A new baby

Welcome to the Grey Play Round Table African grey Question and Answer Board. Maggie Wright, author of the Barron's Grey pet manual and creator of the Grey Play Round Table African grey newsletter/magazine, and Lisa Bono, African grey behavior expert, will be the two moderators to answer your questions. Please check out the areas that have already been dealt with... and submit your new questions.


Due to the incredibly high volume of SPAM, the board has been set up so that you cannot submit a question. Instead, please send me your question at merlin@AfricanGreys.com and I will post it for you. Then, both Lisa and I will post responses. Sorry for the inconvenience.

PLEASE send me your questions... we REALLY want to help you!!! merlin@AfricanGreys.com.


Wishing you GREY'T Blessings!
Maggie Wright

Moderator: merlin

A new baby

Postby Cupid07 » Fri Apr 13, 2007 2:04 am

Hi Maggie~

As you know, I have a new baby grey!! Little Kismet is 4 weeks old and such a little doll as you saw in his photo. :D

His breeder lives an hour away from me so I can only visit him on the weekends. I want to see him as often as possible so he will be familiar & comfortable with me before he comes home. I have also bought several toys for him & new carrier which I am going to take to the breeder when I visit him this Saturday so she can have them set up & let him get used to them before coming home. I figure if he has the toys & carrier ahead of time & has time to see them and get used to them, it will be less scary for him when it's time to put him in the carrier & bring him home. The toys I will take her will be the toys I put in his cage initially as he will be used to them. Again, to make it less scary for him. The breeder is also going to wean him onto the Harrison's food that I will be feeding him at home as well as the fruits & veggies he will eat with me so his diet will not change drastically.

My question is, what else can I do for him to make this transition as easy as possible? When I purchased Cupid, he was 10 minutes from my house so I was with him every day for a few weeks before he came home with me. Will seeing Kismet every weekend be enough? How much can they remember at this young of an age? I will certainally cuddle & love him as much as I can in the times I visit. Since I've had photo's of him from minutes after he hatched & get the pleasure of receiving pictures of him every week & get to visit him from such an early age, it makes me want to protect him even more since he's still so small and helpless.

I know new homes & surroundings can be scary. I'm hoping that giving him time to familiarize himself with his toys & carrier it can eleviate some of that fear and truly hope seeing me several visits will help too. Do you have any advice of other things I can or should do for him? When I bring him home (in several weeks) is it better that I leave him in his cage initially or cuddle him a lot? Cupids cage at home was so similar to his cage at the store and he was so comfortable with me that his transition was easy. Kismet is a little different situation since he's further away & the cage he will be in is not as large as his home cage will be.

Any advice would be appreciated! I've got a lot of time to prepare. OH - I did just order that Hepa Air Purifier from the site you recommended so that will be here long before he is.

I will send you some updated photo's when I visit this weekend. It's so great to watch how much he changes just in one week! Not a lot of people get to see them this young, I'm so lucky I get this priveledge. :D
Cupid07
 
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 2:00 am
Location: Syracuse, NY

Postby Maggie- » Fri Apr 13, 2007 3:39 am

Hi Linda,

Taking the carrier/toys to the breeder is a GREY'T idea! That will really help him. It seems to me that you are doing all the right things to make Kismet's transition smoothe. You will be with him prior as much as possible. I think the next step is the focus when he comes into your home.

You should give him a mix of cuddles and private time when he comes home. I also recommend in my book that you bring him over the weekend, such as late on Friday or early on Saturday AM, so you have a whole weekend around him. Over the weekend, do lots of short errands. For example, tell Kismet, "I'm going to the store, be right back." Go out to store and return very soon. A lttle later, "I am going to the bank, be right back." Go out and come back. The short errands and returns will teach Kismet that you DO return. In the wild, babies are terrified when separated from their parents. They are afraid of abandonment. But you are teaching Kismet quickly that you do return. This will calm lots of fears. I think this is one of the key tricks to helping the babies settle in.

You will be going off to work on Monday...so by then, Kismet will have a good idea that you WILL return.

To anyone reading this, please go to the site below to view Kismet's photo:

http://animalloversunited.com/clipshare ... ategory=mr

Also, please view Cupid's photo:
http://animalloversunited.com/clipshare ... ategory=mr

This is from my new site. We will be going public in May. Meanwhile, you are invited for a SNEAK PEAK. Get on, sign up and show your animal babies!!!
http://www.AnimalLoversUnited.com/home.html

GREY'T Blessings,
Maggie-
Maggie-
 

Postby Cupid07 » Fri Apr 13, 2007 11:28 pm

Hi Maggie,

Thanks for your response. I had already planned to pick him up on a Friday. I figured I would take the afternoon off that day & go get him so I would be home over the weekend and possibly that Monday too. I also had thoughts that I should run out & back so he could see I won't leave him. I just wasn't sure how soon was OK to do that since he's going to be in a new place. I actually even planned (when he's older) to take a couple over night trips one night each so he will see that even when the petsitter comes over, I still come home. I have to go out of town in October for a spine apt. which will take me away for 3 days so I thought if I took a copule one night away trips before hand then he would see that I do come back. I always tell them "I'll be back". In fact, Cupid got to the point where when I put my coat on & gave the dogs their treats he would say "OK cupie be good boy, I'll be back". Ha Ha. I will make sure Kismet also knows I'm coming back to him.

I'm glad I'm doing the right things for Kismet. I just want this to be as easy as possible for him. I don't want him to be scared in his new home.

Also - at what age is it OK to start giving him showers or misting him?

His breeder is really a wonderful person. I'm very happy I found her (thanks to my vet). She gives me updates on Kismet all the time & sends me pictures every week. She said he is now just starting to try to play. I guess it's pretty cute to see since he's still so young (4 1/2 weeks on Sunday).

Thanks again for the advice. I will keep you posted on our progress over the next few weeks. :)
Cupid07
 
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 2:00 am
Location: Syracuse, NY

Postby Maggie- » Sat Apr 14, 2007 4:58 am

Hi Linda,

These are the days to remember! They are SO precious in their first few years....and after that too, of course!

You can start getting Kismet used to the shower immediately when he comes home. Just do it slowly. Such as....let him hang on the shower curtain for a while first...one step at a time.

GREY'T idea about stepping out for a night here and there. Again, you have the RIGHT ideas. Kismet is going to be very well adjusted.

Keep us posted!
GREY'T Blessings,
Maggie-
Maggie-
 

Postby allie » Mon May 21, 2007 2:03 am

Hi Linda,

I am so happy for you. I remember your terrible loss, and am so glad that you have decided to bring the joy of a Grey into your home again. May Kismet live a long, healthy, happy life in your home!!

From Allie and Luna
The bird that lives with me is smarter than me!
allie
 
Posts: 74
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 10:48 pm
Location: Southern USA


Return to Grey Questions

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 19 guests

cron