Is my BFA developing more quickly than my CAGs did?

[Ladyhawk]

My little girl, whose name keeps changing until I find the right one, is just shy of six weeks old, but she's behaving more like a seven- or even eight-week-old African grey. Or maybe it's been so long, my memory of how this progresses isn't reliable.

I think her crop is already shrinking and she has entered what I jokingly referred to as the "Not the Mama!!!" stage. Even twenty years ago, scientists suspected birds were closely related to dinosaurs, so I used a catchphrase uttered by the baby in the old show Dinosaurs to describe this stage. Yeah, it's been a long time since I raised babies. XD During the "Not the Mama!!!" stage, the babies suddenly become more fearful, especially of people they didn't know. Maybe it's because their eyesight suddenly improves.

To get them over this, I gave them lots of attention and insisted they experience new situations. I tried to make these situations short and it seemed to work. Now that I'm a bit older and hopefully more sensitive to babies' needs, I'm thinking baby BFA needs a "safe house" when she's out and about, just in case the new experience becomes overwhelming. She already has a cardboard box "safe house" in the 20 gallon long aquarium where she currently resides. When she gets scared, she goes inside. I usually put my hand in and give her a few scratches, telling her it's OK. From inside the box, she can peek at the scary world and get used to it while feeling safe.

To those who have raised both BFAs and CAGs, have you noticed a difference in how quickly they develop? When I was raising CAGs, the females seemed ahead of the males. I haven't raised Amazons before, but I'm wondering if the same thing is true for them. The breeder's best guess is this is a female. After I'd raised a few clutches of greys, I got pretty good at guessing their genders. I have zero experience with BFAs, so I'm not sure my opinion is worth much when it comes to the baby I'm raising. I did pretty well guessing with fully-grown Amazons, but it's all guesswork until the DNA test.

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[Birdman666]

CAGS are notoriously clumsy and cautious when they are young...

Amazons and Macaws are "exuberant" from the time they pop out of the egg...

CAGS have pre-set boundaries that need to be expanded.

Amazons and macaws need to have their "parameters set" for them to keep them from getting their little bodies into trouble.

CAGS are stubborn.

Amazons are stubborn, but easily distracted by things they can play with, and therefore, less stubborn.

CAGS don't have an overload switch.

Amazons do.

 

[Ladyhawk]

CAGS are notoriously clumsy and cautious when they are young...

Amazons and Macaws are "exuberant" from the time they pop out of the egg...

CAGS have pre-set boundaries that need to be expanded.

Amazons and macaws need to have their "parameters set" for them to keep them from getting their little bodies into trouble.

CAGS are stubborn.

Amazons are stubborn, but easily distracted by things they can play with, and therefore, less stubborn.

CAGS don't have an overload switch.

Amazons do.

Thank you! There is so much information in a small amount of space! You have a great deal of experience that can be so helpful to so many.

It's nice to know I did the right thing by gently encouraging my greys to get to know new people and even go on outings. They were very well socialized by the time they were weaned and would go to anyone.

My little one is sometimes frightened by loud noises, but a quick head rub is usually enough to calm her down. She took a short ride in the car the other day. She didn't like the motion, but as long as I was petting her (someone else was driving), she wasn't too frightened. Today at 4 p.m., she stomped out of her cardboard box and demanded to be fed. XD

I've only been out of my apartment a few times since she arrived. She's a precious little thing and I want her happy and healthy. She deserves the very best.