Any advice for bringing baby home?

[madisgiftpaiges]

Hello, my name is Kym and finally after 3+ years of begging the hubby, many, many hours of research, etc. I am finally getting my first bird in a long time. next week we will be bringing our green quaker home. I have the cage all ready and full of toys. This weekend we are going to build an awesome PVC play stand. My excitement is slowly turning to nervousness, similar to the last couple of weeks of my pregnancies, lol. So anyways, I was just wondering if anyone could offer an advice for making the first days in a new home and environment a little less stressful on the little guy/girl, don't know the sex yet, lol. My sil, who has raised many, many birds suggested that I buy some of the formula they were being fed to use as a comfort relief for the first 3-5 days, only once or twice a day. The owner of the bird store (very reputable store, has been here in Boise, ID as long as I can remember) said she would show me how and all if I desired to do this with him/her. Oh and name suggestions would be awesome too. Thank you in advance for any info. I am officially a BB junkie over last week and totally love it.

[birdmommaof2]

i had hand fed my baby quaker and i was nervous too but now he is 2 yrs and full of spunk but you will do fine i had hand fed for comfort and well it worked they also love mashed potatoes and my avi vet said human food is good for them it gives them energya dn nutrients and well they also love mac and cheese and spaggehtii

[PowerBBS]

Being that you've said that this isn't necessarily your "first" bird.. I'm sure you aware of most of this. But you asked maybe for some advice... so I'm gonna offer some...

My first advice is that initially upon brining home your fid, for the first few days until he/she gets settled into his new "cage" is that I would place her/his cage in a low traffic area away from loud noises.

Spend time beside his/her cage with them inside of it (hours and hours spread across a few days). It'll get your fid aclaimated to having your around "his"/"her" area. Take it slow and calm... don't just lunge your hand into the cage expecting him to just jump up. Also if you have other pets (dogs, cats ferrets, etc...) you will want to limit their initial interaction with the little fella. Don't want to stress him out. Make sure you take him out in an isolated room initially as he/she may decide that your finger isn't where she/he may want to be and take a dart at flying off. It's good to make sure you've got him over a carpet rather than a hard floor as well as he's most likelly going to be taking a plunge to it while still getting used to you/his new digs.

I'd also make sure that he is eating. The formula thing is a great idea as well as the mashed potatoes. You can try oatmeal as well and even chereos, chex (rice or corn), rice crispies, kix... basically anthing that is low in sugar (however, make sure you avoid the ones that are high in Iron). Ask the pet store what they've been feeding him and make sure you get the exact same thing (at least for a while as a dramatic change in their diet could result in a fid not eating at all). Of course all these "treats" should be given in moderation.

Speghetti noodles is great, rice, grapes, peas, carrots... you can wild with most veggies and fruits - but be careful of the fruits and vegies inner seeds... some of them have trace amounts of cianyde in them - for example apple seeds. Also be careful of dairy products.... most birds lack the enzyme "lactade" and therefor cannot digest lactose (yes most birds are lactose intollerant) so milk could actually cause a digestive tract infection and diarehha. If you do some searching you'll find quite a few posts on do's and don'ts of a birds diet that can be quite helpful.

Anyhow, congrats... just be patient... give him/her quite a few hours to "settle in" to his/her new surroundings before trying to interact with him/her... it's quite a frieghtening thing to him/her I'm sure to be up-rooted and brought somewhere new. Try as hard as you can to look at everything from your "fids" perspective and you'll do just fine.

I love the pic you've provided. I wish I knew a name of a turtle to give you... because his head poking out of the hand... looks kinda like a turtle head poking out of his shell.


Maybe some names like Leonardo, or Michelangelo, or Rapheal would be good <-- teenage mutant ninja turtle names.
Depending on what your couch, shirts, and curtains look like in a few years... you may want to call him Shredder <-- teenage mutant ninja turtle ninja master rat.

OK... I'm corny... I admit it... but you have to admit... those are not typical bird names - which can be a good thing as it means you've given them a unique way of "standing out" from the rest.

[charlieandmom]

What a cutie. I just know your gonna love him/her. They make great companions. You will do fine. I have never owned a quaker until now. He seems to be happy and definiately spoiled.

[madisgiftpaiges]

Well now you've done it PowerBB, lol. If it is a boy his name will be Franklin (Franky for short) from the kids cartoon on Noggin, didn't like the sister turtles name, it is Harriet, so well, if its a boy, he will have a name, lol. My husband likes Woodstock or Paulie too, lol.

Girl names I've been tossing around, Kadie, Abbie, Lexie.

I went into the store today to pick up a few more things and found out a little more about the age of my baby today, lol. I was so busy asking questions about the breeder and health issues, guarantees, etc. it never crossed my mind to ask how old and all that, lol. He/she is about 6 weeks right now, she doesn't have the exact doh yet, so I have about 2-3 more weeks to wait to bring baby home. I was a little disappointed, but I know I made the right decision buying from her rather than going to Zamzows, even though I have to wait. Oh well, just means more time to buy more things and get some more toys and stands built, lol.

Thank you again for all the wonderful info, however, I think I am going to drive my hubby batty the next few weeks.

[Parrotpeople]

Franklin! That's the tutle name I was trying to think of when PowerBBS mentioned that. I like shedder too though. Congratulations on your newest addition!

[madisgiftpaiges]

Well I went in on Tuesday to see how things were going and these little guys are taking a little longer to wean, they don't want to give up the second feeding so I must wait hopefully only another 1-2 weeks!! I have decided to take him/her while still on one feed a day, I have read, read and watched a couple of bird weaning videos and they are going to teach me how and help me through the whole process. I am so excited, but now just impatient, lol but again waiting is better than buying a 6 month to 1 year old from Zamzows for another $75. Well, hopefully he/she will be home soon.

[Okanairda]

You must be so excited! He/she is so adorable! I love the idea of Franklin as a name, but I'm kind of partial to turtle related things now. We named my conure Turtles b/c he always wanted to flip over onto his back when we first got him. Now we call him an "upside down Turtles" and he hangs upside from our hands.

Congrats on your new baby!

[madisgiftpaiges]

My bil just called, I told him about naming bird after a turtle, he got this bright light in his head at work today. He tells me "You have to name him Tippi after the Saturday Night Live turtle." I laughed hysterically and thought about it and love it, so if my baby is a boy, his name shall be Tippi the Quaker!!!! I decided since quakers can be quite a character, Tippi the comedic turtle would better be suited in this situation than the Franklin, lol.

[madisgiftpaiges]

I got to bring my little guy/girl home yesterday, just can't get on BB but once a day if i'm luck this last week for some reason so I hopped on really quick at the in laws house. I'll post some pics later, or you can look under here in the "hopefully a Quaker" thread and there is a new pic.

Happy Easter!