New B&G owner. Bringing baby home tomorrow

[NightProwess]

Hi everyone. So glad I found this site.
I will be bringing my baby home tomorrow. I've already paid for her/him. The breeder believes its a female based on shape of head, granted, I know that the only way to be sure of sex is DNA testing.
Not sure yet if I will have the baby tested or not. Pros and Cons anyone?

The baby is 4, almost 5 months old. Handfed. I've visited her once. She was very sweet tho very attacked to "momma". I imagine I will have a time with that once I bring her home.
Was wanting any advice anyone could offer on how to handle her when I bring her home.
I had an african grey a long time ago. He was a bit older. Was told not to handle him for several days after bringing him home. Should I do the same for the B&G macaw baby?
Or start trying to get her adjusted to the rest of the family?

Have cage, toys, food, etc already ready for her arrival. Have a Vet appointment scheduled for tomorrow. They breeder is meeting me there at the clinic for her appointment.
When I bring her home, any tips?

I know setting the tone when they're young is crucial. I really want her to get adjusted to everyone in the family and to be friendly with all. My TAG wasn't. He did end up bonding with me, but would attack the rest of my family. Fly off his cage and attack. Ended up having to rehome him and it broke my heart.
I didnt have the opportunity of training him young, and would really like to make sure I do it right with this baby B&G. All tips welcome. I've researched and ready all books and magazines. But hearing and getting tips from owners who have experience is by far the best.

I am ready for this lifelong commitment and want to do all that I can to ensure a healthy relationship for the baby and my family.

Thank you in advance. And I will post pictures once I receive my baby.

~NightProwess

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Welcome to the forum!

As long as your breeder socialized your baby well she should adjust fairly quickly, give her a few days to get used to the new enviroment. Don't force yourself into her space, but if she starts the interaction don't be afraid to interact with her some.

Has the breeder taught you about the importance of a good quality pellet? as well as fresh foods? Excellent that your getting a vet check up, I assume it's a avian vet your breeder recommended?

Lots of Macaw parronts on this forum, great people who can give advice if you have any questions

 

[MikeyTN]

Welcome to the forum!!! I know your able to sex B&G Macaw by their head, I've got a Male and a Female, big difference in their head size.

I start training all my birds from day one, so that depends on how comfortable you feel to do so.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Hi there, and welcome to the forum.

Oh how VERY exciting about your B&G baby!!! Have you picked out a name yet?

I assume the cage is set up and ready to go, yes, including some toys?

I believe your new girl will be quite shy at first. She will probably sit in her cage and not do much, but OBSERVE everyone and everything extensively.

My Niko was 4 months when I brought him home. We did know each other quite well though because I visited him 2-3 times per week.

Depending on how your girl is acting/reacting from the new environment, I'd sit by her cage and talk to her sweetly, softly, and quietly. Read a magazine or a book while being near her, and have all other family members do the same.

If you feel she is no longer nervous, offer her some tidbits of food (same goes for rest of the family).

Do you have a designated play area/play stand for her, away from the cage? Did the breeder teach her the "step up"/"step down" command? It will be a HUGE plus, if she knows those 2. If not, those would be the very first 2 things to teach her.

Can't wait to get an update...and perhaps a few photos???

 

[NightProwess]

Yes, she has been well handled by her previous momma, and is a big momma's girl. I am a little worried that it will take her a while to warm up to me and my family since she is so attached to the lady who handraised her.
I will have to earn her trust. I am excited, but I dont want to come on too strong. She's allowed me to hold her and scratch her head while in the presence of her momma and was so sweet giving kissing and mumbling. Can't understand what she's trying to say yet. Her brother talked a little better but he was more of an expolorer and not as laid back and her. She seemed to take to me a little better than the one they thought was a little boy so I decided on her.
I have not picked out a name yet. Was wanting to see what her personality was like before doing so. Also, was unsure if I would have her DNA tested or not to see if she was in fact female. The sex does not matter to me. I do not plan to breed her, I'm wanting a family pet and companion.

She is on Zupreem fruitblend pellet. I bought a bag of that. I also ordered the natural Zupreem pellet online, it should arrive soon, but I will wait a while before I start introducing her to that. I had my TAG on the natural one before.

She did recommend the avian vet that we'll be meeting at.
and no, she does not know "step up" and "step down" yet. So I will need to work on that with her. My TAG knew that command when I got him already. Any suggestions on how te best way to start training a baby to step up and down is?
Her cage and toys are already set up. I have more toys on the way that I have ordered including some different size perches as well.

I will upload pictures as soon as I am able to take some!
I'm so excited!

 

[Birdman666]

Socialization and bite pressure training at this age will set this baby up for a go to anyone, love everyone bird.

 

[NightProwess]

What is "Bite pressure training"?

and thank you

 

[Birdman666]

This is essentially the way you train a big mac to control his bite pressure.

Most big mac bites occur because the bird simply doesn't know it's own strength, or how fragile flesh can be...

It essentially involves sitting down with the bird on your lap and doing beak play games, communicating to the bird when he is using too much bite pressure. When they get excited and use to much bite pressure, the game stops momentarily, and you tell the bird something like "that's too hard."

To this day, my CAG beats up his toys, and makes them talk when he's doing it.

"Ooww! Stop it. That hurts! That's too hard!"

It also comes in handy when strangers are annoying him because he quite literally looks them in the eye and says "Owww! That hurts..." Most folks take the hint at that point!!!

 

[NightProwess]

Here's a few pictures of her.
They wanted $200 for the DNA test, but the vet vet tech told me there were labs that you could send a feather off to that is only 20 or 30.
Anyone done this? the vet tech said she used to raise parrots and thats what she would do for the babies to have them tested.

Overall the Check up went well. The vet said she weighed 1lb 1oz. That normal for a baby her age?
I also bought a dietary supplement, lots of probiotics that the vet recommended. That it would help regulate and reduce stress. Its by Harrisons.

She was quiet the car ride home. She's a bit nippy with me though when I moved her from the carrier to the cage. She has eaten some pellets from my hand and drank water from her water bottle. But doesn't want to step up or allow me to pet her.

Any suggestions?
I'm currently working on a literature paper (thats due next week for finals) near her cage and talking to her. That way she'll get used to seeing me.

She is beautiful. I know I'll need to gain her trust. But she will eat from my hand, so I guess that's a good start.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Parrots are generally weighed in grams, not pounds. Funny that the vet did it in pounds. She's beautiful! Don't worry about the nippiness, she is bound to be a little overwhelmed by everything. Once she's settled in she'll start to feel more confident.

Water bowls are better for parrots, plus water bottles can sometimes injure their tongues. If she's used to a water bottle, add a second bowl for water for her to get used to.

 

[NightProwess]

Yes, all she's had is a water bottle, so I bought one before picking her up. There's a bowl full of fresh water directly beneath the water bottle.
There was no perch on the scale, so I'm not sure if it was a bird only scale.

I've been talking to her quietly. I'm sitting next to her. and have been giving her treats every 10 -15 mins. she takes them gently from my hands then goes back to playing with her toys.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Beautiful baby girl!!!

Yes, I've done the DNA test via mail, and it was 100% accurate.

I roughly converted the weight into grams. Your girl is around 482 grams, which is super light weight for a B&G. Are you sure that is what he said she weighed?????? 1 pound = 454 grams, and 1 ounce = 28 grams. IMO there has to be a mistake somewhere. My B&G weighs close to 1,200 grams.

 

[Birdman666]

That weight can't be right!

The bird clearly looks appropriately sized and healthy, and my amazons weigh more than that!!! 1200 even seems small to me. But then I have an itty bitty greenwing... (And at 1850ish she is on the small side for a greenwing. I've played with some of the larger "Bolivian" Greenwings (which are actually from Columbia, but were smuggled through Bolivia when exportation closed in Columbia...) that were in the 2400-2600 range! (Yeah, a dominant male Bolivian Greenwing that has never been bite pressure trained is an "interesting" bird to work with!)

 

[JerseyWendy]

That weight can't be right!

The bird clearly looks appropriately sized and healthy, and my amazons weigh more than that!!! 1200 even seems small to me. But then I have an itty bitty greenwing...

The "average" weight for a B&G is between 900-1100g.

 

[Birdman666]

That weight can't be right!

The bird clearly looks appropriately sized and healthy, and my amazons weigh more than that!!! 1200 even seems small to me. But then I have an itty bitty greenwing...

The "average" weight for a B&G is between 900-1100g.

Yeah, but I'm used to "average" Greenwing...

 

[JerseyWendy]

I just had to bring out the scale, couldn't take it any longer.
Niko (stuffed to the brim) weighed in at 1,324g, and Ripley (GW), also quite stuffed at the moment 1,498g

http://s91586483.onlinehome.us/hold/Average_Parrot_Weights.pdf:

 

[NightProwess]

I just called the vet and had her check the chart to see what the exact weight was, and it was 1.01kg.
kilograms, not pounds.

I'm sorry, I said lbs....
That was my bad.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Yes, that's SO much better, HAHAHHAHA!!! So your baby weighs 1010g.

VERY good weight!!!!

 

[Birdman666]

Maggie's a female "Bolivian" GW.

She's 1850, and not at all fat. And I was told she was on the small side for a "Bolivian.

Like I said, I've seen males that were close to Hyacinth sized... and that chart seems low for Hy-Hys.

Yeah, I'd be concerned if a B&G weighed less than 900.

 

[Mattroma]

how accurate is sexing by the head? the breeder from whom I got my Harlaquin from assumed that it was a she, based on the beak etc. when the DNA test came back she was actually a he. Guess he is just on the smaller side. glad I went with a gender neutral name.