Help me please!

[Chewie]

Hello All,

I am new to the forum and new to the parrot parenthood with SO MANY QUESTIONS. Sorry if this is a bit winded.....

My baby Senegal Chewie is about 7 weeks old. I say about because I bought him from a breeder who told me he was 6 weeks old and I have had him for 4 days now. The breeder told me to continue hand feeding him formula once at night and once in the morning, leaving him fresh fruits and some pellets during the day. I have been doing this but he still screams like a hungry baby whenever I talk to him, play with him or just in general through out the day. He will eventually calm down, especially when my boyfriends begins to whistle at him - he goes completely silent. He is already full of personality, and he knows to look when I call his name and he will step up on my hand although he is still working on his balance.
The first couple days I took him out the cage he would make a mad dash for my chest and climb his way to my shoulder. After reading about the dangers of shoulder sitting, I have gotten him used to sitting on my hand or arm, although he is still feisty and will try to climb me if he can. He likes to sit on our standing fan and be in the middle of all the action, even falling asleep there. He is showing good signs of eating some pellet food I purchased but can only taste it since he is still very little. He likes carrots as well. I have tried giving him hard boiled egg and celery stalks but he will not eat them. Today I tried feeding him the baby formula from a spoon instead of the syringe an he ate until he didnt want anymore. Should I continue this? Also, when i tried cleaning all the spilled formula off his feathers he kept running away from me towards the stove and began to bit as i wiped him off. I put him in the cage and ignored him for this for about 40 mins while i prepared dinner, and he fell asleep. Is this something I should do when he bites?

Should I continue feeding him as much formula as he wants or only use the syringe the breeder gave me?
How do I begin to train him not to bite?
He seems to already be very aggressive, can I begin to train him to stop this?
He is constantly screaming like a hungry baby when I interact with him, no sweet chirps or songs, is he hungry or just wanting attention?
If he refuses a fruit or veggie, should I not introduce this to him any longer?

Any advice you can provide for this newbie would be so helpful as I really want to raise a healthy, well behaved parrot!!

 

[greycloud]

Welcome to The Parrot Forum!
First of all your breeder should never have sold you an unweaned baby. But that's water over the damn now.
He still has several weeks of handfeeding left. If your baby is crying and begging he is not getting enough.
What temp are you feeding at? If he has yeast or a crop infection some babies will cry often.
How much is he eating? Is his crop full like a soft water balloon?
You are responsible for making of breaking this baby's future. A big responsibility! Ignoring him at such a young age will cause him to not trust humans and you won't form a bond. I don't mean to come across harshly, it's just I hate to see breeders sell unweaned babies when the only purpose to it is it is less work for them.
You can also offer the formula in a small bowl with some pellets. Warm birdie bread with fresh fruits and veggies is great for babies.
Just because he did not want his chest cleaned should not mean you ignore him. Have patience with him as he is just a tiny baby and looks to you for guidance.

 

[Chewie]

I just fed him some carrot and he is in his caged perched and quiet.
I do not have a thermometer and have been testing on my hand like baby food which the breeder advised me to do. What temp should the formula be?
She told me to fill the syringe to 12 but he sometimes will want almost twice that much. Today when I spoon fed him he began to run away from me which he has never done before I am not sure why he did this.
His crop is empty in the mornings when he cries the most so I know he is hungry. I appreciate your help and after reading through these threads am quite upset I was sold an unweaned baby as well but I am hoping to make this a great experience for us both.
Is he too young to begin trick training and potty training?

 

[Chewie]

Also, I know he needs at least 3 hours outside his cage. What should I be doing with him while he is out?

 

[greycloud]

Formula needs to be between 105-108 degrees. To hot and you burn the crop. To cold and crop statsis, yeast and bacterial infections can occur. Formula should be like a thick gravy.
Can you post pics of baby so I can judge how he is doing?
Baby should have plenty of foot toys and and hanging toys in the cage. A playstand, like a table top stand with toys will help him stay busy.
It is not a good idea to potty train. Some birds develop problems by holding in their feces waiting till it is OK for them to go.
Does he step up on your hand? Work on playing hot potato with him. Pass him back and forth to different people practicing step ups and socializing with other humans. Play with toys in front of him. Praise him when he shows interests in toys.

 

[Chewie]

He is asleep now, but I will get some pictures of him tomorrow and post them. Right now I have him in a cockatiel cage but am getting a much larger cage this Friday that I think he will love. He climbs around his cage and has 5 different toys so far. I bought a play stand but the perch was way too big for his tiny feet so i had to return it and havent been able to find any his size in my area yet. He does step up to my hand, he is still a little shakey but can find his balance and relax. I have tried to get him to pass back and fourth on my two hands but it hasnt worked, I will try different people as you suggest.

 

[IcyWolf]

I'm sorry but breeders like this should be shut down. It's not your fault so if I seem a bit aggravated in this posting please know that it is not directed at you! All babies are different so saying that because he is a certain age so therefore should be on a certain amount of feedings isn't going to work. I have some babies that wean at a certain age and then others from the same clutch continue on formula for another week or two. It all just depends on the specific bird. You're going to have to feel his crop and see if he is eating on his own enough, if not, he will need more formula. Most baby birds won't try new foods if they are hungry so sometimes you have to give them a few ml's of formula and then let them eat their weaning foods. At this age it is very important for him to be weighed daily. If you don't have a scale you can pick one up for ten or twenty bucks at your local walmart or home supply store, they are sold in the kitchen department. Weigh him every morning before his first feeding and write it down, this way you can keep track of any weight he may be losing or gaining.

Testing the formula on your wrist isn't the way to go about it either and I really cannot believe the breeder told you this was ok. The reason testing on your wrist works for babies is because we have the same body temperature as them, therefore you can tell if it's too hot or not. Birds have a higher body temp than people so the 98 or 100 degrees that would be appropriate for human formula is far too low for a baby bird and cause crop infections. You want your formula to be around 105-108 degrees. I use the metal meat thermometers, you can pick them up for a couple of dollars at any store that sells kitchen supplies, even dollar stores usually have them.

 

[suebee]

great advice from above, but do not stop offering the veg he turns from, my nut will not entertain celery, but if i have the stalks on a kebab thing, or pushed through her toys she loves it, and it becomes a toy plus food! her fav bit is the heart but she still hates carrots lol so presentation is all important, teach him to forage, so have bits of veg poked through links etc in his toys

as for well behaved?? just remember these little birds can live up to 30/50yrs according to whats in the www lol so its rather like raising a human child, and from experiance, when my nut throws a wobbler, she really can! as she is flighted, she does get it into her head to dive bomb us or fly and attack us, although i did post a thread saying she had attacked me again, grrr, it is rare for her to do that now. when she hurts i scream, though i have read its best not to, but i show displeasure with her actions by making a simple low grunt, or a dirty look, never use this in play, as it will just confuse him. and punishment is there and then, and don't draw it out, for long. as alot of times, nut would bite me, and within mins of that bite she is all lovey again, but i am not feeling it, coz i still hurt, but i have to get over myself, or they will get annoyed, that your annoyed an then it just starts over lol

so now be a good time for you to decide if you want to clip him or not for the near future, i just think its kinder to clip before they know they can fly

also routine is good, and keep introducing him to new things, situations etc

as for toys lego is a firm fav with nut as a foot toy, as she can pull apart the pieces i pass her, i also go to the charity shop for baby toys, just make sure they are going to be sturdy enough, as when your bird grows that beak can chew through most woods, like a hot knife through butter! just plastic toys, nothing that has been painted or has metal showing

you should get him use to watching you do things etc when he is out, so when he is older he will be happy to hang out with you, otherwise he will want one on one time for the whole time he is out
nut is happy to watch me prep tea, try steal some, clean etc and she will play with what ever has not been tidied away, so if we leave it out, its our own fault lol

you are going to have so much fun with your baby, your friends will be sick of hearing about him, so just keep coming back here an telling us more and yes pics as soon as you can

 

[greycloud]

Absolutely totally disagree with you!! It is the worse thing you can do to clip an unfledged baby!! No, no, no! Babies need to learn to fly to build coordination, confidence and muscle strength. Clipping before hand serves no purpose and is harmful to a baby.

 

[suebee]

Absolutely totally disagree with you!! It is the worse thing you can do to clip an unfledged baby!! No, no, no! Babies need to learn to fly to build coordination, confidence and muscle strength. Clipping before hand serves no purpose and is harmful to a baby.

sorry i meant for the future, not sure when a clip starts, as mine is flighted and always have been, thats why i leave her unclipped

 

[Chewie]

Hey All,

Thanks for the advice from everyone you guys are life savers!
The breeder told me his wings were already clipped but they were growing back. He has flew off my boyfriends hand onto my shirt so we clipped his wings a little but he jumped off the fan today trying to get to me so I am not sure if I should allow him to learn to fly or not. We have a small 2 bedroom apartment and I wouldnt want him to get hurt. He refuses to stay on the ground anytime I put him down, he walks to the closest person and begins to climb their leg. He is still desperately trying to get to my shoulder anytime he is on my chest but I have been making him perch on my hand and he is getting used to this. I am investing in a play stand for him as I can already tell he loves to sit around while I clean and cook. I could not find my camera so I took some pictures of him with my ipod and a short video that I hope plays. He has been increasingly quiet lately, just sitting in his cage observing everything. How many times a day right now should I be taking him out to play? And as far as the feeding, I should always feel if his crop is full before giving him anymore formula?

 

[Chewie]

This may be a silly question....but how do I upload the pictures of him onto this site? I cant find it (

 

[greycloud]

Please do not clip this baby's wings. He needs to develop physically and mentally.
As far as feeding, his crop should be empty at his first feeding of the day. During the day there may be a small amount left in the crop. If there is a lot at time of next feeding he could have crop stasis or yeast infection and needs to be vetted.

 

[Chewie]

 

[Chewie]

 

[Chewie]

 

[aliray]

my little green quaker is on my shoulder all the time. I think I would be hesitant to let a very large parrot stay on my shoulder such as a very large too or macaw but a small bird like a senegal quaker. greencheek cockateil or parakeet etc I wouldn't worry about it. Alison and sweetie pie

 

[Karigan]

There are many ways to present veggies as well. Kito loves carrots, but only if they're raw, but then bananas are only appreciated if they're mashed. Try grilling, baking (without oil!) steaming, or boiling your fruits and veggies if he doesn't like it at first. Different moods or times of day can also have an impact.

Also, you're familiar with the dangers of non-stick cookware? If the coating is compromised, it can release a gas into the air that is toxic to birds, and if you're going to have candles or other scents you must make sure it's soy or beeswax.

And congrats on your new companion!

 

[weidjd]

Is that the permanent cage setup?