I could use some advice

[Davew]

This is my first post here...my first forum in general.
So we got our first bird which is a sun conure.
We put a down payment on a bird and was told wr had to wait a few weeks so that it would be ready. He was 3 hours away at a breeder and my girl friend happen to be in the area in a day trip and popped in to meet the bird. A few weeks later we called and they said the bird was ready.. So we drove out as planned and when we got there was given a bird to take home..we were suppose to get a bird that was weaned however the breeder said it was down to 1 hand feeding a day..they showed us how to feed it and off we went. Once getting home we realized he was needing hand fed 2 times a day
He has very little interest in seed..pellet...fruit...he does eat millet. we were told the bird was 12 weeks old and we had it now 3 weeks.hand feedings go rather well..I don't just squirt it down the throat like they said to do..we kinda give it at the pace he wants..we weigh him before and after each feeding ..the more I read the more I am scared because this is our first bird..

If anyone has any advice or can help walk me through some thingsI would love to hear from you

 

[wrench13]

Welcome and be welcomed. Thats a very common breeders trick, to sell an unweaned bird ( less $$ for them for food). Some people will bring the baby back , until it is truely weaned, but from thr sound of it your breeder would just force wean her and give her back. Read up on hand feeding babys, and make sure other foods are available for her all day, pellets fresh fruit and vegies. The termperature of baby parrot formula, is critiacal - too hot burns the crop an too cold allows the food to sit too long in her crop, inviting all sorts of bad bacteria in, etcetc. SO invest in a decent thermometer,. Shame on this breeder - if they have a web page or facebook page you should leave a nasty comment. Get yourself a gram dcal to weigh her at the same time every day, best is in the AM after she takes her morning poop. a small drop in weight in the change over from formula to 100% other foods is expected, mor then that is cause for concern.She will wean herself tryong bits of this or that and takin less and less formula, until one day, she refuses a formula feeding. Thats called abundance weaning and is the way to go. Also you want to make an appt with a certfied Avian vet, for a wellness checkyou do it now, when she is healthy and all, so the vet had something to compare it too, if something goes wrong later. Read, read read the forums here especially the stickies at the tops. Written by the most experienced parrot people on here, there is a weath of info. Whats your sunnies name? and we lov pics on here.

 

[SailBoat]

Well, I have very little to add to the above.

Please keep attempting to provide formula for several weeks pass when your Parrot starts to refuse it.

Sorry that you have been screwed by a dishonest breeder! As stated above, anywhere and anytime you can tell the world that they are a dishonest breeder - go for it!

FYI: Check-out the Breeders Forum here on Parrot Forums, there is some very helpful information there.

 

[Kentuckienne]

You probably found this but just in case...stir the formula well after heating and let it sit for thirty seconds, then check the temperature again. Microwaves can create localized hot spots, and formula that's too hot can literally burn the crop, sometimes making a hole all the way through! And too cold can cause crop stasis. SilverSage has some good posts about hand feeding - she raises parrots and has experience feeding and weaning babies. Thank you for taking such good care of the little guy. Shame on that unethical breeder.

 

[LordTriggs]

definite shame on the breeder. I know if I was in that situation I would be demanding they pay money back to me to cover any and all formula during weaning to ruin their idea of saving money. Although it sounds like you're already better than them by not just squirting the food down their throat, that's a quick way to aspiration, their parents in the wild don't exactly squirt food out of their mouth, it's all part of teaching them how to eat. Follow Wrench's advice and definitely read Silversage's posts in the breeding sub-forum.

Hopefully all goes well, it can be dangerous and daunting when reading only the bad but it does go well without issue a lot of the time.

I'd also read up on the laws of selling birds where you're from, many places like the UK have specific laws about selling unweaned birds which if you are in a place like that it could be a good way to get the law poking around their premises forcing them to change their habits