Doing my research!

[mommaof3]

Hello all,

My husband and I have been talking about getting a bird and we have settled on an African Grey (which of the two we are unsure but are leaning more towards the Congo). And although we won't even be pursing getting our bird for at least another year maybe two we are wanting to learn anything and everything we can.

We have some experience with large birds, but it isnt to the extent we would like them to be. With this being said if anyone has ANYTHING out there for me to absorb please feed me your knowledge.

We would like to obtain our bird from a breeder (not a pet store, we don't trust them, and a re-home would be much to much for us to undertake for our first bird, because we really wouldn't know it's history). But we are unsure if there are any in a decent driving distance to us here in Ohio. We plan on getting him/her all that he/she needs before we even purchase the bird. Like a large cage, a play stand (we were thinking maybe two since our house is larger and we could just move the bird instead of the whole play stand when we leave an area, toys, an outside cage. Plus we wanna set up an emergency vet fund before we bring home our bird. So that is the basics on our end.

A few of our questions are:

How soon before we are able to bring our bird home (we havent even looked at any yet) after their hatch date?

Is it better for us to do the hand feeding or wait until that is complete?

Where is there a list of avian vets we can find?

Does anyone have any home made recipes for bird food and bird bread?

Anyone know anything about clicker training?

And well there are obviously gonna be more but this is what I have for the moment. I should also state that I am a stay at home mom, and by the time we plan on bringing a bird into the home our youngest will be about three (if we dont have anymore which we plan on being done with the three we have now). Thanks in advance.

[LovelySydney]

Most of the things you have asked you can find online if you google it but I will try to help you as much as I can

African Greys are normally weaned at 12 weeks of age, or 3 months. The weaning age can generally be from 9 weeks to 16 weeks so 12 is right about in the middle. Each breeder is different on when they are comfortable letting their babies go home. I would NOT recommend hand feeding the baby yourself. Hand feeding should be done by someone who knows what they are doing and who has done it numerous times before. Too much can go wrong when hand feeding so I feel it best to leave that up to the breeder. As far as avian vets go you can find a list for Ohio in the back of Bird Talk Magazine or you can google it and find some. I found mine from local breeders because I really had a hard time finding someone online. Also, depending where you are in Ohio, someone on the board could be able to direct you to a good vet - I know there are people on here from Ohio, so that could definitely help!!

As far as recipes go there are a wealth of those on the board. I think we have a whole section dedicated to diet and recipes. Also, if you search for bird recipes online you will also find some great resources. I found my bird bread recipe on a lovebird forum but always am tweeking it to have some variety for my little ones.


Click training - I have done it with 2 lovebirds. One caught on VERY quickly, the other one thought it to be the most boring thing in the world, LOL. I think it really depends on the individual bird. For my bird that DID like it and picked it up quickly, it worked wonders. He was stepping up in just a day and he just kept learning. He was a very fast learner. Clicker training is good too because the sound is consistent and the process is consistant. Its not easy to do and I have found that if a bird is interested he or she will generally stay interested. I will be doing CT with my painted conure, Neko because I know he "listen" to it, so to speak. My parrotlet Oliver is too independent for CT, he just wont be bothered with it, lol!!



Im proud of you for doing your research, that is the most important part!!! We need more potential bird owners out there like you who get as much information as they can before they make a decision. Keep us posted on what you decide and if you have any other questions always feel free to ask!!

[Scritch]

Originally Posted by mommaof3

(not a pet store, we don't trust them, and a re-home would be much to much for us to undertake for our first bird, because we really wouldn't know it's history).

You might not want to rule out an older bird quite so fast. In some cases they make *better* birds for beginners because they are who they are... with babies, you never know quite who they'll be when they grow up. Plus, you can't usually screw up an older bird anymore than they've already been screwed up -- not without really trying, anyway. But it's quite easy to screw up a baby!

Babies are much easier than adults... at first. But of course, they then BECOME adults! Yes, SOME older greys are more difficult than average, sometimes MUCH more difficult, due to neglect or abuse from past owners. Some, though, are still easy birds, either because they had the right owners who had to give them up anyway, or because they have the kind of personalities that can weather tough storms.

Anyway, point being, please at least *consider* an older bird. Perhaps put together a list of what you want in a grey, and what you don't want, and at least keep an eye out for an older bird that matches up. If you meet an older bird and hit it off, that's a good sign you're very compatible. On the other hand, getting along with a baby doesn't mean as much, they're almost always friendly little buggers!

But we are unsure if there are any in a decent driving distance to us here in Ohio.

There's quite a few breeders in Ohio and the Midwest, you should be able to find someone. I used to be in Michigan and was a lot more familiar with the local breeders, but it's been a few years. Maybe one of our Ohioan members can be more helpful?

How soon before we are able to bring our bird home (we havent even looked at any yet) after their hatch date?

Is it better for us to do the hand feeding or wait until that is complete?

Wait till the bird is weaned, no question. Beware of any breeder who would even consider selling you an unweaned chick. This is important for two reasons -- one, hand-feeding requires experience. An inexperienced hand-feeder can kill a chick. Just as importantly, baby greys are better off if they stay with their siblings as long as possible, for socialization. This is even more important if they're going to a home where they'll be the only bird! Although it sounds cute to have a bird that thinks it is human, it usually results in a neurotic, nervous bird who hasn't a clue about his own identity and place in the world. Weaned is the way to go. Greys wean around 3-4 mths old, and some breeders keep them as long as 5 mths.

Where is there a list of avian vets we can find?

The Association of Avian Veterinarians | Association

Ask around for vet recommendations, too... here on the board, from any breeders you talk to, etc. (A breeder without a good avian vet shouldn't be breeding )

Does anyone have any home made recipes for bird food and bird bread?

Naw, I just give mine stuff I make for myself, but there's lots online and a book or two with recipes... others here will have some

I recommend sprouting! Google "sprouting for birds"

Anyone know anything about clicker training?

Yayes, though I do more of it with my dogs than parrots by a long shot. Any particular questions?

Anyway, best of luck with your decision and keep us updated! Oh, and the Congo vs. Timneh thing... I'd look for either or both, and pick whichever bird you get along with best! There are very few differences between the two over all -- the differences between individuals within the two species are much greater!

[mommaof3]

Thank you guys for your responses. I am very eager to get this ball rolling, more importantly on the saving end of it. We are setting up a fund just for our bird. That includes our emergency vet fund. We really want to do this the right way. We have looked on CL before but some of the ads you can just tell that these birds werent taken care of, and were being rushed off because this neglect lead to misbehavior. We have dogs so we understand what it is to take care of an animal. Although we have been learning that birds take much more to care for them.

We originally thought about an older bird but we had friends who took in a rehomed bird (not sure of the breed) but the previous owners sounded so fantastic and like they really took care of this bird and all of that. But it wasnt the case. So we are a bit leary on even considering taking in an older bird for our first. We saw the troubles our friends went through with their bird. We would eventually end up getting another later down the road maybe a few years after our first and depending on everything that would be the time we would consider getting an older bird. Once we were more experienced. But that isnt to say that we wont meet one along this journey to finding our baby and change our minds.

[jenseits]

I have 2 rehomes. One was a bit of a problem bird, but I've had him for two years and clicker training has made a world of difference in our relationship. I got him from a local Animal Welfare League (not a bird rescue), which did not have any history on him. He was found outside. We don't even know how old he is. He was pretty aggressive and seemed to know two ways of communicating: screaming and biting. He's a much calmer bird now and very affectionate, thanks to some fairly minor investment (of time) into training.

The other bird I found on Craig's List. She was two years old and had two homes (both owners knew each other and kind of shared custody of the bird), but she came with her hatch papers, vet records, etc. I've had her for one year. She's been a complete doll from day one: she's sweet, calm, can entertain herself, loves scritches, steps up whenever she's asked to, goes back inside her cage with no fuss, etc. She would have been an awesome bird for a first-time bird owner, no question about it.

Two different rehoming circumstances, two completely different birds.

I would also look into rehoming an adult bird if you can for some of the reasons stated by other posters above. If you're worried about getting the "truth" about a bird's personality and potential issues, I would recommend going through a reputable bird rescue agency rather than the classifieds. They have much more incentive to tell you everything they know about a potential adoptee (the good and the bad), since they want to find a good long-term fit.

Not every adult bird up for adoption is a "problem" bird. Very often they come from perfectly wonderful homes that for whatever reason just can't keep them.

As for clicker training, there's a lot of good info in the training section of the board (and you can use the search function to find them as well). Check out previous posts on the subject and post any specific questions you have after reading more about it.

[loyallyroyal]

Here is a list of avian certified vets by state, there are 3 in Ohio I believe.

Birdsnways - Board Certified Avian Veterinarians

The big thing I would look into with breeders is how they socialize the babies, how long the babies are with the parents, and if they keep the clutchmates together after they pull them. Also what kind of health gurantee they offer or if they will harness train the baby for you.
Also you need to look into if you want a large commercial breeder, or a small breeder that focuses on only a couple of species.

Here is a list of breeders in Ohio:
Bird Breeders in Ohio OH - BirdBreeders.com - Avian Directory of Available Birds and Bird Breeders

Then here are some resources you can check out that I have found helpful:
HolisticBird and HolisticBirds
http://www.parrotenrichment.com/
Phoenix Foraging Rolls
Bird Cages - Presented by BirdsComfort.com

[jdlilfan]

My TAG is a rehome and is about 20ish. She was neglected and in a home where her previous owners had no clue how to properly care for a bird. However, since she's been with me, she'd doing great and she has NO behavioral problems whatsoever. She had plucked in her old home due to neglect and stress, but since she's with me, we've had no plucking issues and her feathers are coming back in beautifully. She's very cuddly and affectionate. She's the most loving bird I've ever been around. I would take her over a hand fed baby any day. You can really luck out and find a real jewel in an older bird. I sure did!

This cookbook has some great recipes in it.
Amazon.com: The Healthy Bird Cookbook: A Lifesaving Nutritional Guide and Recipe Collection (0018214105381): Robin Deutsch: Books

[jdlilfan]

My TAG is a rehome and is about 20ish. She was neglected and in a home where her previous owners had no clue how to properly care for a bird. However, since she's been with me, she'd doing great and she has NO behavioral problems whatsoever. She had plucked in her old home due to neglect and stress, but since she's with me, we've had no plucking issues and her feathers are coming back in beautifully. She's very cuddly and affectionate. She's the most loving bird I've ever been around. I would take her over a hand fed baby any day. You can really luck out and find a real jewel in an older bird. I sure did!

This cookbook has some great recipes in it.
Amazon.com: The Healthy Bird Cookbook: A Lifesaving Nutritional Guide and Recipe Collection (0018214105381): Robin Deutsch: Books

[brdfvr]

I don't know how close this is to you, but there is a bird show in Medina, OH. I go to see all of the different birds, but even if someone doesn't have a Grey, you will be able to talk to people and breeders that might know someone. It's a good resource if you are interested in learning more about Greys.
Exotic Bird Fair Expo- Home
Lemme know if you go, I want to know how it is!

[Jag]

I am going to a vet with my new CAG on Friday morning. I will let you know what I think about him. There aren't any 'certified' avian vets in the area, but there are vets who do avian vetting. I know the guy I am going to see has 'paid the dues' for the Avian Vet Association... but I don't know him. Happy to see another person from the area here! I just got a rehome...paid a small 'ransom' but she's (so far) being a doll! Don't rule out an older bird or a 'rescue' or 'rehome' yet! There are a lot out there who would probably do just fine with TLC. My new girl is also a plucker...but I know she was sorely neglected...don't know about abused.