Hello everyone

[GaleriaGila]

Re: Hello

What Sailboat said!


BEST BEST BEST of luck to you and your little bird!!!!!

 

[SilverSage]

If you feel you must, then go ahead and take the bird back but honestly half of qualification is attitude. Your desire to do the right thing clearly is stronger than that of the pet store which obviously is run by people without a clue who don't care about the bird.

Everyone says that birds should only be raised by experienced hand feeders; weeeeellll how do you get experienced? At some point you have to start feeding the first bird. I'm confident that you CAN do this, and do it WELL. Regardless of which choice you make, we are here to support you.


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[GaleriaGila]

What Sage said! I love all of you experts who are jumping in to help this person and the dear litle chick. How tiny and vulnerable it looks.

 

[Scott]

A very belated welcome to the forums! You've received a lifetime of experience from members, particularly SilverSage. My hope is you will make the best decision for your Senegal. Judging from the apparent callous treatment from the pet shop/breeder, the best hands may be your own. Not sure if you could trust the store to take possession until weaning is complete.

It might also be a good idea to visit an avian vet for a basic well check. You can also ask them to demonstrate the best technique for feeding, something that can be explained but best practiced in person.

 

[Melissa1227]

Welcome! your little bird is adorable. You have great advice here. I just wanted to add I handfed my first parrot when I was a college student. It can be done and it sounds like you have the heart and the patience. Good luck, I am glad the bird has you

melissa

 

[Sandy19]

Thank you.

I found an avian vet so I'm going to make an appointment just to make sure I'm doing everything right and the bird is well. The pet store demonstrated the feeding technique and it seemed easy enough, but what they didn't tell me was that there is no room for error because the bird could aspirate. So that makes me nervous of course.

Also I didn't notice that some of the formula dripped on its neck and now it's stuck on there like glue. I've smartened up and wrap a little dish towel around her when I feed her now, but I still have to get that clump of formula off her neck. Not easy to do with a fidgety baby bird.

 

[SilverSage]

Re: Hello

Yeah it sounds like that shop is a piece of work. I'm just glad this little angel is in loving hands no.

I'm glad he is going to the vet! The test I highly recommend considering the things this baby has been through is a gram stain aka fecal smear.
It will basically test the vent (butt) and the crop for bacteria, yeast, and parasites, all of which are quite sneaky and deadly but EASY TO TREAT if you catch them in time, especially in a bird still hand feeding.

However in my experiences vets don't usually make great hand feeding coaches. I suggest you see if you can find a local breeder to help you out; even just a 30 minute visit could be life changing for you both.

One note; please be sure your vet is an avian specialist, not just an "exotics" vet or a vet willing to see birds. If possible find a CERTIFIED AVIAN VET. The difference can be the difference between life and death.


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[EllenD]

Re: Hello

I want to add here that your bird looks younger than 5 weeks old, and as SilverSage already stated, 3 feedings a day is not nearly enough. Let's call him 4 weeks old, so he should be getting a feeding every 3-4 hours, and he must be at between 95-98 degrees at all times or he can become very sick and will not be able to digest his food or empty his crop.

Honestly, if I were you I would just take the bird back to the pet shop and let them finish weaning him. I'm sure you can visit him and actually help to feed him, but as already mentioned and as you wisely researched, there are a million things that can go wrong here and quickly kill your bird. Aspiration, slow crop, crop stasis, yeast infections, bacterial infections, crop burn, I can go on and on. But the worst thing is if his feeding response stops for some reason and he stops eating. That's the danger zone.

This isn't your fault, I have no idea why breeders are doing this so often. It's getting worse and worse, and for a pet shop to do this makes no sense, they are not a private breeder that loses money the longer they keep the baby, a pet shop has other birds they are weaning, its cost of operation and they have to have at least one person always hand-feeding as a newly hatched baby must be fed every 1-2 hours, including throughout the entire night until 3 weeks old. I hate that they just pass this process off as "No big deal". There are soooo many things you need to know, things you need to have, things you have to learn how to do. This is not uncommon, it happens all the time, but that doesn't make it alright. I will say I thank you for caring about your bird and taking this seriously, because most people come on here and do not have a clue what they are doing, there is usually a problem by the time they post like crop stasis or they are keeping the baby in a cardboard box with a heating pad and the baby won't eat, and they still try to argue and justify buying an unweaned baby because they saved $100...So thank you for caring and realizing the seriousness of the situation.

Please ask any and all questions, at any time, and please make sure you are feeding him every time his crop empties. Like I said, it should be every 3-4 hours, so 5-6 feedings per day or so. If you hear him whining he's most likely hungry. His crop should not be empty for any length of time except for 6 or so hours at night at this point, he is old enough to go 6 hours overnight, but he must me fed on a schedule such as 6:00 a.m., 10, 2, 5, 8, 11 or midnight, then 6:00 a.m. again.

"Dance like nobody's watching..."

 

[Sandy19]

I noticed I had some pm's, but when I replied it said I need 20 posts or greater to send a pm. Just didn't want anyone to think I'm rude for not replying lol. 20 isn't that much, I should get there in no time.

 

[SilverSage]

Re: Hello

That's true of new members also you are able to PM the moderators even before that, and they are willing to pass along PMs


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[Sandy19]

Well I think I can rack up 20 posts pretty quick if I bombard everyone with all my questions. I have a Newfoundland, basset hound, pitbull (they will not be left unattended with the bird) two rabbits, salt water fish, a leopard gecko and a feral cat that I felt sorry for. Absolutely no experience with birds, however. So lots of questions.

I've thought about the wing clipping, although I'm more concentrated on getting through this stage first. I want to do whatever is the most natural and humane for the bird and everything I've read says to wait. But how exactly do you allow the bird to become an expert flyer? Do you train it first to come to you and then just let it fly around the house? I'm clueless.

 

[SilverSage]

Re: Hello

You basically just allow them to learn on their own. She will decide when to start trying in the mean time if you decide on a whistle or something to use every time you do something nice like feed her, it will be easy to train her to come when called.


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[Scott]

I noticed I had some pm's, but when I replied it said I need 20 posts or greater to send a pm. Just didn't want anyone to think I'm rude for not replying lol. 20 isn't that much, I should get there in no time.

Oh yes, any moderator will be happy to forward PMs until you reach the requisite 20 posts. We're in purple!

 

[Sandy19]

Re: Hello

I want to add here that your bird looks younger than 5 weeks old, and as SilverSage already stated, 3 feedings a day is not nearly enough. Let's call him 4 weeks old, so he should be getting a feeding every 3-4 hours, and he must be at between 95-98 degrees at all times or he can become very sick and will not be able to digest his food or empty his crop.

Honestly, if I were you I would just take the bird back to the pet shop and let them finish weaning him. I'm sure you can visit him and actually help to feed him, but as already mentioned and as you wisely researched, there are a million things that can go wrong here and quickly kill your bird. Aspiration, slow crop, crop stasis, yeast infections, bacterial infections, crop burn, I can go on and on. But the worst thing is if his feeding response stops for some reason and he stops eating. That's the danger zone.

This isn't your fault, I have no idea why breeders are doing this so often. It's getting worse and worse, and for a pet shop to do this makes no sense, they are not a private breeder that loses money the longer they keep the baby, a pet shop has other birds they are weaning, its cost of operation and they have to have at least one person always hand-feeding as a newly hatched baby must be fed every 1-2 hours, including throughout the entire night until 3 weeks old. I hate that they just pass this process off as "No big deal". There are soooo many things you need to know, things you need to have, things you have to learn how to do. This is not uncommon, it happens all the time, but that doesn't make it alright. I will say I thank you for caring about your bird and taking this seriously, because most people come on here and do not have a clue what they are doing, there is usually a problem by the time they post like crop stasis or they are keeping the baby in a cardboard box with a heating pad and the baby won't eat, and they still try to argue and justify buying an unweaned baby because they saved $100...So thank you for caring and realizing the seriousness of the situation.

Please ask any and all questions, at any time, and please make sure you are feeding him every time his crop empties. Like I said, it should be every 3-4 hours, so 5-6 feedings per day or so. If you hear him whining he's most likely hungry. His crop should not be empty for any length of time except for 6 or so hours at night at this point, he is old enough to go 6 hours overnight, but he must me fed on a schedule such as 6:00 a.m., 10, 2, 5, 8, 11 or midnight, then 6:00 a.m. again.

"Dance like nobody's watching..."

I think you're right. I saw a video of 6 week old Senegals and they were fully feathered so yes it does seem like it's younger than 5 weeks.

Maybe it's not even a parrot. Maybe they sold me a chicken. JK, I can see the green coming in on her wings.

She or he ( we named her Peanut) definitely lets me know when it's hungry. It's pretty quiet and right around the time her crop goes flat she starts chirping more than usual.

 

[SilverSage]

Re: Hello

lol I think it's a sennie but that pet shop sounds so horrible that they might sell chickens as parrots if they could get away with it!


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[Sandy19]

I can't get an appointment with the Avian vet until next week, but she's doing fine and I'm getting more comfortable feeding it.

She's very active and sometimes she stands with her wings spread out and her mouth open like something from Jurassic park. If her baby personality is any indication of what her adult personality will be I might have a hellion on my hands.

I don't plan on taking a vacation anytime soon, but I was wondering about that too since I do plan on taking a vacation eventually. Does anyone have a hard time leaving their bird with a pet sitter? Does it stress the parrot out leaving it with someone they're not use to?

 

[SilverSage]

Re: Hello

How long does she do the Dino stance? If it's just for a few seconds that's cute, if it's for more than a few seconds she is in respiratory distress or overheating.

I HATE leaving my birds with a sitter! I hate even letting my husband do it! But I think it stresses ME more than it stresses them. The key is to introduce them to as many people, places, and situations as possible while they are young and keep doing it so that something simply being NEW isn't scary.


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[Sandy19]

She only does the stance for a few seconds once in a while, it doesn't seem that she's distressed or anything. Usually when my son goes in the room, she doesn't seem particularly fond of him. He has his own place and isn't here all the time like we are. She sees me and my 5 year old daughter all day.

My plan is to socialize her as much as possible. From what I've been reading Senegals can easily become one person birds.

 

[SilverSage]

Re: Hello

Ok good yes they can, but with socialization and training they can learn that they don't get to bite everyone they don't like, and not to be afraid of strangers. It doesn't mean they won't prefer one person over all others though.


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[Sandy19]

It seems to like me the most, but obviously that because I'm the one that feeds her. I took her out for a few minutes and my daughter and husband held her and she just chirped the whole time. When I took her she went up my arm and instinctively curled up between my shoulder, neck and hair and went to sleep. Maybe it was something with my hair looking like a good place to get all tangled up in.