Help!! 4 month old macaw- breeder says I can take her home

[JerseyWendy]

“Don't worry I have raised about 70 Scarlets and hundreds of other ones no one has ever killed their bird by giving it a little baby food when they go home. Scarlets are the fastest weaning macaws, bgs the slowest ”
“You won't kill a parrot that age it's the tiny ones that can aspirate. Just go slow. Don't believe all this internet stuff they try to freak everyone out. She eats fruit and veggies too”

This is what she said to me.. I sooooo want to believe her I'm just so confused and torn.

Before I address the above, you had asked about the baby's feeding response (head bopping). Most big macs have a strong feeding response, but not all of them. It may depend how quickly they were fed.

B&Gs are NOT the slowest to wean. Hyacinths are, (around 12 months) and GWs can also take a long time (7 months +)

"Don't believe all this internet stuff"? I don't believe any one of us are trying to freak you out, instead we are letting you know of the potential dangers of taking on a baby Scarlet that still needs to be hand fed.

Has this breeder told you about temperature, consistency of formula, keeping track of her weight while she's weaning, sterilizing hand feeding utensils, etc?

You've received some OUTSTANDING advice here already. Of course the choice will ultimately be yours to make.

 

[henpecked]

I think there might be some confusion about weaning and comfort feeding large macs. Yes at 4 months it might regress some when you take it home.Often the "comfort feeding" are more for bonding purposes than a real necessity.I would heed the advice in the last 2 post.

 

[Birdman666]

I would advise a newbie against syringe feeding, just because you can overfill the crop and cause death and/or crop infections if you make a mistake...

Why risk that?!

If it's just comfort feeding, then this is pretty normal, and there is another technique using a bent spoon, and letting the bird eat off the spoon. That doesn't have anywhere near the risk that syringe feeding does.

The biggest thing is to always, always, always check the temperature, and check it in multiple places. Sometimes you get hot spots, and if you do, you can cause burned crops...

I ABSOLUTELY HATE THE PRACTICE OF SELLING BIRDS THAT HAVE NOT FINISHED WEANING TO INEXPERIENCED HAND FEEDERS!

 

[Birdman666]

“Don't worry I have raised about 70 Scarlets and hundreds of other ones no one has ever killed their bird by giving it a little baby food when they go home. Scarlets are the fastest weaning macaws, bgs the slowest ”
“You won't kill a parrot that age it's the tiny ones that can aspirate. Just go slow. Don't believe all this internet stuff they try to freak everyone out. She eats fruit and veggies too”

This is what she said to me.. I sooooo want to believe her I'm just so confused and torn.

YES! THEY HAVE...

I HAD THREE BABY MACAWS DIE IN MY ARMS FROM BURNED CROPS! Nothing I could do for them except comfort measures.

I'VE SEEN OTHERS DIE OF CROP INFECTIONS THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN EASY TO CORRECT WITH MEDICATION, BUT SINCE THE PERSON WAS INEXPERIENCED, DIDN'T REALIZE HOW IMMEDIATE THE RESPONSE TO THE SITUATION NEEDED TO BE, AND THEY DIED...

An experienced feeder wouldn't have made those mistakes, and/or would have realized it soon enough if they did that it would not have been fatal.

SO, NO!

I FRIGGIN' HATE, HATE, HATE THE PRACTICE!!!