Seeking information on hand feeding baby macaw

[CongoGrey]

Hello everyone,

So I am looking to get a baby macaw. I know that hand feeding/weaning a baby can help (but not necessarily) build a stronger bond with your feathered friend, however, I have never weaned a baby before. Because of this, I am seeking any and all help with hand feeding/weaning a baby. I have begun reading up on this, but I do question the legitimacy of what I read on the internet and have turned to the forum to seek info from you guys who have done it first-hand. I want to be well-knowledged in this area before going through with getting a baby that needs to be hand fed. I know it is just very time consuming in the sense that it needs to be done every so many hours, and that it is not to be taken lightly, but to be taken seriously.

Thank you in advance

 

[Aquila]

Any reputable breeder will only sell you a bird that's already been weaned. They're almost always hand fed by the breeder after a certain point depending on the experience with the breeder. That being said, the bird may come to you and still want to be hand fed once a day, especially Macaws which can ween quite a bit later than some other species.

As for building a bond, in my opinion it's pretty negligible hand feeding yourself vs the breeder, and hand feeding a young baby isn't really worth the risks if you're inexperienced.

I'd suggest reading this thread if you haven't already.

http://www.parrotforums.com/breeding-raising-parrots/19049-hazards-buying-unweaned-baby.html

 

[CongoGrey]

Thank you for the suggestion. I have taken a read through their post and it is stuff that I had considered. I have no intentions of buying from some Joe Shmoe off of the streets. I do understand the concerns when it comes to people who have never hand reared and weaned birds before. It is something to take very seriously and I understand that and have taken it into strong consideration because you cannot just feed the baby whenever it is convenient for you. It has to be on a highly regulated scheduled and be a schedule that is stuck to and followed religiously. I know in many cases it may not be the ideal situation for someone looking to get a bird (largely because they do not understand the commitment and seriousness that comes along with it) but at the same time, every experienced hand rearing/weaning person was once inexperienced.

 

[wrench13]

Regarding bonding and weaning, It helps if multiple people do the hand feedings. Better for you , so your schedule is not so rigid, and better for the macaw, since it will accept food from multiple people. That is how we weaned Salty ( 2 feedings a day).

Downside - all parties involved MUST know how to feed correctly, what to look for , what to do if something goes wrong, or your asking for serious if not deadly results.

This is if you are firmly set on weaning. Lots of studies show it does not really make for better bonding. What makes better bonding early is lots of time with the baby, playing, holding, talking to them, and just plain watching them.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Commitment is all very well but how the heck do you do this and keep a job? Be interested to know?

 

[CongoGrey]

It's not something I'm dead set on doing. I'm open to it but I would also be open to getting one that has been weaned. If I were to get an unweaned baby, I live with three other people who are open to learning the process. On top of it, I only work part time, which is the only reason I am even considering hand feeding. I've been reading up on all that can go wrong, how to tell and what to do and it is nice because I live about two minutes from a clinic that also specializes in birds and about five minutes from the emergency clinic.

 

[MikeyTN]

It does not mean you'll have a stronger bond if you hand feed. When I went to get Willie many years ago, the previous owner weaned him. Willie came to me right away and have been with me ever since. He did not want to go back to her what so ever. Same with another lady with a Scarlet, she handfed her but as she gotten older, she took to her husband instead. I've been raising so many baby birds through the years, I would wean them and most will leave me right away given the right owner comes along. They will view you as their parent but the new person as their partner.

Hand feeding is a tough process, one wrong thing, your bird will be in trouble. It takes a lot of time and patience. Plus it can take a very long time to wean a macaw.