Should I believe the breeder, or everyone else?

[Addler]

Hello all,

So I've had my GCC, Gabby, for two weeks now, and I'm beginning to worry that I may not be giving him the proper care. I got him from a breeder at a day short of eight weeks, and the breeder claimed that there would be no problem having him eat hard pellets and seeds. This contradicts what I've read elsewhere, and more importantly, I think it's absolutely not true. He goes to millet and cracked seeds like no tomorrow, but only eats Nutri-berry style food when I break them into smaller pieces, and entirely ignores pellets, even when it's the only food left at night.

I'm somewhat concerned-- shouldn't he be eating soft foods? He doesn't even have the beak strength to crack open a seed on his own; he can't even really use his beak for climbing very much yet. He also hasn't figured out how to glide, so much of the time, I have to rescue him from atop my cabinets and light fixtures. I know that part is normal for his age, but he just all-around seems too young for the hard diet I was recommended.

Right now he does great with our daily schedule-- a morning shower with me, warming up in the window as I get him his food, about 20 minutes of flying, and then back into the cage until I get home, where he's free the rest of the night until he falls asleep somewhere and I put him back in his cage in his cuddle hut. I think all of that is just fine, but I'm really worrying that he's struggling to get enough food each day. I've even read some sites that say I should still be feeding him some formula?

I guess what I'm asking is, what should I be feeding him at about the 10-week mark? How long until I switch to the standard diet? And how long can I expect until he becomes a better flier, more vocal, and friendlier?

EDIT: And since I will be away about 6-8 hours a day every day, I was strongly considering giving him some "companion" birds like I've seen many people do for their larger parrots. A separate cage, of course, and probably even separate out of cage time would be fine with me. I was thinking either a pair of budgies or some species of finch would work nicely, since that's what I've seen before, but I also wouldn't mind a cockatiel or a pair of cockatiels (and my friend has babies ready in a week, so they'd be a rather convenient option). I would even do another GCC if I wasn't worried about them fighting or becoming more interested in themselves than with me. I also have a friend who is rehoming their senegal due to health reasons, and I'd be absolutely beside myself if I could have her, but I've heard bad stories about Senegals and GCCs (not that I'd actually let them interact outside the cage, of course). What would be my best option for those?

 

[Peeko]

I've heard people recommend softening pellets with 100% fruit juice to try to entice babies into eating them. I never had any issue personally. My little guy was eating pellets without having to soften them at 7 weeks old. Hopefully someone else with more experience will answer, though.
I cant make any recommendations as far as the companion question, because I only have one parrot. I do have doves in the same room/different cage and my green cheek is completely indifferent to them, so I'm not sure if a non-parrot bird would be a good companion option. But again, someone with more experience should hopefully come forward!

 

[t0mmick]

Hello and congrats on the new baby!
for starters its almost a definite that any bird given the choice would probably go for the millet and seeds first they just prefer them, if you know how to hand feed then it probably wouldn't hurt to give him a little , while still encouraging him to eat his pellets. Ive also heard of ppl using baby food to get your bird used to real(fruits and veggies) food but still feels like formula.
My gcc is 4yrs and he still doesn't like to fly very much, he will out of fright or if he really really wants to come to me and im not close enough to jump on but he isn't very good at it,lol.
id wait a little before adding another bird to the mix, make sure he does alright eating on his own and has time to really trust and bond with you , talk to him as much as you can and you may notice he will try to mimmic you but in this croaking growly voice, they aren't always very clear talkers but they usually have their normal squeaks and peeps and whistles that they all do for various reasons, if he's being really quiet it could be he's still adjusting to the new environment. Maybe try leaving a radio on for him low in the background while you are gone. I sing to my birds , i tell them everything im doing, i danse like an idiot with them, my boyfriend thinks im nuts but all this got 2 of my bird to bond very quickly with me and now when they hear me come home they call out to me. However all this said if you do get another bird maybe another baby would be your best choice so that they may actually be able to enjoy time together, preening and chattering, my gcc came with an indian ring neck same cage they have their squabbles but no one ever gets hurt they just yell at each other and give a quick peck to say buzz off im not in the mood!! But they are both more interested in being with me over each other and they have been together since they were babies!! Good luck and i hope someone can give a bit more advice on the feeding!!

 

[crimson]

are you using the same pellets the breeder was?

 

[Addler]

Thanks for the responses! It's good to know that people have had a variety of experiences and everything worked out all right. It's funny that yours' doesn't even like to fly much, t0mmick. Mine won't stop! I have seen him in the air for a solid five minutes before landing. When he did, he was very out of breath, as you can imagine!

I am using the same type of pellet they were using-- they gave me a small baggy when I took my boy home.

 

[MikeyTN]

IF he's eating on his own don't add formula on top of what he's eating cause you can cause crop issues. Only feed when his crop sac is empty if you were to feed him formula. IF he is eating, it doesn't mean he shouldn't be weaned at his age. I've had babies wean a lot faster then expected and they refused formula period. When they first fledge they're gonna fly fly and fly some more, there's nothing unusual about that. Most of them are gonna go for the seeds over pellets if they were offer both at the same time. I think your over babying him thinking he can't eat. If your worried about him, keep track of his weight daily and you'll know if he is or isn't eating.

 

[Empath]

Mikey has the right idea with weighing him. i got a caique recently that had started cracking seeds but was one 2 feeds a day of formula. my concern was how i'd know if she was eating enough other than by visually checking her bowl. i started getting base weights before food, after food, etc

i gave her new sprouted seeds every day but she still called out for feeds a few times a day. this only lasted about 10 days before she stopped calling for feeds and took herself fully onto the seeds. i kept an eye on weights and she started gaining weight by herself

if you birds only seems to eat the cracked pellets, then just keep cracking them. after a week or two leave a few in there uncracked and see what it does. I do believe their beaks are probably strong enough to crack it, but young birds sometimes take a while to figure out what their beaks can do. i have a lorikeet that still ahsnt figured out his beak can break grapes and only eats it when its broken for him

 

[Empath]

When I got my caique the breeder said he likes to get all his baby birds onto banana. He believes it helps them gain weight

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I think you should go with your gut. Breeders and vets don't know everything. A few times I've even found they were flat out wrong. Sometimes they even contradict themselves.

Skittles breeder told me he LOVES bananas and pineapples. He won't touch either since I got him. He does love other fruits though (grapes, apples, strawberries).

Sometimes people give advice knowing they mean well, I am one of those people, but sometimes the one who is directly involved in a particular situation is the one best suited to deal with it, and sometimes an outside influence can be helpful and sometimes not.