Continued from page 2Weaned or Unweaned
It is important for any baby parrot to wean according to their own individual schedule, but with a Grey it seems even more so. We use syringes to place formula in a chick's mouth when they are young. It is efficient, less messy and it is easier to measure how much formula they've actually consumed. It is also easier to maintain the formula at the desirable temperature in a syringe rather than an open bowl of formula. Greys are very fussy when it comes to the temperature of their formula- they prefer it slightly warmer than the typically recommended 105¡F. If your Grey baby acts fussy while being hand-fed, perhaps the formula is not quite warm enough. I must caution, of course, that one must be very careful to also avoid crop burn. A thermometer should always be used. Formula temperatures can sometimes draw a very fine line between what is safe for the novice to feed, and what is acceptable to the individual chick. If you lack hand-feeding experience, or a thorough teacher AND proper equipment (including a gram scale), than it is best to leave the hand-feeding and weaning of African Grey chicks to the experienced professionals. Never take on the responsibility of hand-feeding and weaning unless you completely understand and feel comfortable with the entire process. Remember - a helpless, living creature's life is at stake!
Since early socialization is so important with baby Greys, one must decide whether or not weaning the baby is beneficial to the bird, or not. If you are confident that the breeder you have selected is teaching your Grey baby the basic commands and introducing variety to them, whether it be foods, toys, and people, your baby is already in very capable hands and should remain there until it is fully weaned.
Hand-feeding is not necessary to form a parrot/human bond-but, if a Grey baby is not being properly nurtured by a breeder (many very large breeders do not have time to provide individual attention to each baby), then it might be best to take hand-feeding lessons and finish the weaning yourself once you are skilled at it, or even better, locate an experienced, loving hand-feeder to finish the weaning for you. Although I myself have a policy of not selling unweaned chicks, I can see that in some cases it might be better for the baby. Personally, if I were a novice shopping for an African Grey, I would seek a breeder who does a reputable job of raising nurtured, weaned babies. However, many people are always looking to save a buck, and an non frequently handled, perhaps force weaned Grey baby is definitely going to provide the better "deal". When one considers the life span potential of a large parrot - 50, 60, even 80 years or more, when it comes down to it, saving a couple of hundred dollars over the lifetime of having that parrot is really insubstantial. Perhaps the real problem in bargain hunters is that they do not actually realize the full commitment of owning a parrot. How many people purchase a baby bird, figuring on sharing the next 50 years or so with it? My guess is that most people figure on 10 or 15 years, therefore saving a buck is much more tangible. Of course this whole topic is an article in itself and requires a taller soapbox!
Great Family Birds,
Talented Talkers, TooOne of our Timneh babies, now three years old, is named Echo and she lives with my friend Leslie and her family. Echo has made guest appearances at school, and is a big hit with the children. She is a very gentle bird and can safely be handled by children and all family members. Perhaps due to our towel games and snuggling as a young baby, Echo becomes totally pliable when wrapped in a towel. When wrapped in such, Leslie's six year old daughter carries Echo around like a baby-she is the gentlest of birds. Although I cannot agree with the mode of transportation, Echo has also been wrapped in a towel and placed on the car seat where she remains snuggled until they arrive at school. She is a very low key bird, and when visiting the vet receives a top grade for being a compliant patient.
When Echo was two, our vet was out to our Feather Farm, taking blood samples for DNA sexing. Leslie had brought Echo out to confirm our suspicions that she was indeed a hen. Echo's nails were already quite short, so it was decided to obtain a blood sample from a vein in her neck. Echo did not even require a towel, but just laid in Leslie's hands while the vet stretched out her neck to insert the needle and obtain the sample. Echo was completely unmoving with perhaps one little chirp. Even I was amazed to see this bird in such a calm state. Leslie has obviously done a wonderful job of continuing to work with Echo as the young Grey matures.
Like many Timneh Greys, however, Echo seemingly has two personalities. There is the docile, snuggle bird that the family has come to know. But there is also the upside-down, bat-like hanging, toy destroying maniac that imitates sounds and words, constantly increasing her vocabulary. As a baby Echo was mumbling what seemed to be an apparent attempt at English. I knew she was going to be the best talker of the clutch, and had named her Echo myself. Echo said her first word at 12 weeks of age, and has learned to sing songs (especially enjoying vibrato), as well as mimicking the other family pets and sounds. This includes imitating the screams of the family's lilac-crown amazon, followed by "Paco, STOP SCREAMING!"
Rusty, is a Timneh owned by Richanna Patrick and Scott Murray, who exhibits the same potential for cognitive thinking as do Congos, like Irene Pepperberg's famous Alex. Scott recently purchased Rusty a package of white golf balls for Rusty to play with. Richie heard Rusty saying, "It's a wall" - not completely understanding what the Timneh was trying to say. Then she realized that Scott and Rusty had been playing with the balls.
Richie said to Rusty, "You mean, it's a ball" - and she repeated the phrase a few times. Then she retrieved one of the white golf balls, and asked the Timneh, "What's that?" Rusty replied "cookie", and Richie said "NO!". They repeated this four times, and then Richie finally said, "Nope, you can't have it because it is not a cookie", and proceeded to walk away from the Timneh. Then she heard, "It's a ball!", so Richie rushed back to the cage with the ball and handed it to Rusty praising him and reinforcing what he had just said. Rusty has been correctly associating cookie with said item for months, and Richie expects that he will correctly identify the balls on sight, also. Many Timnehs like to amuse themselves and their owners by putting words together to create new phrases. Timnehs will use phrases appropriately, just as the Congos might, calling out "see ya later!" as a person heads out the door. In addition, they correctly label certain items, such as specific toys, foods, water, and have greeted the sight of a bird harness with "let's go bye-bye!". Obviously Timnehs are indeed just as talented as the Congo Greys. I have suggested to Irene Pepperberg that a Timneh be a future candidate for her research since a well socialized Timneh more readily accepts strangers than do most Congos. I predict that such a Timneh will be an ideal subject for her well known work involving a variety of students.
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