The world of African Greys BRINGING YOUR BABY GREY HOME - FEEDING By: Christine Wanger Young African Grey Parrots will learn to wean on to solid food at around the the age of 12 weeks. But just because a bird has been seen to eat solid food, this does not mean that the weaning process is done and your birds hand-rearing formula can be forgotten. Many African greys can still be reliant on you for Top-up feeds for many weeks to come. This is something which many breeders will not tell you as they want to farm the young birds out as soon as possible to keep costs as low as they can, get their cash and be sure the bird is still young and tame. Unfortunately many birds are sold as weaned and die of starvation a few days after being sold as the owner will not be informed that top up feeds are required. A bad scrupulous breeder will not care for the birds fate as long as they get their hands on your cash! These kind of people will never offer you a refund, their only concern is the cash. Be prepared! There are a few things you can do to prevent your newly purchased bird from starving to death. Firstly you need to be prepared! Ask the breeder what hand rearing formula the bird has been reared on and ask if you can purchase some. If they will not sell any to you or say they dont know, then buy one of the brands available in pet stores which say they are suitable for African Grey parrots. There are many good brands available on the market, the store owner may be able to advise you. Secondly ask the breeder if the bird was syringe fed or spoon fed. This will make booster feeding for you much easier if you have the right equipment that the bird will recognise and realise its food time. Is my new home ready? When your bird arrives home with you, the cage and feed pots should already be in place. When setting up the cage remember that a young Grey will not be very good at climbing around and getting from perch to perch with ease. Most birds have come directly from a cage where they have been either on a perch very low to the bottom of the cage or even just the flat surface at the bottom of a cage. So it is very important to set up the cage with the perches placed down low in the cage until your bird learns to climb around. If your bird is having problems getting around the cage, it may have difficulties getting to the food and water pots too. I find it best to place the pots on the bottom surface of the cage away from the perch so they dont poop in it, weaning birds find it far easier to eat while on a flat surface rather than while perching. Also avoid water pots that are too deep as the bird may get chilled if it keeps falling into or standing in the water pot. *Your birds main food pot should include a pot with at least half pellets and half seed mix. You should ask your breeder whether your bird has been weaned onto pellets or seed. Most will say seed as it is the cheaper option but a pelleted diet is so much more healthier and young birds are more willing to try them. Many young birds have difficulties shelling the seeds in their mix- this is usually something they will learn to do from their parents. So always try pellets- get them eating healthy while young! TOPPING UP YOUR AFRICAN GREYS DIET - SOFTFOOD Ok so your new bird is now home with you and settled - fantastic! After a few hours of being with you you will need to offer the bird some of the hand rearing formula which you have purchased. A great way to tell if your bird is hungry or needs topping up is to hold the bent teaspoon or syringe in front of your birds beak. If your bird is hungry it will recognise the feeding instrument and may begin to grab at it with its beak and flap its wings. If this happens be prepared as it can get messy until you master the art of hand feeding! Mix the formula as directed on the packaging and allow it to cool! *A good tip here is the temperature when ready to feed should be warm and not hot - you should be able to poke your finger into the centre without any burning, just a comfortable warmth. Your bird should only take a few teaspoons until it is full up. Make sure that you try to keep the formula away from the feathers and clean your birds beak after as it will matt the feathers and stick into a hard messy lump on the beak and feathers if not cleaned up. Job done! DIET SHEET FOR WEANING BIRDS around 12 weeks old plus. * A supply of fresh seed mix/pellets should be available all of the time. Remember- your parrot will be unsure of how to shell seeds at this point and it may take lots of practice so the amount of seeds which are eaten will be minimal and other foods need to be offered. Weaning your bird onto a pelleted diet is a much healthier and easier option! *A fresh supply of water should be available all the time. *The first stage in weaning your African Grey is to gradually reduce the amount of hand rearing formula feeds. So firstly aiming at 3 feeds per day these should be equally spaced at about 8 hours apart. so for example: *7am *3pm *11pm *Inbetween feeds a fresh supply of fruit and veg should be offered. for example, between 7am and 3pm offer a dish of fruit and between the 3pm and 11pm feed offer a dish of vegetables. * See list of safe fruit and vegetables for Ideas. At weaning age it is a good ides to offer fruits and veggies in small pieces. Peas and sweetcorn are often readily taken raw or cooked. *Parrots are not keen on cold straight from the fridge foods and it can upset a young birds tummy so always try to serve at room temperature. *Veggies are best served warm and are often refused when they have turned cold. * Always remove any spoiled dirty foods immediately. *Other foods can also be offered inbetween feeds. This is a good opportunity to offer things such as sprouted seeds and pulses, soft low fat and easy to eat foods such as scrambled egg, hard boiled egg (chopped), chopped roast chicken breast ( no bones), white boneless fish, a few sprinkles of grated cheese, boiled rice or pasta, a very small amount of biscuit crumbs, millet spray or seeds, wholegrain healthy cereals either soaked in soya milk or eaten on their own. Boiled sweet potatoe I find is also very well consumed at this age as it has a soft mushy consistancy. As your bird gradually learns to eat more during the day, feeds can be reduced to 2 feeds per day, so one in the morning and one at night time just as top ups to ensure your bird is eating enough. These two feeds can be given for many weeks to come until your bird refuses them and decides he/she no longer wants them. *African Greys do not like to be rushed through the weaning process so do not be in too much of a hurry to drop the final 2 feeds. In the wild African Greys do not learn to wean until they have first learnt to fly (around 12 weeks old) and the process of following their parents around and learning to eat different kinds of foods can take weeks or sometimes even months in the wild! But they can also rely on you too much for food so getting your bird eating healthy on a 3 formula feed diet rota followed by a 2 a day formula feed is a very healthy way to introduce your bird onto solid foods. *Purchasing some gram scales to weigh your bird is an excellent way to ensure your bird is eating enough and not loosing too much weight during the weaning process.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 18:06:42 +0000
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