Unweaned babies a trend these days?

[henpecked]

I have a zon i hand fed as a baby,(she was not me) she's 44 yrs old now. We've been though a lot, I'm still her man, though she has many friends. She bonded to me when i was handfeeding her at about 3wks old from a wild nest. It's not for everyone, i'm lucky, to have had the chance and got it right. What an amazing relationship.

 

[Birdman666]

I have a zon i hand fed as a baby,(she was not me) she's 44 yrs old now. We've been though a lot, I'm still her man, though she has many friends. She bonded to me when i was handfeeding her at about 3wks old from a wild nest. It's not for everyone, i'm lucky, to have had the chance and got it right. What an amazing relationship.

1. You know what you are doing, and are not inexperienced, and do it right.

2. You have plenty of birds that are also bonded that you did not hand feed, correct?

Experienced handfeeders, I have no problem with. Giving a newbie a baby chick to feed, and a one page pamphlet, and five to ten minutes of instruction is at least as often as not, a death sentence.

 

[brianlinkles]

Baby birds are fragile things. Inexperienced hand feeders kill them about 50% of the time!!! THAT'S RIGHT!!! THE FATALITY STATS ARE AT 50% DUE TO HANDFEEDING MISTAKES!!!

They finally made it illegal in California to sell unweaned babies to inexperienced hand feeders, a law I would like to see enforced and extended.

There are so many baby birds, especially baby big macs, who die because of mistakes made by people who just don't have the knowledge of the damage they are doing...

I had three burned crop baby big macs die in my arms once... And a very remorseful "bonded" person, who didn't know enough to check for hot spots...

Parrots bond just fine with the person who works with them. You don't have to hand feed them to get that. This is a myth that has killed a lot of birds... and we need to get the word out and de-bunk it!!!

This is PURE CRAP-OLA!!!

I have my own personal opinion on this whole topic. However where on earth did you get this statistic? 50%? That is simply not true. I do not think that people that are not experienced should hand feed however as I have stated before I do believe that it does prove beneficial with bonding. I feel this to be especially true with larger parrots. Macaws for instance take a very long time to wean and once they get to the point where they are eating just twice a day I think bringing them home to start the bonding process is a positive thing. This said you need to be taught how to properly do this. There are certain smaller birds where I think it is unnecessary and difficult to wean them. People have asked about respected breeders that would sell unweaned parrots, I know of several however since most on here have heard of the "aviator harness" this was invented by Hartman aviaries. Hartman aviary has written a very good article on finishing off the weaning process. I encourage you to read it. It is a wonderful and yes it does help in the bonding process. I am not saying that you cannot bond with your bird if you have not weaned it however I am saying that forging a strong bond with your bird is easier when you hand feed.
I want to say that I have read in this thread about getting an unweaned cockatoo with a note explaining the feeding process, this is absolutely a horrible idea. What I am saying is that being taught by a responsible breeder and showing them that you can in fact do it is not a bad thing. Just my two cents.

 

[Sterling1113]

From what I've noticed, weaning the bird yourself might help the PERSON feel more bonded, but not the other way around. Either way it's definitely not worth it.

 

[RavensGryf]

It's different when a breeder will sell to a customer (at their discretion) who is VERY experienced with hand feeding. Then I think it's okay. But I mean qualified by being VERY experienced, not just a little bit of experience.

 

[Birdman666]

The 50% figure comes from a study by UC Davis (one of the best avian vet schools in the country, if not THE best) that formed the basis for passing the California Law banning inexperienced hand feeders from being in possession of baby birds. The 50% figure is the mortality rate for inexperienced hand feeders (vs. the mortality rate for experienced handfeeders.) Another study actually put the figure slightly higher at 54%!!!) So, yeah… there’s that.

And the overwhelming consensus of opinion is:

1. MYTH, and
2. DON’T DO IT IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING!

http://www.parrottalk.com/hand-feeding-dangers.htm

Dangers and Risks of Hand-feeding Baby Birds | Parrot Parrot

Parrots - Handfeeding - Learn about the pros and cons of handfeeding parrots

Winged Wisdom Pet Bird Magazine. Handfeeding Parrots: Cornerstone to a Good Pet Bird

Tips For Hand-Feed Parrots

The Sale of Unweaned Birds

Avian Welfare Coalition - Sale of Unweaned Baby Birds

Let Someone With Experience Hand Feed And Wean Your Baby Bird

Parrot Forum ? View topic - Why you should never buy an UNWEANED baby parrot

I could post, probably a hundred or more citations on "don't do it." Couldn't find any that says it's a good idea EXCEPT from breeders selling unweaned chicks. And there aren't really all that many of those... most breeders even say the dangers involved makes it not worth the risk.

INTELLIGENT MINDS CAN DISAGREE. it's a hot button issue, and obviously, one of mine... HATE THE PRACTICE! HATE IT!

 

[Birdman666]

It's different when a breeder will sell to a customer (at their discretion) who is VERY experienced with hand feeding. Then I think it's okay. But I mean qualified by being VERY experienced, not just a little bit of experience.

I have no problem with certified or experienced hand feeders buying baby chicks that hatch, hand raising them, and selling them.

Telling a newbie that they need to do this in order to bond with their baby? That's just flat WRONG!

 

[brianlinkles]

I guess that we will have to agree to disagree. There are articles on both sides. I myself breed gcc's and I do not send them home until they are fully weaned. However I also think there are positive aspects of weaning your own bird. Again, not wanting to start an argument, just my opinion that there are valid points.

 

[RavensGryf]

I think the reason so many of us are so passionately against it is because we just hear from so many people posting in a mad panic about a baby in trouble that they're hand feeding, and they don't know what has gone wrong. Then when they reply, they usually in their defense say that they have hand fed before, but if they were experienced enough, they wouldn't need to ask here in a panic! Please understand that I'm not talking about anyone in specific, the subject literally comes up all the time!

 

[Birdman666]

I think the reason so many of us are so passionately against it is because we just hear from so many people posting in a mad panic about a baby in trouble that they're hand feeding, and they don't know what has gone wrong. Then when they reply, they usually in their defense say that they have hand fed before, but if they were experienced enough, they wouldn't need to ask here in a panic! Please understand that I'm not talking about anyone in specific, the subject literally comes up all the time!

And then they either suddenly stop posting, or post the sad news that the baby died of something that an experienced hand feeder would have either prevented from happening, or recognized immediately, and gotten the proper care...

Again, if an owner wants to participate in the hand feeding process under the supervision and direction of an experienced hand feeder, this is also fine, in my book, and that is how you learn. But the person that knows what they are doing needs to be in charge.

 

[ShaunaR]

This forum is great! Just as our breeder wanted to talk about sending home our baby partially weaned this thread literally popped up. I have enjoyed reading all of your opinions on this and even though some disagree you have all helped us so that we can have an intelligent conversation about this with our brreder. So thank you...beyond measure! We decided to leave our baby another 10 days or so to vive her the time she needs to wean with the breeder watching over her. This is our first parrot so we are by no means safe to hand feed a baby. I am glad I have been doing so much reading here before she comes. You people have indirectly ensured the well being of our little Kiki so thank you!

 

[Terry57]

I am glad Kiki is staying with her til she is weaned. I spoke to her last night and she did not want to send her unweaned, so I am glad you decided to wait