Decision- Bring My Baby Sun Home or Not?

Here's the rundown. I purchased a red factor sun conure and am waiting for him to be weaned before bringing him home.

According to the hatch date, he is now 11 weeks old, and barely started cracking some seed at the pet store. For the most part he bobs his head all day (literally, I see him 3x week for an hour at a time and he is always bobbing) and then will cackle/screech for his formula. When he's fed sometimes he regurgitates the formula & then the poor thing tries to lick it off the bottom of the wire grate.

The owner has tried to convince me several times to bring the conure home, however, I declined. 1) I don't have experience hand-feeding and 2) I believe it is the store's responsibility to finish weaning him.

My concern is that maybe there really isn't enough interaction going on to help the conure wean. From what I've read, you need to introduce various foods, demonstrate eating behaviors, etc. It appears they put in a millet spray, some seeds (I think once they tried moistened oats) and just leave it in the cage. So I'm starting to wonder if I should bring my baby home & try to wean him myself. Any advice out there????

Unless you know how to wean a baby, don't try!!! It can be frustrating trying to wean a baby parrot. Before fully weaned you still need to hand feed regardless.

The poor bird, it sounds very hungry and maybe ill. They should be introducing other types of foods like corn, veggies, mixes.

From the sounds of it, I would go and get a different bird. Its bad that the bird is acting that way, and the store owner is trying to get you to take it home early. Trying to convince you several times even after you told her your confidence and experience in hand feeding isn't there. I see red flags, and would get a different bird straight from a breeder with a good reputation.

What type of warranty does the bird have? is it written on paper and signed by both parties? If it covers the bird once you take it home bring it to an avian vet, get a checkup to make sure its healthy before the warranty is gone.

The receipt reads that you must take the bird to the vet within 7 days. They guarantee against any significant health problems, when diagnosed by a vet. Then, I either get store credit, or another bird (no refunds). I was wondering if the bird might be ill, or is just having difficulty weaning. That is another reason why I haven't taken him home yet, as once you take the bird out of the store, you cannot return it. I wanted time to observe his behaviors & progress. So far, during this past week, he appears to be the same, and nothing has deteriorated (to my knowledge).

Should I go for a visit with some fruits or veggies pieces and try to hand feed him? Or maybe purchase some pellets and moisten them?

Overall, he is super sweet and nuzzles under my chin when he sees me. I have him perch on my finger for a bit, but he flies off onto my chest and wants to snuggle. He lets my kids handle him without a nip or any beaking. He is also quiet most of the time. I don't know if maybe he is actually younger than his supposed hatch date, or if he's ill, or if this is just his personality. I hope he's fine. The family has grown quite attached to him during our visits and it would break my kids' hearts if he wasn't able to come home.

You can if you want to or just let them finish the weaning process then start once you get him home.

mikeytn said:

unless you know how to wean a baby, don't try!!! It can be frustrating trying to wean a baby parrot. Before fully weaned you still need to hand feed regardless.

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What he said! It's easy to accidentally kill them. Let the bird finish weaning. It's not a long time to wait, and it's a critical point in his development.

This is my baby. He's always bobbing his head, so it's hard to get a clear picture of him! Age-wise, he would have just started his 11th week.

Re: Decision- Bring My Baby Sun Home or Not?-UPDATE

Saw the baby yesterday...was in poor shape. Lost a lot of weight, I could feel the breastbone, it was quite prominent. It was doing this cackle call nonstop, it's voice was raspy and his whole body would shake with each cackle. All he did was cuddle under my chin. His crop was empty, supposedly he is on 3 feedings per day. The seed cup wasn't touched at all, there was some moistened pellets in a bowl. I did try to take them out and hand feed him, but he would drop them instead of eating them. This whole situation is heartbreaking!!!

I'm sorry you are going through this. I wouldn't bring your baby home until you know he's better.

I'm afraid the pet store isn't doing enough for him. I don't know if this is their version of "tough love" and they are trying to wean him by forcing him to eat food, or maybe there is some other reason, metabolic, sickness, etc. I hate feeling helpless...it's not my style to not get involved.

He needs vet care if he's losing weight, and the keel is showing. No ifs, ands, or butts, about it...

have you put a deposit down on this bird? I would ask to speak to the store manager and ask to see a record of his weight and feeding schedule over the past week, and if (when) they can't provide one, ask why they haven't been keeping one. Tell them you have enough experience to know the bird is sick and needs to see a vet and ask if they will refer him to their own avian vet or would you like them to arrange one to come in and give him a check up. Then demand to see the vetinary report. Just because they are a pet store doesn't mean they can wilfully ignore potentially life threatening sickness in their animals, they still have to abide by the same neglect and abuse laws as pet owners, and if you make it clear to them that the bird may die without vetinary attention they're legally obliged to provide it, because in case of the bird dying they're open to all kinds of lawsuits and could lose their licence to sell livestock

Yes, I already paid for him.

I spoke w/the store owner & he said that miraculously the bird is doing better today and eating some seeds. He agreed that the bird was looking thin, and was thinking that he'd take him to a vet if he didn't improve...WOW what a coincidence. (sarcasm)

Anyway, he said I can take the bird to a vet if I wanted to & gave me the name of an avian vet in the area. Personally, I wouldn't take my baby to anyone associated with him, you never know if vets are on the take (don't laugh, that happened once between a local animal hospital & a pet store that went out of business). I guess he doesn't want to spend the money taking my baby to the vet. That's what this is boiling down to. I'll never buy anything from this store again....and to think, this store was actually recommended.

Ugh. I'm so sorry this is happening. Makes me angry for you.. the store doesn't sound like they really know enough about raising baby birds in the first place, besides the shady way of doing business. Too bad you already paid in full. If you can afford to do so, I'd seriously consider taking a loss and looking somewhere else. Reputable breeder. Good luck.

Edit: the reason I say I'd take my business somewhere else, is that I wouldn't trust this place with a healthy baby period.

I would explain to him that the bird you paid for was healthy, and you will be taking a healthy, weaned bird home with you. Don't let them bully you into taking him home before he's been checked up and properly weaned- it is their responsibility and they are liable for any fees incurred while he's in their care!

I have no experience with babies and weening but my radar went on full alert at "baby","take him home". This sounds extremely risky. Good luck, lots of experts here with great insight.

Good news! Visited my baby and he was eating pellets!! I have a question though. His crop was quite big. I mean, he looked like a bodybuilder with a huge chest! He was like that last night when I visited and again this morning. Now, both last night & this morning, they said they had just finished feeding him formula. Is he just gorging himself at this point, or is it a bloated crop & something I should be concerned about? How can you tell the difference? As you can imagine, I am scrutinizing everything that happens at this point, because I want to ensure he is taken care of & healthy before I bring him home.

Side note- I did locate another breeder in the area that has conures and takes WONDERFUL care of them. No, I am not giving up on my red sun, as he is already my "baby", however, I may be taking home a Jenday as well. I think birds are like tattoos...once you get one, it's never enough!

Keep up the progress reports!

I can't wait to bring him home. As soon as I opened up his cage door, he hopped out, flew onto my chest, ran up under my neck & started chirping & grinding his beak. SO FRIGGIN CUTE!!!!! I swear, I'd sneak him into my office & have him hang out with me at work. Have a nice fruit bowl & java tree in the office, for "feng shui" purposes of course..except I couldn't hide the screeches while on the phone. **Screeeeech!!** "What was that!?" "What? I didn't hear anything." LOL

I just hope this large crop isn't an issues, because I've been waiting 2 weeks to get him home!

Ketikat said:

Good news! Visited my baby and he was eating pellets!! I have a question though. His crop was quite big. I mean, he looked like a bodybuilder with a huge chest! He was like that last night when I visited and again this morning. Now, both last night & this morning, they said they had just finished feeding him formula. Is he just gorging himself at this point, or is it a bloated crop & something I should be concerned about? How can you tell the difference? As you can imagine, I am scrutinizing everything that happens at this point, because I want to ensure he is taken care of & healthy before I bring him home.

Side note- I did locate another breeder in the area that has conures and takes WONDERFUL care of them. No, I am not giving up on my red sun, as he is already my "baby", however, I may be taking home a Jenday as well. I think birds are like tattoos...once you get one, it's never enough!

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If it was just feeding time his crop would be full.
I don't have a tattoo but I do understand the addiction on the birds.