Proud to have an Alexandrine

Hi All,

My name is Vaishu and I am really excited to be own a baby Alexandrine last week. I new to parrots and looking for help from everyone to make them happy

Thanks

Hello Vaishu, and welcome to the community!

Congratulations on your new baby Alex! They are wonderful, loving little Parrots, and there are many other Alex owners here on the forum who have years and years of experience with them...

***Since you are completely new to Parrots and this is the first one you have ever owned, can we help you out by starting with how old your new Alexandrine is? Where is it that you live in the world? The reason that I'm asking you these questions is because we get quite a few new members coming to the forum from the Middle-East, India, Eastern Europe, etc. who have just gotten their first Alexandrines, and they are often extremely young, baby Alex's that are not even weaned yet and are still needing to be hand-fed baby bird handfeeding-formula, and often they are not even close to being fully-weaned and eating solid food on their own. And unfortunately most of the time, probably around 95% of the time these new Alex owners have a lot of problems with their new babies after having hand-fed them for the first week or two and then they can tell that their birds have become very sick, often they start refusing the hand-feedings and start vomiting, having very runny, watery droppings, they start losing a lot of weight and become very lethargic, they stay fluffed-up all the time and are sleeping most of the time. And this is usually because these people don't know about the proper temperature they must always make sure the hand-feeding formula is heated-up to the entire time they are doing a hand-feeding (it must always be between 104 degrees F and 110 degrees F exactly), and they also don't know the proper ambient/air temperature their new babies have to be kept in at all times, depending on how much feathering they have, and they have no Brooder to keep their birds in, and don't know how to make a homemade one (If a baby Alex has it's down-feathers all grown-in underneath, but does not have all of their outer, real feathers grown-in yet, they must always be kept in a Brooder, either a real Brooder or one they make themselves, so that they are always in an air-temperature that is between 80 degrees F and 85 degrees F)...

What happens if the hand-feeding formula is even 1 degree under 104 degrees F or they are kept in an constant air-temperature even 1 degree cooler than 80 degrees F (85 degrees F is ideal), the baby Alex's start developing severe Fungal Infections inside of their Crops, their Stomachs, and their Intestines (and sometimes Bacterial Infections as well), and this will make them extremely sick and often kills them unfortunately...And if the hand-feeding formula they are being fed is even 1 degree hotter than 110 degrees F it will burn their Crops, which usually results in a bad Bacterial Infection that makes them very sick and eventually they will die...It's far more common for the hand-feeding formula and the air-temperature they are being kept in to be too cold, and they usually become very sick with a Fungal Infection (Yeast Infection)...

***If your new baby Alex is already weaned and eating solid food like pellets or a seed-mix on it's own, then you don't have to worry about any of this stuff, and you can disregard what I wrote above. I just wanted to make sure because it's just so very common for people to bring home baby Alexandrines that are still very, very young, that must be fed hand-feeding formula for many weeks yet, and must be housed in a Brooder for many weeks yet, that I just wanted to make sure that if your new Alex isn't fully-weaned yet that you are aware of these very important temperature-ranges that are not optional and must be followed, otherwise your bird will become extremely sick after a week or so of eating formula and living in an air-temperature that is too cold...And even if you live in a very hot environment, it may still not be at a constant 85 degrees F inside of your home 24 hours a day...So we can help you out with all of this stuff and give you the details about hand-feeding, making a homemade Brooder, etc. if need-be...If your baby is already weaned and fully-feathered then you don't have to worry about any of this...Hopefully that's the case...

And don't hesitate to ask ANY questions you have about anything, especially since you've never owned a Parrot before!!! Welcome!

Thanks Ellen for the response. I got my Alexandrine,kukoo 3 days back, but still not ready to take food by his own. I am from Dubai.The shop keeper told he is around 1 month old but still I am unsure about his age.

I have a question, is it fine, if I allow him to sleep in a box with lights on? How much hours he should be allowed to sleep alone?

Welcome and congrats on your new feathered friend. It is unfortunate you were sold such a young bird, but in some parts of the world it is apparently still fairly common for this to occur. If you get some negative feedback on that fact, understand it is not common and/or illegal in many countries for people to be able to buy/sell unweaned babies and is a rather sensitive topic. Rest assure though, everyone here loves birds and wants to help make sure you have the information you need to take good care of your new baby.

I’m glad you’ve found our forum where there are experienced breeders to help you through this difficult process of raising this baby bird. I’m not sure what you were told by the seller, but raising a baby bird is hard work, so expect to be dedicating a lot of time and energy over the next few weeks to getting this baby started off on the right foot. I would like to refer you to this thread first, which after the explanation by the author of why sellers shouldn’t sell unweaned babies, have VITAL information you need to know to get you started with successfully raising this baby:

http://www.parrotforums.com/breeding-raising-parrots/74363-so-you-bought-unweaned-baby.html

Also, being fortunate enough to be in a major metropolitan area like Dubai, I would imagine you would have access to avian specialized vets or at least a vet with experience with birds. With any new bird, it is advisable they see a vet (preferably a bird specialist, though they can be difficult to find in some places) shortly after purchase for a health check and to be established as a patient. An experienced vet can also answer important questions about raising the bird and demonstrate proper hand feeding technique etc...

Okay, so that's what I was afraid of, and it's why I wrote what I wrote...We can help you through this, but you're going to have to likely buy some things or try to find some things, but in Dubai it shouldn't be an issue, you should have access to buying everything you need.

No, you cannot keep him in a box with a light on him!!! At only 1 month old he does not yet have his outer-feathers grown-in, so he MUST be kept in a constant ambient/air temperature between 80-85 degrees F until ALL of his outer-feathers grow completely in. So you must make a homemade Brooder.

(putting a light over a bird in a box not only will not keep the air temperature warm enough, but having a light on them all the time is bad for their eyes, and depending on what type of "light" it can hurt their skin and feathers as well...And in-order to get the temperature inside the box warm enough, you'd have to have the light really very close to your bird, and that can cause blindness, skin damage/burns, and a bunch of other issues...Parrots aren't like poultry-birds, like baby chickens who you can put under a heat-lamp 24 hours a day, and even chickens need a special type of heat-bulb made for birds...

***What you need to do is find a cardboard box or a plastic box that is large enough so that it can have a "Warm-End" in the back-half of the box, and then a "Cool-End" in the front of the box. Then you need to buy, if you don't already have one, an electric heating-pad that you can adjust the temperature of (usually they have low, medium, high settings, etc.), just an ordinary electric heating-pad that they sell for people. Then you place the BACK-HALF of the box right on top of the electric heating-pad, leaving the front-half of the box off of the heating-pad. Then you need to also buy, if you don't already have one, a digital or analog, doesn't matter, ambient thermometer that you will place in the back-half of the box (just set it in the bottom of the back-half of the box). You can buy a digital thermometer at most Pet Stores, they sell them for Reptiles and for Fish in pretty much every Pet Shop, or you can use one that is meant for people to use to tell the temperature outside, as long as it is small enough to be set in the bottom of the back-half of the box...This is what needs to always say between 80-85 degrees F so you know that your bird is always at a warm enough temperature so he doesn't become extremely sick with a Fungal Infection in his Gastrointestinal Tract...Then you also need to keep a good inch or two of some kind of "bedding" in the bottom of the entire box at all times, something like the type of bedding you buy at the Pet Store for hamster, guinea pigs, rats, etc. The kind that is made out of shredded-paper is the best, either that or some kind of bird-safe wood-chips (NO CEDAR CHIPS, they are too fragrant)..Just don't use anything like Corn-Cob or Walnut-Shell bedding, as your bird can choke on them. The reason you have to have the entire box lined with bedding is because at your bird's age he can still develop "Splayed-Legs" if you keep him on just a flat surface, like the bottom of the box, because the bedding keeps their legs pushed together when they are standing/sitting and walking. And it also will absorb his droppings of course, and you need to change out and replace any soiled bedding once a day....Then finally you need to cover ONLY THE BACK-HALF OF THE BOX THAT IS OVER THE HEATING PAD AND HAS THE THERMOMETER IN IT WITH A TOWEL OR BLANKET,, because this will help the temperature in the back of the box stay within the 80-85 degrees F at all times, while leaving the front-half of the box uncovered.

Then you just turn-on the heating-pad to low, cover the back-half of the box with the Towel/Blanket, and wait about 15-20 minutes and then check the temperature on the thermometer in the back-half of the box...If it's not yet reached between 80-85 degrees then you need to bump the temperature of the heating-pad up another setting and then wait another 15-20 minutes and check it again. Usually it takes the "Medium" or middle-setting on the heating-pad to get the temperature up to between 80-85 degrees F. And that's a homemade Brooder with a warm back-half, where he'll spend most of his time for the next few weeks, and a cool front-half that he can go to if he wants to. And that's the other reason you cannot just put him "under a light", not only will he not be warm enough and will the light only heat one particular spot up, which is dangerous for his eyes, skin, etc., but it also doesn't give him the option of a cooler-area to go to when he needs to. MAKING A BROODER THAT IS KEEPING HIM AT 80-85 DEGREES F IS NOT OPTIONAL, HE WILL BECOME VERY SICK WITHOUT THIS OR IF YOU JUST PUT SOME KIND OF LIGHT OVER HIM...And then what happens all the time is people come here when their birds are already sick a couple of weeks later, and they have to find an Avian Vet for the correct medications to save the bird's life...

****What are you feeding him for formula? And are you using a cooking/candy thermometer with a probe you can keep in the formula at all times to make sure that any formula you are feeding him is between 104 degrees F and 110 degrees F? If not then this is going to make him very, very sick, especially if he's not being kept at the correct ambient temperature either! You must have a digital candy/cooking thermometer with a metal-probe on it that you keep in the formula at all times while you're feeding your bird!!! Usually people in your situation just use warm/hot water from the sink to mix their formula with, and it's nowhere near hot enough to get the formula up between 104-110 degrees F, which always results in again a Fungal Infection...Or they just heat water up in the microwave or on the stove and mix the formula up and "test it on their wrist", which you just cannot do!!! You will either make him sick with a Fungal infection if it's too cool, or you will burn his crop if it's too hot, and then again you'll have to find an Avian Vet immediately once he gets sick, or once you see his Crop develop a wound on it/in it...

At least you've only had your baby Alex for a few days, you still have time to correct his ambient temperature and his formula temperature, and hopefully he'll be fine...But you need to get these things taken care of immediately, because this happens at least a couple of times a month here in the forum with unweaned, baby Alexandrines who become sick because they are not kept in a Brooder/homemade Brooder, they either just have a lamp over them or nothing at all, and because they are not measuring the temperature of the hand-feeding formula...Once a Fungal Infection starts, his Crop will stop emptying properly, which causes him to start to refuse the formula. This is called "Slow-Crop" when it's not emptying as quickly as it should (in the early stages of a Fungal Infection), and within a week or two it turns into "Crop Stasis", which means the Crop just stops emptying all together, and by that time it's often too late to help the baby bird...So it's very, very important that you get your baby Alex into a Brooder-box as described, and that you get a cooking thermometer and you keep it in the formula at all times while you're feeding him, and if the formula temperature drops below 104 degrees F while you're feeding him, you have to go and heat-up some more water, mix it into the formula very well, and then once it's under 110 degrees F again but above 104 degrees F again, then you can finish feeding him...

***The other issue that we often see here with these unweaned Alexandrines is that they aren't being fed a baby bird hand-feeding formula, like Kaytee Exact, Roudybush, etc., but rather a human-baby formula or cereal, such as Cerelac or Similac...If you are not feeding your Alex a hand-feeding formula made for baby birds, but rather a HUMAN BABY formula/cereal (usually it's Cerelac that is used), then you must stop immediately and get some proper hand-feeding formula, because Human Baby Cereal/Formula like Ceralac is LOADED WITH ADDED IRON, and birds cannot handle eating much Iron at all. They develop a serious medical condition called "Iron Storage Syndrome/Disease", which is fatal if it's not caught early-on and the Iron is stopped. Human Baby's need tons of Iron, so they purposely put a ton of Iron in Cerelac and all other formulas/cereals meant for human babies, but birds just cannot process it, they can't store it like we do, and it causes them to become very seriously ill when it's given to them in huge amounts like are in Cerelac and the like...Once it builds-up in their bodies, they first start vomiting, then they start showing neurological signs/symptoms such as Tremors, then Seizures, and finally they start having trouble breathing and they die. So hopefully you're using a proper baby bird hand-feeding formula...The other issue is that human formula/cereal does not contain the proper amounts of ANY of the vitamins, minerals, amino acids, proteins, fat, carbs, etc. that baby birds need to develop properly, and they often don't grow correctly, are stunted, and have all kinds of health issues throughout their entire lives if they are fed nothing but Cerelac or other baby cereals/formulas as babies. This is the second largest problem we see with baby Alexandrines who are sold to people unweaned and too young...

I know it's a common practice in other countries to buy baby parrots as very young and unweaned, but the problem is that without the proper knowledge, supplies/equipment, and the proper diet, they die. And we see baby Alexandrines becoming sick and dying every month here in the exact situation you're in...So hopefully we've caught these issues early enough that your little guy will be okay once they are corrected.

Ellen, you are one of the boards most valuable members, to have the patience to write up all this, countless times. I admire you, I could never write this much and with such GREAT information.

I hope Vaishu reads all of it and follows your advice.

Welcome Vaishu, thanks for joining the forums! Ellen's advice is particularly helpful for such a young bird. Given proper care, you'll have a loving companion bird for many years!

Hi Ellen,

Thanks a lot for spending time to give such a detailed insight.

As you said, I checked with the local store and I am planning to buy a brooder today, eventhough it's expensive, I have to provide full comfort to my kukoo

I purchased parrot formula only and I am feeding him on each 6 hours. He is happy to take food, but I will confirm he is taking food as per your suggestion.

Apart from this, he is eating fruits like apple, grapes and banana, I am feeding him by hand.Is it fine?

One issue I found is he is trying to hide always by moving away from me at the corner of the sofa. I was reading some online post, and as per the posts, it may be due to hormone issues. Is it right?

Also what are the toys suitable at this age to keep them mentally happy?

Thanks

Welcome to you!

So glad you found an actual brooder and good quality formula! Alexandrine can live upwards of 40 years, so getting your baby off to a good start is so important because he is going to be with you for a very long time

Hormones won’t kick in until he’s a few years old. Right now he probably just doesn’t know you yet and is scared because he’s a defenseless baby and hasn’t learned to trust humans yet. Do you know if he’s captive bred or wild caught? Hand fed since hatching or did he only recently get pulled from his parents? Obviously he needs to be fed and needs to be touched for that to happen, but try not to handle him too much otherwise for the moment and instead just talk to him in a calm, soothing voice. If he scoots away, that’s ok. Let him get to know you as a non threatening presence. He is so very young and completely reliant on you for food, so he’ll come around soon enough Any toys should be pretty basic and probably easy to hold in the foot. You might consider disassembling a larger parrot toy and offering a big wood bead or something instead of a whole huge toy, which could be scary. Don’t be shocked if he isn’t interested in playing quite yet, he’s very young still. Also, just like with human babies make sure anything in his reach is too large to swallow!

If you have some, we’d love to see pictures of this little guy and some of the breeders on here may have a better idea of his actual age based on size and how much the feathers are growing in.