Should I get a baby bird?

[PJL]

Hi guys. I'm thinking about getting a very young bird. Not sure what type yet. The problem is that I already have a bird that I absolutely love but isnt very tame, I'm working every day with her and will continue to.

I want to hand rear a baby bird myself. I have the time now to do it since I'm on a gap year and I know wont have time next year, so this is the only time I will be able to for a long time.

The bird I have now isn't the friendliest with other birds. But it has been a bit of dream of mine to hand rear a bird.

What do you guys think?

 

[WharfRat]

Weaning a bird is serious business and needs to taught to you, not something you can just read about. THe wrong move could actually kill a bird. We were trained personally by our breeder and she made us learn first hand from her before she let us take our babies home. She didn't request this, she demanded it!

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Please keep in mind it is the job of the breeder to supply a well adjusted healthy hand reared baby. Doing so yourself when mean a lot of work, and a simple mistake could cause death. It's a big thing to take on and I few will recommend doing so.

If you decide to hand rear see if there are any bird shops, or even better a avian vet, who would be able to show you how to hand feed a bird safety and also explain the risk in detail.

Buying a well adjusted weaned bird is a wonderful thing, hand raising won't affect your relationship in the long run.

 

[PJL]

Okay thanks guys that's all I needed to know

 

[Karigan]

Often I've read about how a bird will try to separate itself from the one who feeds it, like a teenager rebelling against it's mother. All birds leave the nest at some point, and when this happens they tend to bond with someone other than their adopted parent.

 

[MarciaLove]

NOOOO!!!! Its so dangerous! handfeeding is ver risky so many things could go wrong and harm or kill the baby bird and its not easy to do at all! You have to know how much to feed, what temperature, and when (depending on age maybe all night) and much more! Weaning is also a tricky process. Overall it can be very stressful the first time if you dont know absolutely everything. Plus the bird wont even start to bond to someone until they are weaned so you would the same bond with the bird if you didnt handfeed. Its safer just to get a bird that has just been weaned so its still a baby but doesnt need handfeeding.

 

[MarciaLove]

Often I've read about how a bird will try to separate itself from the one who feeds it, like a teenager rebelling against it's mother. All birds leave the nest at some point, and when this happens they tend to bond with someone other than their adopted parent.

I have handfed many birds (cause I breed) And that is true for some, some do just that to me.

 

[PJL]

Thanks guys thanks for all the advise. I had no idea it was that hard! If I do get another bird, Ill make sure its weaned
Thanks again!
This site is amazing!

 

[WharfRat]

IMO weaning does have an effect on the bonding process but not always. Case in point, I handfed and raised ReaRea personally, the bond is absolutely amazing. With our 2nd GW I had Deb do the weaning since she wanted a bonded GW so much. It didn't work, heck Miri is a handful for me but she will fly to me on command. Due to this, when we got the Zons, breeder told me to not even touch them during the weaning process (she worded it a little stronger than that) and both of them are TOTALLY bonded to her. I honestly think it helps but there is no guarantee of anything.