Hey Everyone

[kilo85]

Hey Everyone!

I just joined the forums, so I thought i'd say hi and share some info.

my name is Alz, 25 yrs old, from London, Ontario, Canada and recently moved to Dubai, UAE for work

I love pets, I owned all different kinds in the past and I just bought a 4-5 months old African Grey Congo.

He already knows how to eat seeds (some what I guess) but I was wondering what else should I feed him at this age? The guy at the pets store near by sold me some baby parrot food and told me to feed it to him by the syringe... I tried a couple of hrs ago, but it didn`t work much.

Can you guys some give me some advise and may some tips?

Thank you!

 

[Bobby34231]

Hi Alz and welcome to the forum, well at 4-5 months old the bird should be weaned and eating on its own (fresh fruits, vegetables, pelleted diet), if all the pet shop gave you was handfeeding formula and said feed with a syringe and sent you on your way I would take the bird back and have them feed it until it is weaned onto solid food, handfeeding is not for the inexpreienced, the pet store really did you and your bird a huge disservice by not instructing you on what you need to know, if the bird will not eat or drink his health in danger and will only deteriorate within a matter of just a couple of days, the advice would be, either get help from the pet store or if available there a good avian vet, please let us now things go........

 

[Pheonix Rising]

Please get some professional advise for this little guy
he needs food and liquid to survive and if he's not doing it on his own he needs someone experianced to do this for him
at 5 months he should be weaned and eating by himself
if not like Bobby said take him back until he is

 

[Spiritbird]

Welcome Kilo. Once your bird settles in his now home he will be fine. You should wein him off of seed gradually and on to Harrisons pellets if you can get them there. Not sold in a pet store but ordered on line or from an avain vet. I am sending you a link that has several good articles to teach you about the care of the greys. Lots to learn!!

Please study the nutritional needs of a grey. They need lots of calcium intake in their diets. They also should be under full spectrum lighting if you have no place to take the bird ouside in the natural sunlight. One other thing they need intellectual stimulation big time or you may see behavior issues. There are some very good books out there also. For The Love of Greys is a good one. Birds purchased in a pet store may not be used to bathing. It is a must for the greys as they have lots of feather dust. Either a bowl of warm water freq. offered or a gentle spritz or in the shower with you. One thing you can do right away of offer some warm soft food to him, especially in the am and pm. Hand feeding will help the bonding process. A bowl of nice oatmeal is appreciated.
Welcome to Africangreys.com

 

[kilo85]

He already knows how to eat with no problems, but I feel like he has a problem finding the food. The cage has 2 spots, 1 for food and the other is for water, if I don`t put the food on the bottom of the cage I don`t think he`ll find it.

About the baby food, I bought it from a different pet store. The guy there told me I need to feed him such things because he needs proteins and the seeds r not a good diet specially for a baby parrot.

I`m reading a lot of different articles about parrots and how to take care of them, i`m learning more everyday and of course I still have way more to learn!


Thx everyone 4 the advise!

 

[lisamarie973]

He already knows how to eat with no problems, but I feel like he has a problem finding the food. The cage has 2 spots, 1 for food and the other is for water, if I don`t put the food on the bottom of the cage I don`t think he`ll find it.

About the baby food, I bought it from a different pet store. The guy there told me I need to feed him such things because he needs proteins and the seeds r not a good diet specially for a baby parrot.

I`m reading a lot of different articles about parrots and how to take care of them, i`m learning more everyday and of course I still have way more to learn!


Thx everyone 4 the advise!

Hi there!! and welcome, welcome, welcome!!

I'm so very glad that you're so smart to actually seek out help and guidance for your new baby, a lot of people don't really realize how truly demanding a baby bird can be. They need an abundance of nutrition, especially since their little immune systems aren't quite up to par, there are several areas here on this forum that can give you excellent feeding advice, your baby would probably LOVE some finely cut up veggies, cucumbers, carrots, romaine lettuce, apples, green beans, peas, sugar snaps, squash, zucchini, sweet potatoe, pasta, just to name a few.... Also, if he isn't keen on pellets ( I use roudybush) right away because he's been given seeds all along, I would try crumbling them up very fine and sprinkling them on his veggie selection, you'd be surprised at how much they get in them that way, especially since, sometimes, even though the baby is munching away at the veggies, they sometimes haven't quite mastered getting much ingested, they'll chew and chew and sometimes most of it ends up back in the dish, but very important to continue to give it to them, they do eventually figure out the eating thing. My baby is 10 weeks old, he does very well for his age, but he still sometimes leaves some behind in the dish just for lack of understanding HOW to eat it.

Very smart for reading up on the how to's, kudo's to you for that!! We will all help you with any questions you may have. There are several "veteran" bird owner/breeders on this forum that have a wealth of knowledge and they have all helped me tremendously with my baby!!

Best of luck to you, Keep those updates coming, we all tend to be a bit of the "worry wart" types with each others fids, I guess we're all a little crazy in our own way, but a good way!! We'll all be looking foward to hearing how it goes!!!

 

[kilo85]

*Update*

Ok guys, so it looks as Sammy is progressing quickly, as of 4 days ago he figured out the whole food situation, he knows how to get to his food and water bowls with np and I don't have to show him anything.

2 days ago I went to the baby store and I bought him some nice toys and a couple of thick rings that hang from his cage. I started playing with one of the toys infront of him and he was watching me closely and then came closer and took it from me, and it seems as he found himself a favorite toy! =)... he has 4 toys in there now.

I started putting less and less seeds in his bowl gradually, and this morning I put some fine cut cucumbers and tomatoes into his bowl, he looked at them, licked the tomatoes and didn't like it so he went away. Just an hour ago, he went back to the bowl and tried the cucumbers, and it seems like he loves it. I kept making the pieces bigger and bigger, and now hes better at holding the pieces and eating them!

Moments ago he decided to give the tomatoes another try, and he surely ate every lil piece of it!

Im planning to introduce more viggies and fruits into his bowl gradually every other day, and i'll be going to the pet store to buy him some pellets so he starts getting used to them asap.

In terms of training, im surely having a hard time training him. I've been doing a lot of reading and now I figured the whole take him away from his cage and try to train him into another room with less distractions where he doesn't feel territorial as well, so I did it today and tried teaching him the up command. He was definitely responding better, but I think it was due to the fact he was scared cuz i was making him stand on a stick and holding him low, everytime I tried to reward him he wouldn't take it, his main concern was to get close to me as soon as possible...

If you guys have suggestions in regards to training, please help me out.


Thaaaaaaanksssss!

P.S. I'll post some pics of him in another thread soon

 

[bogo1]

Hello
Are you using the stick for up because you are concerned Sammy might bite?

 

[kilo85]

Hello
Are you using the stick for up because you are concerned Sammy might bite?

no, not at all actually, its just that he feels safer going up on the stick or something and he doesn't seem to mind going up on it... plus all the videos I watched recommended to start by using a stick...

in terms of biting, he does bite me a lot and I let him because the way he does it is so cute and he doesn't seem like hes trying to hurt me, it feels like hes playing around. 2 days ago though, he started to bite a lil harder sometimes and he holds onto my finger and starts moving his head

 

[Autumn]

Hello and welcome to the site hope you enjoy your stay, and that you find the advice you need for your bird, and hope you feel right at home ;}