We take all babies from the nest at three weeks of age. Babies are either from our breeding stock or from reputable breeders that we have hand selected. Because of the limited space that we have available, we can not house as many breeders as we would like. Therefore, at times we purchase babies from other breeders within California. All breeders have been thoroughly checked out in person to insure that their breeding stock is in the best possible health and are maintained as well as we maintain our own breeding birds. And all babies are hand-picked by myself and picked up in person.
We believe that all babies should stay with their parents for the first three weeks if at all possible. This gives them the healthiest start. At three weeks, most babies are starting to open their eyes. They are not fearful of humans because we are hopefully the first thing they see.
They are all brought in to the house, into a special bird room, that has it’s own temperature control. They are placed in plastic brooder tubs with babies of like size and age, if possible. If there are no other babies that are compatible, they are given stuffed animals in a similar size.
During their first few weeks inside, they are hand fed on their schedule, not ours. They are fed using a syringe in a very quiet, calm, gentle manner - no gavage feedings. They are never force fed, or treated roughly in any way. They are kept in the bird room, where the temperature and humidity stays very consistent and the exposure to germs is very low.
When the babies first start picking at their feet, or the feet of their nestmates, small toys, colorful finger-food and soft, warm food is placed in their tubs. This encourages the babies to try new and different foods and toys.
When they have developed a little coordination and when they are feathered enough to maintain their own body heat for a time, they are allowed out of the bird room. They are cuddled by a member of my family (ages 14 to 45). They snuggle up on someone’s lap and watch t.v. or play with a toy or beak some finger-food.
When they develop a little more coordination, are walking around on their own, starting to get into mischief, they are allowed to play on the floor in a playpen filled with toys. We hang toys over their heads, we put toys on the side of their brooders, we lay toys in their brooders. This way they develop a curiosity of new toys rather than a fear.
We believe that a baby bird should learn to fully utilize their flying ability before their first wing trim. By perfecting their flying, landing, perching and distance judging abilities we believe they build confidence in themselves and their environment. A confident bird is much less likely to develop negative behavioral tendencies such as screaming and biting. Therefore, when they start demonstrating their flying ability (which is always sooner than we think they should), they are taken to an outside 8’x4’x6’ flight pen for supervised playtime. We spend time (starting at about 15 minutes and increasing to several hours a day) teaching the babies to fly, perch, climb and develop muscle tissue and coordination. These pens have been modified to accommodate their new flying and perching abilities. All the perches are lowered, ropes are attached from ground to perch, and indoor/outdoor carpet installed for soft landings. This is the time we also start training them to stay on a perch or playpen in the living room, family room or kitchen. They are encouraged to stay put and play rather than constantly flying off, or climbing down. We all spend many hours putting babies back on their play structure time and time again until they get the idea that we want them to stay there rather than climbing up our pant legs.
During this growth period, more and more weaning food is provided throughout the day. By now they are down to two or three hand feedings per day. They are starting to actually ingest some of the food stuffs.
By this time they are ready to move from their tubs (which have continually grown in size as they have) to a cage. Their baby cage is kept in the bird room, this is where they sleep only. The rest of the day, they spend either in the flight pens, on their play stands or in a large macaw size cage in our living room. This cage has been set up for all the playing a baby bird can stand – that’s a lot of playing! Their toys are constantly rotated, new ones introduced as often as possible. In addition to a variety of toys, a variety of food is introduced daily. Much of this food is in the form of toys. An artichoke on a skewer hanging from the top of the cage, becomes a great swing in addition to teaching how to forage.
A baby is weaned in our home when it decides to wean. We hand feed (or a least offer hand feeding) until the baby no longer desires it. Sometimes this last feeding is only a source of security. The baby only takes a cc or two, not really anything to sustain him, just to remind him that we are here and the food is here if he or she needs it. By this time the majority if not all of their nutrition is provided by the "adult food" that they are eating. The weaning food (and subsequently adult food) consists of fresh raw and slightly cooked vegetables, fruit, rice, cooked eggs, pasta, beans, seeds, nuts, pellets and sprouted seeds and grain.
We believe that every new owner should be well educated in the care, feeding and training of their new babies. So when it is time for your baby to go home, you are provided with a large care package. This package includes a weeks worth of all the foods your baby has been eating, some familiar toys, their special toy (usually the stuffed animal they grew up with), written instructions, recipes and a personal letter describing in detail all your baby's likes, dislikes, special traits and daily routine. I am available 24 hours a day, should any questions or concerns arise.
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