The younger the better?

[lisa6373]

Check out my introduction in the Welcome forum

I'm looking to adopt a GCC sooner rather than later. I really wanted to be able to put a deposit on a unweaned baby so I'd have that bond from the very beginning.

I contacted the place where I had hoped to adopt from, M&D Bird World in Delaware, and they don't currently have any unweaned green cheeks. He said they had babies 4 to 7 months old and would have hatchlings in a few weeks. I really don't want to wait THAT long for the hatchlings to be weaned.

Is 4 to 7 months old young enough for that bond to be established? M&D seemed like such a professional establishment based on their website, but should I try another breeder if I really want a younger baby?

 

[skygoneblue]

Birds don't magically stop loving food and attention after they're weaned. I'm sure you could have a wonderful pet with those that are a few months old, especially considering they can live to be MUCH older than that. You have plenty of time to develop a bond, with or without hand feeding.

Here's an excerpt from an article on this very subject:

"New owners are trapped into buying this adorable little down-covered baby parrot and by being told by the breeder that they must hand feed their new baby themselves if they want it to bond with them. This is very misleading and inaccurate. Let's look at it from a practical standpoint. Birds have two types of development. The first to consider is imprinting. Imprinting occurs at the time their eyes open. When the eyes first open, the form that a baby sees will be the form that he will associate as future flocking buddies. When humans are seen first they become the form in which baby birds consider as themselves. To them, we are birds and they are humans. The second type of development to consider is bonding. Bonding is something that occurs gradually and must be fostered. It may not even occur before the bird begins sexual maturity. If bonding were to occur between feeder and baby, babies would bond to their mothers, and we know this does not happen. Bonding with the pet parrot depends on the friendship that develops, not who held the syringe."

http://www.birdieboutique.com/toweanornott.html

 

[thekarens]

You can bond with a bird that's 50 years old. Age really doesn't make a difference.

 

[riddick07]

Age doesn't make a difference. If the bird is going to bond to you it will no matter the age. I bought my female gcc who was 6 months old when I got her and she flies along right behind me. I got my male gcc as soon as he was weaned. He doesn't like hanging out with me unless its a rare blue moon kind of day.

I just adopted a, we are guessing around 15 year old, cockatoo he bonded to me the day I met him. He hates everyone but me. There is no guarantee of how a bird responds to people or the kind of bond a bird will form with you! Just because my male gcc doesn't like to hang out with me all the time doesn't mean he isn't bonded to me. If you are looking for that awesome trick, cuddly bird that thinks you hung the moon well no one can give you that guarantee just because he is young...you just have to be lucky or find an adult whose personality is already that way when you meet them.

 

[lisa6373]

Thank you both. The place I wanted to adopt from does hand feed. It sounds silly, but I've seen all of these cute pictures that have been posted when others are waiting for their "babies" to be weaned and ready to come home. I just wanted that baby experience I guess. Kind of like getting a puppy versus an older dog.

So far with internet research, I haven't come up with many breeders in the Maryland area.

 

[lisa6373]

Age doesn't make a difference. If the bird is going to bond to you it will no matter the age. I bought my female gcc who was 6 months old when I got her and she flies along right behind me. I got my male gcc as soon as he was weaned. He doesn't like hanging out with me unless its a rare blue moon kind of day.

I just adopted a, we are guessing around 15 year old, cockatoo he bonded to me the day I met him. He hates everyone but me. There is no guarantee of how a bird responds to people or the kind of bond a bird will form with you! Just because my male gcc doesn't like to hang out with me all the time doesn't mean he isn't bonded to me. If you are looking for that awesome trick, cuddly bird that thinks you hung the moon well no one can give you that guarantee just because he is young...you just have to be lucky or find an adult whose personality is already that way when you meet them.

Thank you for this feedback!

 

[riddick07]

Hmm I don't think I know any breeders in Maryland either! Hopefully there is a member on here who knows of a local breeder!

 

[thekarens]

Maybe you could go visit those birds and see if one picks you and it clicks.

 

[MangieSun]

I liked that I found Mangie and Jasper at around 6-7 months old. I didn't really have to worry about any regression with weaning since they had both been weaned for some time. They are both very much babies. I've had no problems getting them to bond to me.

 

[jenphilly]

Note before I babble..., I am riddick07's mother...

We have birds that came home right after weaning, adult rescues and ones in between...,

The birds with the strongest bond that really would miss us if we fell off the planet tomorrow are the rescues and the in between

If you want a super sweet loveable bird, I would really suggest you think about a rescue. And remember even small birds can live 30+ years, so even a 5 year old is still very young. And something I did not see mentioned, a baby is gonna go thru puberty and it can be painful and frustrating for the people. You will have a period of time when your sweet cute baby turns into a little monster and you need to work thru that with them.... but adopt a bird who is past that phase and you are a little more confident what you are bringing home... tho remember most every bird has a seasonal hormonal time...

My daughter made a great point about the two green cheeks she has..., and the bird that loves her beyond words is the bare eyed too that just came home from a shelter.... I also have a rehomed too and Ivory could not be more my baby if I had handfeed her myself.

There are awesome birds in shelters, even if you just check things out, never know who will decide for you that they are the right bird for you.... and those are the best ones, they pick YOU out.... That's when you know you've added the right one to your family

 

[Kiwibird]

As mentioned, a birds age has absolutely nothing to do with how he or she will bond to you. You can take home a baby and make just a few small mistakes and have a vicious bird with serious behavioral issues within the first few years. Or you could take home a baby and have a loving lifelong bond. Or you could take home a baby, do everything right, have a great relationship and as soon as they hit puberty they change drastically and you may or may not be able to handle those changes. Or you could go visit the bird every day until it's weaned, think you have a great bond and it takes one look at your spouse or sibling or roommate or whomever, and falls head over heels in love with them instead of you. There is absolutely no guarantee what will happen with any bird, and much boils down to the individual parrot. Just like with human children, you don't get a clear idea of personality until they are more mature either. Every 3 year old is cute and innocent, but come back 10 years later and see how much they've changed.

Theres also plenty of people who've adopted an older bird that came with behavioral issues and just given the bird time and love and now the bird is completely trusting and bonded with the person. Now I do understand being a beginner and wanting a hand raised baby, but trust me, 4-7 months is not going to make much difference. You would also not be doing yourself any favors if you did not at least get in contact with one or 2 rescues and see if any of the rescue birds take to you. You never know who's out there who would bond to you instantly, even if they aren't a baby. There may not be, but just like dogs and cats, theres a MAJOR problem with parrots in shelter, and many have no behavioral issues and want to be part of a family.

 

[MonicaMc]

The majority of my birds have been rehomes. In fact, all three of my conures are rehomes. My first two conures were 12+ years old when I got them. My first conure I didn't have that close bond with that many conure owners have, but I still came to understand him and interact with him in a special kind of way. Although he is no longer with me, I miss him so much!

My second conure (Charlie, still have him!) is the complete opposite of my first. He's more than I expected, and then some! I had hoped that he and my first conure would get along, but they never did. It was sad to see one was the epitome of the word "conure" and the other was the complete opposite.

And now I also have a third conure (Jayde, newest girl!). I thought she was older, like my first two conures, but turns out she's a "baby"! She was about 3 1/2 years old when I got her and she's now over 4 years old. I knew that when I got her, she'd require work. For six months, no one could physically handle her. They could talk to her and give her scritches, but that was the extent of it. Now? Well, now I've got two green "boomerangs" that just wont stay away! LOL Both demand my attention, both enjoy scritches, both will fly through the house after me. I love it!





I've never experienced a young conure growing up, but I don't regret my adults, either!

 

[RavensGryf]

A lot of good answers were written here already
I also strongly believe it's best to leave hand feeding in the hands of professionals or people who are very experienced with it.

If you get a chance, please search for my recent post titled "Unweaned babies a trend these days?" You might find the comments interesting. Come on, you can wait a few weeks . It's ONLY a few weeks!

 

[lisa6373]

A lot of good answers were written here already
I also strongly believe it's best to leave hand feeding in the hands of professionals or people who are very experienced with it.

If you get a chance, please search for my recent post titled "Unweaned babies a trend these days?" You might find the comments interesting. Come on, you can wait a few weeks . It's ONLY a few weeks!

Just to clear up any confusion, I certainly wasn't planning to bring an unweaned baby home. I originally thought I'd like to put a deposit on an unweaned so I could bring him/her home as soon as they were ready.

After putting a little more thought into it, I've decided to purchase from the original place I had planned where they are 4-7 months old. We are planning to drive to Delaware this weekend and interact with them a bit before choosing.

Thanks for all of the replies!