Question about handfeeding. . .kinda. . .

[Amie]

My question isn't regarding handfeeding, actually.

A friend of the family owns an exotic pet store. Brian is actually working there until his job starts in July (he worked there while working towards all of his teaching certifications). Well, they have many connections with breeders, obviously, as they sell birds.

A breeder in the area was raided by the SPCA or police, and their breeder contact is friends with the owner of the store. She couldn't take in all of the babies herself (the adults went to various rescue organizations --apparently, none of the adult breeders were given to other breeders which is what had been happening here since Katrina. I'm very happy about this progress!). The pet store owner ended up with a Mexican Red Headed Amazon (or Green Cheek) and 3 Congo Greys. All between 3 and 4 weeks old.

She's not a breeder, although she does buy the birds she plans on selling in her shop unweaned so that she can make sure they're all handfed and used to human interaction before selling. She OBVIOUSLY wasn't planning on having 4 babies plopped into her lap, and like most people, has a weeklong vacation planned in the VERY near future.

So, we shall be babysitting and handfeeding said babies. Which I'm UBER excited about. I'm going over today for a refresher course in handfeeding (I haven't hand fed a beeb in about 10 years) and if all works out, I'm going to get one of the CAGs once weaned for UBER cheap! (I'd continue handfeeding myself, but with the move, the wedding, and the honeymoon in the next month, that's not going to happen!)

So, my actual question is this:

What precautions do I need to take to keep Scarlett safe while babies are here?

All of the adults from the raid were tested and have all been given a clean bill of health. My family friend took this as good enough and is keeping the babies in her bird room with her macaws and Amazons at home. I'm assuming it's good enough, too, but I want to make sure. I'm not giving up my baby just to help out a friend, you know? Of course the Grey would be quarantined once I actually adopted him/her, but while handfeeding, they won't be interacting with Scarlett at all. I will, though. If I put them on a towel while feeding so they don't touch my clothes and wash my hands really well after handling them, is that enough to keep Scarlett safe?

Or am I going to have to change my clothes 5 times a day?

Just curious. Thanks!

[Ashling]

OMG! That is so exciting! I would do anything to be in your position.
I think you should do what you think is enough to protect Scarlett- You could have a plastic rain coat to put on over your clothes and COMPLETELY tape up every time you feed the bub. It's practical and not very time consuming. When I fed my baby Raven, I'd change anything she had touched, washed my hands twice and almost never had her inside the house. She'd rarely touch me but since she lived outside, ate bugs and insects, had closer contact with wild birds and ate a wild mouse once, I wasn't taking any chances! Good luck, I hope someone with more experience comes along ;) Fledged Corvids are very different to unfledged parrots!
Can I ask why the breeder was raided and the parrots taken from her?

[Amie]

Originally Posted by Ashling

Can I ask why the breeder was raided and the parrots taken from her?

She had a bunch of complaints filed against her apparently by people who bought from her. She didn't fledge the birds, and people were complaining just to try and change that.

When they went to her house, apparently they found dirty cages that were WAY too small for the birds and lots of nasty soup water. Some babies had died and were still in the cages with live birds, which was apparently enough to take all of her birds away from her. . . the nasty, dirty, too small cages was not enough. It should be, though.

Surprisingly, all the adult birds were "healthy" as far as disease and blood levels and things. Most (males) have feather issues, obviously, from being in too small of a cage with an aggressive mating female, a few had injured wings, some had overgrown beaks. . . .but overall, they were surprisingly healthy, if not physically fit.

They're diet was surprisingly good. Through some connections, she got Zupreem pellets for really cheap, so the animals were at least getting more than seed.

[Sashagirl]

Amie

With the Greys being so young will they have been vaccinated against Polyoma Virus before coming to your house?Will Scarlett be at risk of catching
it?

Marcia

[Amie]

They're lined up for their vaccinations and everything, but I'm not sure if they got them yet (the pet store owner actually gives the shots herself). Are they old enough?

And, if they're vaccinated, does that stop them from being able to transfer it if they already have it? I don't think it would.

Hmmm. . . . I think we'll be keeping new birdies in my parent's old birdroom from when mom fostered. We're living with mom and dad while we're moving and closing on our house and such, so we'll be there anyway. It's on its own ventilation system. I'll just have to convince them to let me turn it on.

This is all sorts of scary. Could they have polyoma when none of the adults had it?

[Sashagirl]

Amie

Sorry I'm just now getting back to you.I have a lot that's been going on.I will have to look into the questions that you have asked regarding the Greys.I'll have answers ASAP.

Marcia

[Ashling]

What a shame they were neglected. At least something good came out of it. Something always does :) I'm sure your new bub will be healthy.

[Amie]

They're adorable little buggers, they are!! They've still got the pterodactyl thing going. I'm not sure if they're growing feathers as quickly as they should (they're still pretty naked for 3.5 weeks old! - the 4 week old Zon has most of his pins and quite a few chest and back feathers already out) but their nutrition was pretty bad, so they may be able to bounce back. I've never been around greys that young, though, so I'm not sure how quickly they should get feathers.