Bring Up (Home) Baby

[Buzz7]

I'm bring home (Maestro?), my new baby Mitred Conure Thursday (picking up at the airport). I have some questions! What do I need to do? How do I prepare his cage? I noticed Buzz must have chewed/gotten off some of the finish off the inside of the cage. What should I make sure I have for Maestro? Toys, food (I assume the breeder will have what he's eating now), bedding? I know the basics+ but I don't want to overlook anything.

When I pick him up from the airport should I take him out of his crate in the car and introduce myself? I understand that he is EXTREMELY outgoing and friendly. He just finished hand-feeding a couple of weeks ago.

Any advice on what to do for a new "family member" would be greatly appreciated.

[grandma]

How old is he?
I would suggest not taking him out till you get home. Just softly talk to him in the car to calm him. Plane trips are extremly stressful to birds. when you get him home put his crate next to the cage and let him go to the cage and perch. (Hope they put something in the crate for him to perch on) Don't be too anxious to start bonding that first day. Just be near him and talk to him.

As far as feeding...you didn't say how old he is. Make sure he has water right away. I took some ice chips with me when I picked Baby up and gave it to her in the car...that way I didn't have to open her crate.

I'm sure someone else here on BB has more suggestions and expertise than I do. (I'm sure they spell better than me as well.)
Keep checking the thred and you will get all your questions answered.

Good luck and keep everyone posted.

[Buzz7]

Yeah Susan, that makes perfect sense; should have thought of that myself. I was thinking I have a 5 hour drive from the airport but he'd still probably be way better off just staying in the crate!

Good idea about the ice chips!

[Quito's Qage]

Oh gosh, you must be excited!! Hmm, it's a bit late in the game to do too much....I'm a little concerned about that cage. Is it a powder-coated one? It's never a good sign when some of the coating comes off, you need to be concerned with rust, as well as the issue of what exactly is in the coating that the bird might ingest if it comes off that easily. If you haven't already, at a minimum I'd suggest thoroughly disinfecting and rinsing the cage and everything in it. Newspaper is fine for lining, does the cage have a grate? If this is a budgie sized cage, you might want to consider getting a bigger one.

I agree with Susan about not taking him out until you get him home. I had long car trips (5 hours plus) with both my birds, and I baby-talked, whistled, and sang every song I knew to them on the way home. Along with the ice chips, you could also bring along some small pieces of apple (minus seeds of course), and maybe a spray of millet.

You probably ought to contact the breeder and ask about what he's eating. Be aware if he's just finished handfeeding, there's a possibility he could regress, and need to be handfed some for a while. I have no experience with that, so search the board here or ask. There have been several posts recently about it.

Toys and a few various size/texture perches should be on your list as well. No telling whether he's had much experience with toys, but if he's like most conures I've seen, playing will come pretty easy.

Other than that, as Susan said, give him a day or so to settle in to his new surroundings. Good luck and let us know when he's home!! Do you have a name yet?

Edit: Oh yeah, something else you might bring with you is a pillowcase or some sort of light cloth to drape over the crate in case the sun is shining strongly on him in the car. Don't shut off his ventilation though!

[Buzz7]

Quito, excited is an understatement; I leave at 6 in the morning for Mpls. This is a large conure cage I had for my Nanday Buzz; I would NEVER put a conure in a budgie cage. ooo could you imagine *grin*.

My cage is a (anyway it's labeled) cal • cage, whatever that is. It's not alot of peeling but enough to bother me. I didn't notice it until I started inspecting for the new bird. My son is going to totally disinfect with some stuff I got at Petco. I put the toys I could salvage (stuff without wood or cloth) in the dishwasher and took out the ones I had in storage that I had bought but never given to Buzz.

It does have a grate and I'm going to have my son pick up the pellet liner for the bottom of the cage... unless there is some reason I shouldn't...

What about the perches. I think I need 1 or 2 more but I heard the sand or grit covered ones can actually cause sore feet or sores on feet??? Any thought on that? Maybe wooden and rope? Buzz wore out his rope one but boy did he love it!

I'll bring an apple and millet- I wasn't aware conures liked millet..

I had read some about hand-feeding regression and have been alittle concerned about that. I of course will keep a close eye on his diet and weight and tweak his diet till he's happy. I'm hoping it won't happen as Baxter (second name now? Maestro/Baxter) is a very friendly, outgoing extrovert.

Ahhh good idea! Hadn't thought about the sun!

Mental checklist: ice chips-apple-millet-light cover cloth-

Thanks! I will let you know

[Quito's Qage]

I think the concern with bedding material is that unless you completely change it daily, the bedding becomes a breeding ground for bacteria. I just find it easier to use newspaper. It also makes it easier to keep an eye on the droppings.

Where he's young and possibly a bit clumsy yet, some newspaper or cardboard padding on the bottom of the cage might not be a bad idea. Particularly if the cage is fairly tall, where he can fall any distance. Both Quito and Tausi were a little accident prone at first. Quito broke a tailfeather this way her first day here.

Regards perches, if he has several different ones to choose from, then a cement one shouldn't cause a problem. Certainly not good if its the only one available. For both my birds, I keep a cement perch right next to the food dish. They both love to have a beak scrape after a snack. I think all birds love rope perches, I know mine do.

Have a good trip, I hope the heat has broken a bit for you. Have a friend in Minneapolis area, so I know how brutal it's been lately!

[grandma]

Buzz, you are probably on your way to the airport. Let us know how it went as soon as you can.