Intro and New Baby CAG Question

[Snowdog]

Hey Everyone,

My family was just adopted by a sweet baby CAG , and we are super excited to have her. I first fell in love with parrots 25 years ago and raised a B&G Macaw, Meyer's, and 'Tiels. We hand fed many birds, and raised healthy, happy, and emotionally secure parrots. Due to divorce, I've been "parrotless" for the past 12 years, so it's exciting to have another parrot in my life.

Fast forward to last week, when we picked up our new 13 week old baby girl from the airport. The breeder I got her from had good reviews, and passed my "interview". However against my better judgement, I took the breeders word that the baby was weaned. In the back of my mind I knew this was high unlikely at 13 weeks, so I had her send formula and I was prepared to hand feed as needed.

The vet check confirmed a healthy baby girl, with no issues and good weight. She is eating pellets, seed, fresh veggies, fruit, cheerios, and just about anything else we offer. I have also been offering a hand feeding at night and she eagerly gulps down about 30ml or more. She's confident and has clearly learned to fly before getting a light clip. She easily get's from the top of her cage to my lap about 15' away, so much so, it's getting difficult to get off the sofa before she heads my way.

I'm new to the abundance weaning thing, so I'm trying to sort out where I'm at with this bird. At 14 weeks now, my gut says she is way too young to be considered weaned, but on the other hand she eats really well and is far from picky.

My plan is to monitor her weight gain, continue to offer a wide variety of foods in addition to her pellet foundation, and hand feeding before bed as long as she wants.

Am I on the right track? Any other advice?

Thanks!
EB

 

[LeaKP]

Definitely on the right track in my opinion. Greys can be super slow in weaning (Nigel was especially slow my 7 month old grey) but the day comes when they don't really want it. I began decreasing formula and skipping days when he was about 5 1/2 months (yes, big baby indeed). He has done great. Loves to eat. Send pictures! Greys are awesome!

 

[Tsali]

Welcome to Parrot Forums and congratulations on your new addition. I am a newbie to both the forum and to parrots. Tsali, My African Grey, has been home for just under 15 months and came to me as a 3 month old who was weaned. I found that he wanted to be hand fed, so I at the breeders recommendation I gave him a comfort feeding of warm oatmeal gruel just before bedtime. During the day I would also hand feed him his pellets and fruit until he decided he was a "big boy" and didn't need my help.

 

[DRB]

Hey Everyone,

My family was just adopted by a sweet baby CAG , and we are super excited to have her. I first fell in love with parrots 25 years ago and raised a B&G Macaw, Meyer's, and 'Tiels. We hand fed many birds, and raised healthy, happy, and emotionally secure parrots. Due to divorce, I've been "parrotless" for the past 12 years, so it's exciting to have another parrot in my life.

Fast forward to last week, when we picked up our new 13 week old baby girl from the airport. The breeder I got her from had good reviews, and passed my "interview". However against my better judgement, I took the breeders word that the baby was weaned. In the back of my mind I knew this was high unlikely at 13 weeks, so I had her send formula and I was prepared to hand feed as needed.

The vet check confirmed a healthy baby girl, with no issues and good weight. She is eating pellets, seed, fresh veggies, fruit, cheerios, and just about anything else we offer. I have also been offering a hand feeding at night and she eagerly gulps down about 30ml or more. She's confident and has clearly learned to fly before getting a light clip. She easily get's from the top of her cage to my lap about 15' away, so much so, it's getting difficult to get off the sofa before she heads my way.

I'm new to the abundance weaning thing, so I'm trying to sort out where I'm at with this bird. At 14 weeks now, my gut says she is way too young to be considered weaned, but on the other hand she eats really well and is far from picky.

My plan is to monitor her weight gain, continue to offer a wide variety of foods in addition to her pellet foundation, and hand feeding before bed as long as she wants.

Am I on the right track? Any other advice?

Thanks!
EB

Am I reading your correctly, your 13 wo CAG flies from the top of her cage to you 15' away?

I'm a rookie owner of a 8 mo CAG and that sounds crazy to me. While my Perjo could certainly fly, at 14 weeks when I took her home she didn't attempt any flight like that let alone with any accuracy in ending up in a place she aimed for. Even at 8 mo now she doesn't end up where she wants to that often.

 

[Snowdog]

The cage height is 60" and I'm sitting on the sofa at about 36" across the room. So it is a bit of downward trajectory, but very controlled and accurate. She really seems pretty bold, yet in the evening she still begs for a feeding, and then curls up in my lap for a short nap.