I want to buy a baby Quaker parrot this summer so i have time to feed it...how long does it take?? Does it depend on its age? What kind of food can I feed it?
2007-03-07 14:16:13 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Birds
Alot of aviculturist are against buying/selling unweaned babies. However, I tend to disagree. I feel that breeders that do not sell unweaned babies that are on 1-2 feedings per day rob the owners of that precious time and bonding period. Do you have to hand feed your parrot to bond with them? Absolutely not. It is more beneficial to the bird owner than it is to the bird. handfeeding isn't difficult. You just need to know what not to do. If the food is too, the chick gets burn crop and die. too cold they can develop sour crop and die. You can asperate the baby if not done correctly and the chick will die instantly. So, there are risks. What I suggest you do is find a good breeder. Not a pet store. Let them teach you how to handfeed. Make sure that you only take the baby home once it is on 2 feedings per day not before. Visit the baby a few times and help with several feedings before taking it home. Quaker parrots wean around 8-9 weeks.
btw, its very simple to avoid crop burn. you need a candy themometer and make sure that your formula is stirred so that you get out any hot spots. Be sure that it is between 101-105 when you feed the baby. You shouldn't have any problems with crop burn or slow crop.
2007-03-07 16:41:06 · answer #1 · answered by peek-a-boo 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You will get the bird from a breeder, who will give you instructions. They usually let the parents feed them for a while before removing them from the nest, so they have some feathers and are not too far from being weaned. Trying to hand feed a naked chick would be quite a challenge for an inexperienced person, but when the chick is older it's not hard. Contact a breeder and ask about it, and find out when they will be available and so forth.
2007-03-07 15:12:43 · answer #2 · answered by The First Dragon 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had a baby quaker several years ago, and i had to feed it bird formula bought from the bird store. I had to use a syringe to feed it for several weeks. They are a playful bird when they are older. You can teach them to talk, but their speech is not real clear, but you can understand them. I had to feed it at least 3-4 times a day with the formula.
2007-03-07 14:30:30 · answer #3 · answered by idaho_native57 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Please, unless you are expierenced in handfeeding, which I can tell you aren't, please don't handfeed a bird. If done wrong it can kill or seriously maim the bird.
Too cold and the chick develops sour crop, where the food does not digest properly and they get an infection which can kill. Too hot and they get crop burn. Fed too much too fast, or too thin a formula and they can asperate, breathe the formula, and that will either suffocate them or cause pneumonia.
Please be warned, the image I'm giving you a link to is of crop burn in a cockatoo chick. It is very graphic, but you need to know what can happen. http://www.parrottalk.com/crop-burn-damage.htm
2007-03-07 14:29:40 · answer #4 · answered by Christie D 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋