Great Breeder

[Shawn2774]

I am not sure if this is accepted on this board or not, but I just took delivery of a 4 1/2 month old Green Wing Macaw from Feathered Companions Aviary out of Delmar, MD and I wanted to make sure everyone knows about this breeder. Maranda has done phenomenal work raising this baby. She has trained her to step up and is semi-potty trained to where she will jump off of you to relieve herself instead of going on you. This bird is so gentle and I was able to have her step up within a few hours of her knowing me. Maranda also trained her to drink from a bottle, so when she came off the plane I was able to give her a drink from a bottle of water, which she readily accepted. If anyone is looking to add a new companion to their flock, this breeder is definitely one to look at. You can see what she has available here:
BirdBreeders.com :: Feathered Companions - 300 South Maryland Ave, Delmar, MD 21875 Baby Birds

[chapala]

That's pretty young to be fully weaned for a GW. How is she doing now that you have her home? You are lucky to have her! The GWs are such beautiful and sweet birds (we fostered one for 14 months).

[Feathered Companions]

Hi! I'm the breeder Maranda, Feathered Companions Aviary and I went on here to read about Shawns comment and had to sign up. Phoenix and her brother Harley weaned very early for greenwings normally my babies take about 6 months to wean. But I do not force wean, what I do is I put the babies in a cage (when they are ready) we keep them on their regular formula feeding patterns. But I also put seed, pellet and water in the cages with the birds so they can start exploring the idea of food. Pretty much my babies wean themselves, as they start to eat more pellet and seed we start to decrease their amount of feedings. Since my nursery is in my house it is very easy to keep track of what they are eating. We constantly check weight to make sure the birds are doing well. And these two just decided to wean early. Phoenix I called my special baby because she was born on christmas day, also for her huge love of being held like a baby. Because they weaned so fast I kept them an extra three weeks after we stopped hand feeding them to make sure they were 100% ready for their homes. My main concern for all my babies is to make sure they are healthy mentally and physically as well as going to good loving homes. I will keep a baby for as long as necessary until I believe it is ready and the family is the right fit. I do it for the 100% love of birds.

[chapala]

Great news! I have read that it usually does take about 6 months for GWs to wean, but they all are individuals and this one was ready early. Good to hear, and thanks for letting us know.

[Abby]

Hi Maranda. Great to meet another breeder who has the same idea as I do on weaning. Unfortunately there seems to be many that are ready to push babes out the door as soon as possible. These are always the ones that people hear about.

Whilst breeder bashing really isn't acceptable recommending a good breeder from personal experience is a big yes. It helps for people looking for a baby bird to read positive experiences others have had with certain breeders.

[Feathered Companions]

Yes there are a lot of breeders out there, I'm right now finishing weaning a Congo African Grey for a person because another breeder sold it to them unweaned (at three weeks old) the person had no clue how to handfeed and took the breeders advise, which was completely wrong. Luckily they got to me in time so I could save the poor guys life, he is small but is doing great. It bothers me how some breeders don't care, my babies are like my children...LOL. I would protect them at all cost, and I don't know how some people can have a baby for 3-4 months and not care if it is ready to go home. Very sad.

[Abby]

The stupidity of these breeders that are kicking chicks out the door so quickly (and I make assume it's money driven) is that long term they are missing out on sales.

If you do the right thing as a breeder and produce a fully weaned babe that is well socialised with basic training word spreads. You then get more sales as a result of recommendations.

Personally I won't sell unweaned babes. My job as a breeder is to get them through from start to finish. If I was silly enough to sell an unweaned babe and there ended up being a problem then who does the fault lie with? Was there a problem with the babe to start with or did the new owner stuff something up with the hand feeding process? Who really knows. Ultimately I believe it would be my fault though for not completing the process from start to finish.

While I'm babbling away...

My dad came over a week or so ago and we were talking about the birds. He found it interesting that I called them babies rather then chicks. I said to him, well they are my babies. I put so much time and energy into them that they go beyond being chicks and are part of the of the family for that short time in their lives. They are my feathered babies.

[Shawn2774]

Originally Posted by chapala

That's pretty young to be fully weaned for a GW. How is she doing now that you have her home? You are lucky to have her! The GWs are such beautiful and sweet birds (we fostered one for 14 months).

Phoenix is such a ham. She loves to be held and snuggle. She ate very well today, which surprised me as I figured with the big change and the traveling yesterday that she would not eat that much today while she started to settle in. I will be keeping an eye on her just to make sure she continues to do well, but I am very happy with her progress in such a short time.

Maranda is absolutely correct in calling Phoenix her special baby. She is so sweet and open to anything. I couldn't be happier!!

[Shawn2774]

Maranda,
I wanted to post a few pictures of Phoenix for you to see. She is settling in well and playing from sun up until sun down. She is doing great!


Mmmmmmm.......Tasty Kitty!!!


Smile pretty for the camera!!

[Feathered Companions]

Aww!!! I'm soo glad to see she is doing great! We miss her here... it is always hard for one of our babies to go home though. If you ever have any questions just give me a call, text, or email :)

Thanks for the pictures!!!