me. i have a baby african gray, 12 weeks old, still being handfed. i read some of the other threads for everything i could learn. well my little guy doens't sleep hardly at all, lol, but thats not the problem. what all do i give him to eat as a far as fruits and veggies? when can i bathe him? at what age does he go into a cage? any tips to help me and my nameless  bird will help including any catchy names!!! again thank you. |
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Post by Jane on Mar 3, 2005 1:48:05 GMT -7
He can be eating a huge variety of foods by now. Fruit and vegetables are good for him but vegetables more so because fruit tends to be more watery and high in sugar. The main fruit and veg to avoid are onions, mushrooms, avocado pear, raw potato, apple seeds. Grapes, although loved, are best avoided, especially at the moment, as there is a safety issue concerning grapes from Chile. Dark green leafy vegetables are good and orange coloured ones such as carrots, peppers, sweet potatoes, but the greater the variety the better.
You can bath him now, either by offering him a bowl of water (although greys usually ignore these) or spraying him but introduce it carefully as many greys hate water.
He can go in a cage now and he might prefer to sleep in a cage at night, covered up, even if he is out all day. He should be sleeping at night but not necessarily during the day although many have a doze during the afternoon.
Shorter names are easier for them to learn but it isn't really possible to offer a suggestion because the name will have to suit him and you will probably find that some do and some just don't!
Jane
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angela
Just Hatched
Joined: March 2005
Posts: 1
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Post by angela on Mar 3, 2005 8:36:46 GMT -7
TEXTHiya my grey is 19 wk old he's been in his cage since we got him at 12 wks, i hand him for a while but still offer seed and fresh fruit he'll be fine coco kept falling of his perch cus the cage was strange to him but now he's brilliant  If coco see's my 10mth old daughter having her baby food he will run up and down his cage waiting for the left overs and he get it lol.. ;D
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Post by pyrrhura molinae on Mar 3, 2005 22:19:04 GMT -7
Were you given specific instructions and shown how to hand-feed? I sure hope so. There is the potential for alot to go wrong when hand-feeding a baby bird for the first time, and there's not much room for error. If you haven't read it already, find a copy of the book "African Greys" by Maggie Wright. Lots of good information there, and it covers cages and bathing. Also read "The Companion Parrot Handbook" by Sally Blanchard and articles at www.parrothouse.com Start introducing him now to a wide variety of foods, and be persistent. If he doesn't show an interest in a certain food once, don't quit offering it. |
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Post by ebertwinkle on Mar 4, 2005 11:43:11 GMT -7
thanks for all help. i have handfed cockatiels but i am feeling overwhelmed with the congo as he is a bigger bird and seems like i don;t know what to do next. i took him to get his nails clipped last sunday as i could not hold him without having my hands shredded. the place i bought him from asked if i named him yet, i told him no i am waiting for him to show his personality and he said it should be tank as he is big. he eats the formula real good and i asked when i could start with veggies and fruits and they said to just offer him some after the morning feeding as he can get plugged up if he eats them all day. so i was half afraid to give any for fear of something going wrong with his crop. i don't want to sound ignorant i am just afraid of making a mistake with such a wonderful bird. i swear it says hungary when i am getting ready to feed him, lol. i asked about putting him in his cage because i was told to keep him in his tub with a heating pad on low and i have been putting him in his cage to explore it and he loves all his stuff so far. not afraid of anything so far. that could be because he is young?? i spend a good part of the day with him and when i am doing chores that are out of his sight or ears, i put cartoons on tv or the radio which he likes. i keep feeling overwhelmed by all this because i really don't know what step to take when. he is real calm and the only time he got a little irritated was when i tried to put the flight suit on him but he has to start getting used to it. i got him some tiny ears of corn to try tomorrow morning and he is eating weaning pellets, not a lot but he picks at them. so any help for this first time african grey owner is appreciated. thanks so much for your advice .
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Post by Jane on Mar 4, 2005 13:25:08 GMT -7
They all seem to get irritated by flight suits but the younger you start the better. Take the cue from him with the feeding but keep offering him a good variety and he should start to get more interested. A nail trimming perch in his cage will help keeps his nails trimmed but if he isn't sure about perching keep them low to start with.
Jane
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Post by pepper on Mar 5, 2005 7:30:00 GMT -7
what is wrong with the grapes from Chili?
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Post by Jane on Mar 5, 2005 7:45:16 GMT -7
Several birds recently died suddenly after eating grapes from Chile and the vet thought it was due to either a neurotoxin or a fungus within the grape itself. A teenager got ill as well. However, it has still not been definitely established what the cause of the deaths and illness was.
Grapes from Chile have high levels of pesticide residues in, as of course do other fruit and vegetables, but some of the pesticides used in Chile are banned elsewhere.
Jane
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bird will help including any catchy names!!! again thank you.
If coco see's my 10mth old daughter having her baby food he will run up and down his cage waiting for the left overs and he get it lol.. ;D