Pink and Grey Galah HELP!

[CourtneyandOlly]

Hi everyone!
I bought a pink and grey galah baby 6 days ago. His about 11-12 weeks old and is still spoon fed twice a day, he keep making these weird noises around me 24/7 is he starving or just acting like a baby I don’t know what to do the Breeder wasn’t very helpful I have no clue when to drop spoon feeds or anything, he is eating seed but was only doing in from the bowls on his play gym on top of his cage so I took them away to try and encourage him to eat from inside the cage but I haven’t seen him eat from there. Any tips and advice or anyone who can tell me what to expect from him would be really appreciated! I will try post a video below when I can figure out how

 

[CourtneyandOlly]

If someone can tell me how to post a video on here i can post a video of the noise it won’t let me do it off my iPhone

 

[Laurasea]

I'm so sorry that an unethical breeder sold you s young baby. I know you must be full of fear and want to help. This has some info. He probably does need much more feeding.
http://www.parrotforums.com/breeding-raising-parrots/74363-so-you-bought-unweaned-baby.html

 

[Laurasea]

This is from silversage thread

1) TEMPERATURE IS EVERYTHING! Temperature is the most important part of raising a healthy baby parrot; the temperature of the formula and the temperature of the living environment.

-Formula MUST be between 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) and 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius). Any cooler and not only will your baby likely reject the formula, but his body will be unable to digest it properly leading to malnutrition. In some cases the food, not being digested, can even begin to spoil inside the body and from there you quickly see a spiral into bacterial infections that can kill within a few hours of the first symptoms. If the formula is too hot you risk internal burns. Unlike human babies, parrot chicks may not initially show signs of discomfort if the formula is too hot; they may swallow an entire feeding only to have their throats and crops severely burned to the point of being life-threatening. Even if the birds don’t kill the bird outright they open them up to nasty infections that can kill very quickly, often before the new owner can even notice symptoms.

-The living environment temperature depends on how many chicks, how old, etc, but the baby needs to be kept warm enough for their body to function normally as if a mother bird was constantly brooding him. For a baby that is not fully feathered this us usually between 96 degrees Fahrenheit (35.6 degrees Celsius) and 99 degrees Fahrenheit (37.2 degrees Celsius). If the baby is standing upright, panting, and holding the wings out from the body he is too hot. If a group of babies is piled on top of each other, they are too cold. You want a temperature where babies can sleep comfortably without needing to crowd together or stand up and pant. It is more difficult with a single baby, so lean toward too warm rather than too cold. Start at the high end and only turn it down if the baby seems too warm. Remember, the baby should have clutch mates and/or parents to snuggle with and alone in your home he cannot regulate his own body temperature. If he isn’t kept warm enough his organs cannot function properly and you open him up to many complications such as slow crop leading to bacterial and fungal infections and rapid death.

2) TIMING MATTERS! It is important that your baby be fed often enough. Generally speaking (and this is VERY GENERAL, different species have different needs) babies who don’t have a full covering of feathers yet should be fed about every 4 hours during the day, and can go 8 hours over night after about 3-4 weeks. Once they have that covering of feathers they can start going 6-7 hours between daytime feedings. Trying to cram too much food into the crop does stretch it an enable the baby to take more food at a time but can lead to problems with sour crop, crop stasis, etc all leading to (can you guess?) bacterial and fungal infections that can kill your baby overnight. Going too long between feedings can also have a negative impact on the psychological development of the little guy.

3) FORCE WEANING IS CRUEL! Force Weaning is when you reduce the amount of formula you are feeding and make the baby fill up on solid foods. Sounds normal, but is actually very damaging and contributes to all sorts of emotionally damaged behaviors like biting, screaming, plucking, phobias, cage aggression… the list goes on. The proper and humane method of weaning a baby parrot is Abundance Weaning. This method is simple: You keep offering the formula until the baby decides HE doesn’t want it anymore for at least 5 days in a row. Guess what? Knowing that the formula is coming actually gives the baby is very firm foundation from which he can venture forth and explore. Just because the baby has started trying solid foods does not at all mean he is ready to lose the formula. Keep offering it until the baby decides he doesn’t want it.

 

[Scott]

Welcome to you and your baby Galah. Excellent advice above! If the breeder is no help, you might wish to find a certified avian vet for health check and assistance.

Best way to upload video is via YouTube. Unfortunately it is not possible to share directly to forum from a smartphone.

 

[Laurasea]

I'm bumping this

 

[Laurasea]

How is your baby tonight??? I hope you found the thread helpful.