Baby Question.

[Vikingchamp]

I was just wondering (for a friend) if anyone knew where I could get unweended baby birds? Not breed specific, but preferably conures?? I am near K.C. Thanks everyone!

[dyeman]

I would refer you and your freind to Ellie Mae's Thread on the dangers of handfeeding baby birds. I had two people who swore to me they had hand fed before injure their birds last year. A Goffin's Cockatoo that received a crop burn required surgery costing over $800, not to mention the suffering of the bird and as a result he didn't wean until he was nearly 8 months old. Another customer of mine nearly killed a Scarlet Macaw by underfeeding him and injuring his neck. These are just a few reasons why I will not sell unweaned birds.

I know this makes those of us who handfeed sound like some exclusive club or something but it takes quite some time to learn the proper techniques and they are different for every species to a degree. I have hand fed Quakers to Macaws, but I would not touch a Cockatiel because I have never been able to feed one right and I saw a women aspirate one and its a terrible thing to witness.

Sorry for the rant, but I feel strongly about this.

Scott

[Lisa B]

Originally Posted by Vikingchamp

I was just wondering (for a friend) if anyone knew where I could get unweended baby birds? Not breed specific, but preferably conures?? I am near K.C. Thanks everyone!

I'm with Scott on that one.....Unfortuatly I too have seen the horrors that can happen. Its scarey...and often difficult. Your baby will not be any closer to you if you handfeed....it is always best to let someone who knows what they are doing to finish thier job.....in the long run....you might just be saving a baby birds life.
I have hand fed two greys. I was not overly happy doing it. My Sweetest most friendly bird, WAS NOT HAND FED BY ME...but her breeder. She is very well adjusted and the friendliest little bird in this house. I didnt even get her untill she was nearly 9 months old!!!!

[Tiki]

There are so many things that can go wrong, like crop burn and aspiration. I wouldn't try it until I had been trained by an experienced handfeeder I trusted.

[Vikingchamp]

Hey everyone Chill! It's for my friend, who has taken many hand feeding classes and has expirence. I would never attempt to handfeed a baby. I have read Ellie's thing and I will not even think about trying it without proper classes and supervision.

[Lisa B]

We know its for your friend...we were just letting you know what to relay to him**LOL*

[The Outlaw]

Your friend should be able to find their own breeder if they in fact have experience. I agree with everyone else here: even experienced handfeeders sometimes lose baby birds. Its bad business to sell unweaned babies and breeders who do so to folks that they themselves haven't trained and observed are in my opinion, not good breeders. If your friend had a good avian vet, perhaps they can advise where local breeders are located and see if they will supervise him or her. If they are convinced of your friend's ability, it should be no problem finding chicks.

I know I sound like an old grouch, but it sickens me when folks chose this route. You don't save any money in the long run and the good breeders wind up frustrated because they don't get fairly compensated for their labor.

Having been forced to handfeed a baby BG with NO experience, I will NEVER recommend that a novice try it unsupervised. It could have been a total disaster. I simply got lucky.

THE OUTLAW