Pics of baby parrots I raised.

[Ladyhawk]

I've been converting old videos into DVDs and taking screenshots. I want to make some AVIs or WMVs, too, but the sound and video don't sync up, at least they didn't with one DVD I tried. I went to all the sites and tried different tricks, but the audio was actually expanded: longer than the video. One site advised that if this is the case, I should just give up, so I did. :) Baby parrots playing without sound isn't quite as fun, but it would still be very cute. Here's a preview of screenies:

Kira, Dax and Odo (African greys):



Buckwheat, Spanky and Darla (Senegals):

[anarch]

1. they are awesome!

:D

[Texasgal]

2. Beautiful!!

Thank you for sharing ladyhawk! :hi:

[Patiod]

3. Wow - great picks!

The best I ever did was a few cut-throat finches (meep meep meep meep)

Those parrots are darling

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

4. how frickking adorable!

wow! :loveya:

what beauties!

[Ladyhawk]

6. As I watched the video I couldn't help laughing out loud.

One of the most mischievous babies I ever raised was Kira. I videotaped her destroying a piece of broccoli. Later, after I had sold Kira, Dax and Odo played "King of the Box." At one point, Dax (on the box) growls at Odo playfully, like a puppy. Baby Amazons do that, too. :) Then Odo reached up and bit Dax on the leg. Of course it was a play bite, but Dax wasn't paying attention and it surprised her. :)

Watching that very cute video made me miss raising baby parrots...then I remembered what a demanding job it is: 24/7 with no vacations. I got to the point where I wished the parents would stop reproducing. When I moved them to an outdoor building, they obliged me and their parenting skills waned. At that point my health problems were getting to me. I was sick and exhausted, so I decided to sell the breeders to someone who could do right by them. Unfortunately, the lady I sold them to also developed health problems and had to sell them to some guy in Texas. :( I hope they're okay. :(

That's the problem with basing a business on live animals. There are so many ethical and moral implications. I finally got tired of dealing with guilt. That was yet another reason I gave it up.

[crispini]

10. That's very interesting-- so it's a lot of work?

I've never had parrots-- why, exactly, is it a 24/7 job?

And it seems to me that by raising parrots from captivity you are doing a great service because they might otherwise be taken from the wild? :shrug:

CUTE pics, thanks for sharing!

[Ladyhawk]

12. Raising babies can be 24/7.

To make them really tame, you "pull" them from the nest at 2-3 weeks old and hand-raise them. It's labor-intensive if you really want to do a good job. You have to feed them every 3 hours or so at first. Luckily, you get a break at night if you pull them at 2-3 weeks. You have to clean up after them and socialize them. Feeding them is not enough. They have to be exposed to new situations, new toys, new foods, etc.

True, the babies are domestic and hand-raised, but the parents were taken from the wild. I felt guilt about that and about "pulling" the babies away from their parents. Also, African greys are so sensitive and intelligent they probably shouldn't be kept as pets by most people. They require a lot of intellectual stimulation. The babies that adjusted to their homes the best were outgoing babies placed in busy homes. One owner even decided to let his baby fly, against all the advice of behaviorists. She rules the roost, bossing around a house full of dogs and cats and cockatoos. She's a bit persnickety, but she's happy, having full run of the house.

Behaviorists are starting to wonder if it might be important to teach babies to fly before their wings are clipped. This can be dangerous to the baby if the house isn't bird safe. Before I clipped him, one baby grey flew headlong into a plate glass window and knocked off a bunch of head feathers. He's lucky he didn't end up with a severe head injury. A flight cage or flight room might be a necessary part of raising baby parrots. I didn't have the room for such a place.

I could go on and tell about some of the babies that started feather-picking and about how I was at my wits' end trying to figure out why. One simply hated being caged. I never did figure out why the other started. :( It may be I let the parents breed too often? Maybe they need more rest to produce strong babies. The truth is no one knows why African greys are so predisposed to feather-picking. Sometimes the problem seems to happen for no discernable reason...at least to us. Greys are so sensitive. The bird has a reason. Sometimes we humans are just too stupid to figure out what it is.

Usually it was the more sensitive babies that developed this problem. The bolder, more dominant birds adjusted more easily to home situations. Funny, but it was often the hens who were persnickety little brats. :) I actually preferred the dominant birds to the sensitive, cuddly ones because the latter were so demanding of my time. They wanted constant attention that I couldn't always give them.

This is sort of a stream of thought post. I could go on and on about raising baby parrots and the various problems that cropped up (pun intended).

That video of the two greys playing "King of the Box" is very cute...I should see if I can turn it into something easy for folks to download. The footage of Kira destroying the broccoli is cute, too...I'd almost forgotten how cute baby greys could be. :)

[crispini]

33. Wow. thanks for all of the info.

Fascinating. I had no idea.

[sarge43]

16. Hand raising

It's about the same as caring for any infant. Prep'ing the formula (a mix of special baby bird food, right consistency, temperature) is a hassle. You use a syringe and squirt, gently, into their mouths which they then dibble half of it all over themselves. Keeping them clean is a big part of the job. They should be about three weeks old before starting hand feeding. Oh yeah, they must be kept warm and out of drafts at all times. They're usually kept in a fish tank with a heating pad under it.

It's worth the effort because you'll have a bird that's totally bonded to people.

[Ladyhawk]

21. You know of what you speak. :)

I had styrofoam incubators for them. They had to be kept at 85 degrees until their contour feathers grew in (African parrots can be kept at a lower temp than other parrots). They had to be weighed every day to make sure they were gaining weight. Weight loss or failure to gain can be the first indication of a problem. I still have weight charts for most of my babies. At about eight weeks, the greys stop gaining. At nine weeks, they start losing a bit of weight in preparation for fledging. This has to be monitored very carefully because sometimes a baby will lose too much weight.

Weaning is a nightmare. A stressed grey will "forget" it is weaned and go back to begging. I was always terrified one of my babies would do this and made sure the new owner knew to watch the bird's weight. A friend of mine lost a cockatoo this way. I was too ill at the time to go into "mother" mode and explain all the dangers. I figured it was the responsibility of the breeder who sold the cockatoo. I was heartsick when I learned the baby had died of starvation. I agonized over it and wondered if I could have prevented the tragedy by simply printing out one of my old bird care pamphlets. :(

And the formula! When they hit about eight weeks old, baby greys get picky about their formula and if it's not just the right temperature and just the right consistency, they absolutely REFUSE to eat it. This can be aggravating. :)

As you mentioned, baby parrots end up wearing most of their formula. :) If the formula is too watery, it doesn't have enough nutrition. If the formula is too thick, the baby may become dehydrated. If the formula is too cold, the baby won't eat it. If it's too hot, it will burn the baby's crop. If you aren't careful, you can cause the baby to aspirate formula, which almost invariably causes pneumonia. I never aspirated a chick (lucky me!) and I never burned a crop. Once when someone was helping me raise a clutch of Senegals, they came back in terrible condition. I could tell they hadn't been fed properly because they had lost weight. One baby had a crop burn. :( :( :( This was my first clutch of Senegals and the girl who had caused the damage wouldn't even help me pay the vet bills. She also never paid me for a piece of my artwork. Don't you hate flakes...especially flakes who cause baby birds to suffer? :grr:

[sarge43]

32. Yeah, I've foster a few

I used to work in a pet store and handfed everything from macaws to 'tiels.

I remember well the weaning off routine. "I'm starving to death! Look at me! I'm going to die! I'm gonna diiiieeeee and it's all your fault! One clutch of conures had the cute trick of flinging themselves on their backs. And for the best dramatic performance, the award goes to ....
Whoever said 'eats like a bird' or 'birdbrain' never took care of any.

Frakes, yup. One thing I didn't like about working in the store was watching some jerk walk off with one of my babies.

[Ladyhawk]

34. LOL. Tiels beg LOUDLY, don't they?

The feeding response of macaws is impressive. EARTHQUAKE!!!! You have to hang on for the ride. :) I just had a flashback of triggering feeding responses in baby birds. :) Their beaks are still fleshy until they get a bit of growth. All you have to do is touch the sides or a fleshy part and the little guys bob up and down like crazy!

I worked in pet stores and as a breeder and it was always hard watching someone walk off with a baby. At least as a breeder I had some control, but I still accidentally sold to a few people who ended up killing the bird through stupidity or neglect. :(

[Metta]

5. What wonderful bird medicine. Nice job!

You should live 120 years. :thumbsup: :pals: :)

[Ladyhawk]

24. ((((((((((( Metta ))))))))))) n/t

[Metta]

29. Smiles and hugs

and the vast radiating of heart energy. :pals:

[ronnykmarshall]

7. What cuties!

I love birds.

[Ladyhawk]

8. Kick for cuteness (and because kittens get more attention around here)

:)

[WritingIsMyReligion]

9. African Greys! African Greys!

Yay!!! :D :D :D

I have a grey! She's so purdy.... and so are yours!! Birds are truly wonderful creatures...

:D :D

:bounce:

[Ladyhawk]

14. Greys are great and require special people. :) n/t

[Faygo Kid]

11. "No, no - e's not dead!"

Mr. Praline: Never mind that, my lad. I wish to complain about this parrot what I purchased not half an hour ago from this very boutique.

Owner: Oh yes, the, uh, the Norwegian Blue...What's,uh...What's wrong with it?

Mr. Praline: I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my lad. 'E's dead, that's what's wrong with it!

Owner: No, no, 'e's uh,...he's resting.

Mr. Praline: Look, matey, I know a dead parrot when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now.

Owner: No no he's not dead, he's, he's restin'! Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Blue, idn'it, ay? Beautiful plumage!

Mr. Praline: The plumage don't enter into it. It's stone dead.

Owner: Nononono, no, no! 'E's resting!

Yes, I am a terrible person. Going to hide in the corner now.

[Ladyhawk]

15. I have trouble watching the version with the stuffed blue and gold macaw.

I like the version with the obviously fake bird. I've known too many wonderful blue and gold macaws, I guess. For dog and cat lovers: It would be like watching a skit with a stuffed dog / cat that looked exactly like yours.

I love Monty Python, but watching John Cleese bang that poor dead macaw on the counter gets to me. :scared: I can handle the version with the fake bird much better. :)

[Faygo Kid]

17. No offense intended, of course

Naturally, if you were a lumberjack, you would be fair game. And it would be musical.

[Ladyhawk]

19. No offense taken!

I like that skit, but personal experiences can cause one's mileage to vary. :) A person who hadn't known any live blue and gold macaws wouldn't care. When I worked at a pet store in Fresno, I handled large macaws on a daily basis. One of the first birds I tamed was a parent-raised Catalina macaw. Let me tell you, even an "I'm afraid I'm going to fall" bite from a macaw can be very painful!

It's just that I have trouble seeing this dead bird that looks so much like birds I handled and cared for every day. I helped raise a clutch of blue and golds. Baby macaws remind me of puppies.

[Darth_Kitten]

13. Gotta lov da birdies!!

:loveya: :D

[sarge43]

18. Love those names, Ladyhawk n/t

[Ladyhawk]

23. Hehe, thanks. I always had a theme.

Gilligan, Skipper and Mary Ann; Yeti, Sasquatch and Nessie; Zane and Dorian Grey: These are just a few examples. :)

[MiwSher]

20. Awwwwwwww!!

Don't worry, I won't show the pics to Percy. :evilgrin:

MiwSher

[Ladyhawk]

22. Please don't. :)

A macaw would give him a run for his money, but a baby grey is pretty helpless. :)

[MiwSher]

25. I can just picture it! LOL!!

Percy with a macaw!! That would take him down a peg or two. He's been in a right snit lately, too.

MiwSher

[Ladyhawk]

27. Let him try out one of these.

Polly wanna kitty?

[MiwSher]

30. I know just where to hang that pic!

Right inside his litter box!! :evilgrin: :rofl:

MiwSher

[GoddessOfGuinness]

26. Awwwww!

They're so cuuuuute! :yourock:

[Magrittes Pipe]

28. Such adorable babies, Ladyhawk.

I've been really missing my birds especially much lately (they live with my ex), and this was just what I needed.

[merh]

31. They are beautiful, Ladyhawk.

I had an African Grey, he was so smart and such a great friend.

I miss him, maybe one day I will get another one. They are the best pets to have.

thank you for posting these images. :hug:

[Ladyhawk]

35. I bet you miss your baby. :(

They are too smart for their own good sometimes. My impression is that greys took longer to develop both physically and emotionally. A lot of young greys won't learn to talk until they are a year old or more and then the owner wishes it would shut up. :) This happened with Mary Ann, the grey who flies around the house, taking charge or dogs, cats, cockatoos and people. The owner badgered me for a year, saying, "When is she going to say something besides 'hello'?" I kept saying, "Be patient. Greys sometimes take their own sweet time." Now she has a vocabulary of several hundred words, calls the dogs, yells at the cats, imitates the phone, drives everyone nuts. :)

[merh]

36. Yes, I miss my Freddie.

He had a wonderful vocabulary, when the phone rang he would say "hello, yeah, okay, bye-bye" in a voice like mine.

He would meow like a cat, just to drive my dogs and cat crazy.

When I left for work in the morning, I would lean down to him and say, "give me a kiss" and he would repeat "give a kiss" "love you, bye-bye".

I could ask him "what's on top of the house" and he would bark like a dog "ruff, ruff"

"how does sand paper feel" and again he would bark.

He was so loving and entertaining. And he could cuss like a sailor. he loved to call male visitors "assholes"

I will get another one, there is no doubt.

:hug:

[u4ic]

37. Ladyhawk, they just ooze cuteness

what adorable babies. :loveya:

[DanCa]

38. Oh the african greys are so cute.

Ours is named cuddles. Talks up a storm. :thumbsup: Great job.

[sakabatou]

39. Another DS9 fan, huh?

Cute parrots.

[DanCa]

40. Ds9 is great . Vic Fontaine ruled.

[NMMNG]

41. What cuties! DS9 and Little Rascals fan, eh?

;-)

[yellowdogmi]

42. That is so cool

Right now I have two Cockatiels. Max and Keebler.

[Robeson]

43. Awesome Ladyhawk!.....

...beautiful kids. Love the DS9 names. Perfect!