Need some advice about buying new baby..

[ParrotJoe]

Hey all, I've made a decision to get a baby handfed severe macaw. However I need some advice. The local breeder which I plan to buy the baby from has one left, and it is 300 dollars cheaper than the bird shop in my area that also has one baby severe. I called the breeder today and told her I would stop by tommorrow with the $200.00 deposit. The thing is the deposit is non-refundable although useable towards other birds if for some reason I end up not wanting the one i put a deposit on.

sorry for all the jabber, let me get to the knitty gritty. Am I doing an unwise thing putting a deposit on a bird that is only a couple months old? Should I wait till its closer to being weaned before making this big decision, and therefore running the risk that someone else may come and put a deposit on the bird?

parrot Joe

[Tiki]

First of all, Joe.............congrats on choosing to wait until the baby is weaned! Very wise decision! I would go ahead and put the deposit if you like the bird. Maybe you can visit him every few days or so so he gets to bond with you while he is being weaned. It might also be a good idea to have the bird AV checked before you get too attached to him, if you have a deposit on him, the breeder should let you take him to a vet at your expense.

[birdsnthings]

If you are sure this is the bird you want then a deposit secures your purchase. It is wise to take the bird home weaned though. Lots of visits are a good idea before you take the new one home. It will be less stressful on the baby if he is familiar with you.
Just weaned is a good time to take one home.
Alice

[Spinnergirl]

If you like the bird and of course trust the breeder. The yes put the $$ down. Many people put money down on birds that are not even born yet in some cases.

It just secures your breeder in knowing it has a home..they like that of course. And it saves them time and money looking for a home, so you can purchase one cheaper :)

Looking forward to your new baby :)

[ParrotJoe]

thanks guys. I'm going over there in less than an hour, im excited!!

I'll try playing with the baby some more and see if i can get him to 'click' ;)

[dino24]

I think you are doing the right thing. I would much rather buy a bird from a breeder than a pet store, JMO. Also now you should be able to visit some while the bird is being weaned and you will get to form a bound with the bird as it goes through the weaning process. Talk to Michael about Feo cause this is what they did. They went and saw Feo until he was weaned and ready to come home.

[ParrotJoe]

Well, I'm back from the breeder. When i first got there and saw the little guy he was afraid of me and tried running away from my hand. The breeder told me that the other day in the middle of the night he had jumped out of his little mini bucket thing she was keeping him in onto the floor, and stayed on the floor all night( apparently he walked around and did some exploring).

She thought maybe he was so jumpy because of this episode. So she took him out for me and handed him over, I sat on the floor and just held him up against me for a good 20 or 30 minutes, giving him pets and strokes and whatnot. There seemed to be a TON of pin feathers coming in on the back of his head and neck and he really seemed to enjoy it when i gave him a little scratch back there.

I read on the forums how people give baby macaws this young sometimes play with toys so I took out my car keys and tried to see if it would catch his attention. He checked out one of my key chains but then went back to his making a loud honking noise which he would do every 30 seconds or so.

After I got done holding him she put him back in his bucket thing ( not the same one he jumped out of ). I wanted to see if he was still afraid of me after I had been holding him, and he wasn't at all! I was pleased to see that, and right after he got situated in his bucket thing he took a big poop. Nice manners! my pionus wouldnt think twice about pooping all over me. I hope he wasn't injured in anyway when he fell. I'm going to take him to a vet to once he's ready to go home to make sure everything is good to go. Strangely enough when i was talking to the breeder about the vet she told me that she never gets shots on her birds. The only concern I have is that the fear he showed me today is not a sign that he will be a fearful/ jumpy bird.

So i went ahead and put a deposit on the little guy and now look forward to taking him home probably sometime in early september. Now the search begins for a cage, food bowls, toys , perches, and a play gym, and a good vet. <looks around for a time machine to take me to the near future, preferrably early september>>>

[The Outlaw]

Joe:
I think its a privilege to get to see your baby grow up. I also applaud any good breeder who weans before their babies leave. That's exactly what they SHOULD do.

Bonding takes time. Actually, you are lucky if you are the second human in its life after the handfeeder. They are usually ready to break away from the parents at that time. You will be his new companion.

Please understand that baby birds are clumsy and curious. Just like any baby, they need to be protected and nurtured. Too many new things at once make for grouchy and insecure infants. The Severes are high strung in the first place, so please just take your time.

Just for the record, I know you didn't know any better, but never offer keys to birds. Many are made of brass and that's a toxic metal to birds. Many birds kept in brass cages in Victorian times died prematurely from metal toxicosis.

Try to visit your bird once a week, if that's agreeable with your breeder. Please be considerate, for they need to rest too. After all, they keep crazy hours when they are handfeeding round the clock.

I think you have made a wise decision by choosing a local breeder. After all, even if you purchased from a pet store, they would only replace your baby anyway IF you could prove them liable in the first place.

Oh, Congrats! You will have soooo much fun.

[ParrotJoe]

Ooo, didnt realize about the keys, good lookin out

[LivingFiction]

Dino24 is right, we did the same thing, putting down a deposit on Feo then visiting him. We went 2-3 times a week. Our breeder was very accomadating and we appreciated her being so. When I first met Feo, he was a baby, and didn't express a whole lot of interest in me, but I wasn't concrened about that. As I visited more, he began being much more interactive. You can read about our visits, and the progress we made in this thread here:

http://www.birdboard.com/forum/thread9709.html

You are going about this the right way, and I think you'll find it to be a very rewarding experience.