Our Congo African Greys - Lay/ hatch  Dec to June

B&G Macaws - Lay and hatch  Dec to June or July

    Our birds are abundantly weaned.  They are not force weaned.  That is why I cannot predict an exact weaning date.  All birds wean on their own schedule and in their own time frame.  We encourage the babies to eat other things while being handfed.  We introduce fruits, veggies, Zupreme Fruit Blend and Roudybush pellets.

Hand feeding makes these babies extremely tame and trusting of humans.

A violent storm can upset parent birds to the point that they actually grip the eggs putting toe nail holes in the eggs.  The eggs must then be removed, repaired and incubated until hatched.  Some parents are extremely protective of their young and for the safety of the babies they are remove at a young age.  

Our baby birds come with a 3 day limited health guarantee from the day  of shipment. You are given the opportunity to take your bird at your  expense to a certified avian veterinarian to perform a health examination  within 72 hours of arrival time. Should a health problem be determined  that cannot be cured or is cost prohibitive, we will, at our discretion,  replace the bird with one of the same kind, or refund your money. We do  reserve the right to get a second opinion at our expense. Birds are not  returnable except under these conditions set out in this health guarantee.  Any purchase of any of our birds indicates acceptance of this guarantee.  Please schedule a vet appointment for your bird the day it arrives or the next day.

    I am sure many are capable of hand feeding. 

BUT

What if you accidentally fed the formula too hot and burned a hole in the baby's crop?  Do you know what temperature to feed?  Do you know how much to feed?  Do you know how to mix the formula? 

What if you fed too cold and the baby got sour crop?  Do you know how to recognize sour crop?

Do you have a brooder to keep the baby at the proper temperature?  If not it may get a bacterial infection.  

What if it quits eating, would you know what was wrong or what to do?

I can assure you this is not a 3 time a day chore.  Small babies eat every 2 hours all day long and as they grow the time in between feedings increases.

What if the baby stopped bobbing for feed and took a breath while you were putting formula in his mouth?   He would die within seconds.

Are you willing to take the risk of a baby bird dying in your hands because of inexperience or a slight mistake while it looks at you with big eyes?  I am NOT willing to take that chance.  I have had too many people who have purchased un-weaned babies from who knows where, call and say "What should I do, my baby is sick?".  You will have plenty to teach your baby and much bonding time after he is weaned.

If you are insistent upon buying an un-weaned baby I am sure you can find someone to sell you one.  If you do buy one make sure you get a phone number where you can reach them day and night and also have the number of an avian vet on hand.  If you have a problem you need to be able to get immediate advice/help from the person responsible for selling you the un-weaned bird.

Someone asked why a younger baby has such perfect feathers and a baby a bit older has rough feathers.  Baby bird feathers are brittle and easily frayed and broken.  Young birds play rough and can be a bit clumsy breaking and messing up their feathers.  Also young birds aren't too particular about their feathers like older birds are.  After they have their first molt at about 6 months their feathers come in stronger and more brilliant if on a good diet.  Also at that time the babies begin to take better care of their feathers and appearance.

These birds are extremely intelligent.  YOU must be in control.  Once you allow your bird to be in charge you have lost control.  When holding your bird on your arm/hand do NOT allow your bird to go to the top of your head.  To keep physical control learn how to properly hold a large bird.  This hold is used for both Macaws and Greys.  See the picture below.

Timneh Greys..............12 to 16 weeks

B&G Macaws...............14 to 20 weeks 

Timneh African Greys begin breeding at 4 to 5 years of age

Congo African Greys begin breeding at 5 to 7 year of age

     Absolutely. It is NOT necessary to hand feed a baby for it to bond to you.  It is the experienced breeder/hand feeder's responsibility to provide you with a fully weaned healthy baby.  It is your responsibility to keep that baby healthy, happy and socialized.   

     Both sexes of Congo Greys, Timneh Greys & B&G Macaws are of equal intelligence, affection and talking ability.  All are individuals.  Both visually look the same.  Both are great companions.  The males of all species tend to be slightly larger.  The major difference is females can lay eggs and males can't!  That is why it is very important to know the sex of your companion parrot.

Yes, a female can lay eggs without a male.  The eggs will not hatch unless there is a male.  It is important to provide a calcium rich diet for all African Greys but especially important to provide calcium for a female so she doesn't become egg bound.  Egg binding can cause death.  An improper diet and lack of calcium can also cause a female to prolaps which in many cases can cause death.  A soft shelled egg is a sure sign of lack of calcium.  If this occurs an immediate visit to the vet is important.  Females may begin laying at approx. 5 to 6 years for a Grey and 7+ years for a B&G Macaw.  NOT all pet females lay eggs BUT it is possible and it is important to be aware so if she has problems you can inform your vet you have a female. 

Yes, all baby birds are encouraged and allowed to fledge/fly.

Fledging is a part of the learning process.  As soon as the babies begin trying to climb out of their baby tubs they are placed in a human baby's net sided playpen for a few hours a day.  They get allot of exercise playing with toys and trying to climb to the top.  If they make a mistake they fall on the padded playpen floor.  

Once they feel comfortable climbing to the top and climbing back down they get a bit braver.  Eventually they are leaping off the side down into the playpen and they ease their fall by flapping their wings.  Before long they are flying to the top of the playpen.

1/4 cup raisins

1/8 cup sesame seed (provides calcium) if you have it. It can be purchased in bulk in stores where they have bulk bins.

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (provides calcium)

Your baby has not been weaned long and you will need to provide it with a dish (1/2 - 3/4 cup and adjust amount according to what he eats) of soft foods especially in the mornings & late afternoon, along with his dry foods (seed & pellets). Make sure your bird has food and clean water at all times.  All of our babies have learned to use Lixit water bottles.

If you feed pellets DO NOT feed *Vitamin Fortified Seed*. This is the seed mix with colored seeds. You can overdose on vitamins - pellets already have all the vitamins in them. 

For convenience, frozen small mixed vegetables can be fed. Just take out of the freezer the amount you need, thaw and warm in hot tap water and feed. DO NOT microwave as this will cause hot spots in the food and can burn the baby. I use either the mix of small vegetables that has corn, beans, peas, carrots, etc., and/or the mixture of cauliflower, carrots and broccoli.

The minimum size I would recommend for a Timneh is 24' wide x 24" deep x 27" high (inside dimensions of cage) 3/4" bar spacing

The minimum I would recommend for a Congo is 32" wide x 23" deep x 30 high (inside dimensions of cage) 3/4" bar spacing

There are many good cages out there.  I am not selling cages at this time.

The Minimum size I would recommend for a Macaw is 40 wide x 30 deep by 45" high (inside cage dimensions) 1" bar spacing.  Macaws need the inside height to accommodate their long tail.

I prefer the play top cages that have feed cups on top of the cage for both  young Macaw and Greys. Young birds are usually so happy playing when out of their cage they forget to or will not go back in their cage all day for food or water.  If they have the play top with feed cups they always have access to food and water.  

On the other hand a Dometop will provide more room on the inside of the cage.  If you choose a dometop make sure you monitor your young bird and make sure it is taking a break now and then to get food and water.

If anything happens to your reserved bird before it leaves Bignest you will be notified and it will be replaced with another bird.  If there is no bird to replace it you will be given the opportunity to wait for the next hatch or given a full refund.

These birds are flock birds.  They want to be in a place where they can see, hear and participate in all that goes on in your home.  A sleeping cage in another room might work for some and not for others.  Most will fall asleep in the middle of a busy area when they feel the need to go to sleep.

If you find your bird is screaming when you place it in it's cage it is probably because it can't see you.  It will call to it's flock when they are out of sight.

A good resource for information

Gillian's Desk