Many breeders and stores sell unweaned baby parrots, claiming that finishing the hand-feeding and weaning process yourself will “guarantee a hand-tame bird” and “ensure bonding.” While this sounds compelling, it is not true! The seller’s true motivation is to save money; hand-feeding is labor intensive and eats up profits. Unfortunately, the mistakes commonly made by inexperienced hand-feeders often set up parrots for chronic physical and/or behavior problems that may increase the likelihood that they will be abused, neglected, unwanted, or abandoned at some time in their lives.
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Inexperienced hand feeders often do not know how easy it is for a parrot chick to accidentally inhale liquid formula. Food inhaled into the lungs can result in immediate drowning or a serious, often lethal infection called aspiration pneumonia.
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Crop burns are caused by feeding formula that is too hot. These injuries can form an opening to the outside of the bird’s body, requiring surgery and/or leading to serious bacterial and fungal infections.
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Forced weaning — refusing to feed a begging chick with the assumption that when it gets hungry enough it will eat — is often the choice of those who tire of hand-feeding before the chick is ready. Parrots in the wild are weaned by their parents over a period of months — or even years — as they learn to forage on their own. Forced weaning can result in malnutrition, starvation, and permanent behavior problems such as rigid eating habits, nervousness, and chronic begging.
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Proper weaning is the responsibility of the breeder. Never buy an unweaned baby bird, and never support stores or breeders that sell them!
Filed under: Atlantic sky Tagged: | Add new tag, Baby Birds, Newfoundland breeder, Parrot Breeder
