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Wessel Gordon

Just spoke to my breeder friend. He has an unused incubator (apparently similar to those used for premature/weak babies) that I can borrow. We're going to pick it up tomorrow. Hopefully with that the odds are a lot higher of pulling this baby through.

Wessel Gordon

Quick update...again.

This morning I retrieved the sibling of the chick that died so I'm back to feeding a chick at 2 hour intervals.

Wessel Gordon

Have you kept an eye on how long she's been spending 99% of her time in the nestbox? It's not uncommon for me to only spot the hen only once or twice during a 7 day period while she's incubating eggs. Those short appearances is just to grab something to eat and take care of toilet needs and then she...

Wessel Gordon

Slylon MissK raises a few valid points as usual. What will help us even more is if you are able to take a video of her ''screaming'' or any behavior you find unacceptable. Preferably the video should start a few seconds before she starts the behavior so we can help identify if something triggers it ...

Wessel Gordon

I did my best. Just sad that it was sitting on my lap when it died. Then again there's always a risk of losing babies even if the mom takes care of them.

Wessel Gordon

Just keep an eye on them and you should be fine. Is it the hen's first clutch?

Unfortunately the chick I tried to hand-rear died early this morning so my day wasn't off to a good start.

Wessel Gordon

Slylon, Two questions right off the bat: 1. How long have you had the bird? 2. Did the previous owner part with it because of behavioral issues? My reason for asking how long you have had the bird is that bird (just like us humans) take some time to adapt to a new living arrangement and can take qui...

Wessel Gordon

Quick update:

The chick passed over the rainbow bridge at 6 am this morning. I'm heartbroken but I know that will pass and these past two days will count as added experience if it needs to be repeated.

Wessel Gordon

If they hatch at the end of the month the breeding season is basically over and the first chicks will be around a month old. Breeding season in South Africa start about beginning of August with the first chicks hatching end of August/beginning September. Regarding hand-rearing there's a sticky post ...

Wessel Gordon

No problem.

My apologies for spelling your name incorrectly.

Wessel

Wessel Gordon

MissK I phoned an experienced breeder first thing this morning and he said to just keep doing what I'm doing after I gave him more or less a step-by-step breakdown of my feeding ritual. Since then the bird has pooped some...not much, admittedly, but definitely something. I have a theory about the la...

Wessel Gordon

hi Desiree Welcome to the forum. Breeding season is in full swing in South Africa so depending on when the eggs was laid they should hatch any day now. Keep up a constant flow of the hen's favorite treats (especially soft foods that she can easily pass on to any chicks) and of course fresh water. De...

Wessel Gordon

Sajad Try eating some of the fruits and vegetables in front of him/her and make a show of how delicious they are. Parrots are incredibly curious by nature and the odds are that Tito will want to eat what you're enjoying so much. I always keep my birds water bowls elevated and secured to the side of ...

Wessel Gordon

Desiree, I never risk touching the eggs precisely for that reason. All I do is tilt the nest a bit so I can have a better view inside. One of my other hens had a dead chick, one barely alive and two eggs so I pulled the starving chick to handrear. She has a history of not feeding her chicks so I hav...

Wessel Gordon

hi Nick

Welcome to the forum.

Wessel

Wessel Gordon

So far so good.

The chick survived it's first night away from it's parents and is doing well, although it didn't pass any food all the way through it's system. It was a bit lethargic this morning but it was screaming at the top of it's little lungs when I started the last feed.

Wessel Gordon

The chick is eating OK'is...what has me worried is that it hasn't passed anything out the other end since I started feeding it. I tried to clean it's rear with gauze dampened with lukewarm water but it didn't seem to help. I will check again in 2 hours when the next feeding is due.

Wessel Gordon

The breeder I telephoned has an incubator he said I could borrow if he doesn't need it in a few days. In the meantime I'm trying my best.

Wessel Gordon

Thanks, MissK

There's still two unhatched eggs in the nest so we're going to check the nest again in a few days. If I can keep this one alive for about the next 48 hours I reckon I have much higher odds of successfully weaning it.

Wessel Gordon

This thread is very informative, thanks Melika I have a pair of IRN's that hatch their eggs but refuse to feed the babies beyond a certain age. Last year I wasn't aware of this issue so when I noticed something's wrong it was too late to save the two chicks. We checked their nest again this morning ...

Wessel Gordon

Hi everyone I checked my breeding pair's nest this morning and discovered one dead chick, one barely alive and two eggs. Needless to say I pulled the living chick for hand-rearing. The dead chick seems to have never been fed. My problem is the following: I only heard the sound of chicks on Saturday ...

Wessel Gordon

The decision of needing to intervene with the chicks was taken for me. My mom went into the aviary to check the nest. We found one dead chick, one barely alive and two unhatched eggs. Long story short: I'm sitting with a IRN chick of barely a few days old on my lap with a warm water bottle between m...

Wessel Gordon

I forgot to add this part: My relationship with IRN's started when my mom bought me Jorsie as a young chick during a long illness I had to keep my spirits up and since then various birds (mostly IRN's) came into my life, sometimes for a few months before finding a more suitable home or in most cases...

Wessel Gordon

Sounds like quite a flock, MissK. I figure I better introduce you properly to my zoo. Jorsie is my oldest IRN (originally blue if she didn't choose to remove all reachable feathers) of about 10 years old. ''Jorsie'' is a corruption of the Afrikaans word ''morsjors'' that translates loosely to someon...

Wessel Gordon

Levi When I was offered the Grey I thought about it for a day or two and discussed it with my mom whom I live with first. I wasn't sure if I would be ideal for a parrot of that size but things have turned out relatively smoothly except for an occasional annoying screaming habit on her part. The scre...

Wessel Gordon

Levi Me and the Grey's breeder have known each other for about 10 years. He normally exports his chicks but for obvious reasons he wouldn't get a good price for ''damaged goods'' so to speak so he offered her to me for free. What seems to have happened is that either of her parents accidently sat on...

Wessel Gordon

Lily looks very comfortable using you as a perch. The only bird in my flock that will get out and sit on my lap is my African Grey and only if I take hold of her over her wings and take her out. Because of her deformed right foot her balance is compromised so she prefers to sit on my lap that's a lo...

Wessel Gordon

MissK

I've said that myself several times as well but somehow I find one I can't resist or it finds me.

Wessel Gordon

I was at the outside aviary earlier that houses the IRN pair that's on a clutch of eggs. There's definitely something going on in the nest but it took me keeping completely quiet for about 5 minutes before I picked up the sounds of at least one chick in the nest...just to make sure I moved to the si...

Wessel Gordon

I'll add only one ''do'' to MissK's list: Do get to know your bird's moods...in my experience knowing at a glance when a bird feels cranky is the best way to avoid a bite. What works in your favor is that he/she is still young and you only had him a short while so in theory it should be easier to mo...

Wessel Gordon

Levi, I do have a lot of fun with my zoo (besides the birds we have 4 dogs and 2 cats). The dogs are a mix of breeds from a Miniature Pinscher, Miniature Pinscher-Chihuahua crossbreed that's my official shadow and wheelchair guard, a Maltese mutt and a Alsation/Rough Collie mix (think Rin Tin Tin an...

Wessel Gordon

R2D2 or Commander Data? Starwars and Startrek respectively.

Wessel Gordon

Levi, Maybe the difference in her behavior when she's with you compared to with your wife can be down to something as simple as the way you approach and handle her. I am confined to a wheelchair too so I know the challenges of keeping and handling birds from that perspective. My guess is that your m...

Wessel Gordon

Hmmm...a nut for a nutty bird?

Wessel Gordon

Thanks AJPeter

Now if I can only retrieve the eggs without bleeding...the hen is protective of her territory to say the least.

Wessel

Wessel Gordon

Kylie,

Even if it is a bonded pair you're getting I won't be too excited about their prospects this breeding season because of the new environment. Personally I would think that they'll settle down first and start raising a clutch this time next year.

Wessel

Wessel Gordon

MissK a Very thorough and detailed answer as always. I can't think of anything to add. Zaheer: As MissK mentioned they tend to ''pin'' their eyes when excited but it can also be used as a warning signal that they're not in the mood to be disturbed. If you see any of your birds rapidly ''pinning'' an...

Wessel Gordon

If it was my birds I would let them settle more before attempting to tame them. Two days aren't a very long time and the change in their environment is likely to keep them unsettled for awhile. To help overcome this I would keep them together unless they start to physically attack each other. You do...

Wessel Gordon

Zaheer, Both birds are Indian Ringnecks and not African Ringnecks, based on their beak color. For more information see the below link: http://pets.thenest.com/difference-between-african-ringneck-indian-ringneck-parrots-12187.html As for age and sex: while they seem to be young (you will notice the c...

Wessel Gordon

MissK Fortunately I rarely see violence between my flock either so not sure what kind of advice to give. The only violence I ever had to deal with was between two males fighting over a female in breeding season. I ended up having to separate them out of sight of each other to save the underdog's lif...

Wessel Gordon

Hi everyone I have a roughly 10 year old hen on a clutch of 3 eggs (I just checked the nest so not sure when they were laid). In past breeding seasons none of her eggs were ever fertile/hatched so I think it's a safe bet that these won't either. How do I check if they are fertile/infertile and do I ...

Wessel Gordon

Linda, Based on what you said it seems to me that you simply had the bad luck of buying birds that were already sick (with the exception of the one that got attacked). If in future you want to buy another bird of whatever species and the breeder refuses or is reluctant to show you all his/her birds ...

Wessel Gordon

tekspek While my Banana is an African Grey and not an IRN she has definite likes and dislikes as far as music goes. Some stuff she'll ''sing'' along to happily for hours but if something she doesn't like comes on she'll let you know with a few ear-piercing screeches. So far I haven't been able to pi...

Wessel Gordon

Donna, Like MissK mentioned a wolf-whistle works well. I use it as a ''flock call'' for my 5 IRN's and my African Grey. It reassures them that while I might be out of sight for a while I'm still in touch with them...the African Grey uses it and various phrases and sounds to find out where I am in th...

Wessel Gordon

But for right now you might be back to ''want a treat, Hodel?''

Wessel Gordon

Tekspek You could also offer her small bits of other fruits during this stage. That will help you discover what her favorite treats are and incorporate it into later training. Let's say her favorite treat is a slice of apple and second is a grape. For at least an effort at the behavior you want from...

Wessel Gordon

MissK, Are you suggesting that he should get consistent results for at least a week or two to a cue (such as putting his finger before her to step up) before moving to something a bit more challenging? Tekspek, Just remember that, like humans, all birds learn new things at different rates and as Mis...

Wessel Gordon

MissK,

Very nice response...and you picked up on some stuff I missed. Having just spent 30 minutes to lure a bird back into it's cage (with a yummy treat) I know how tricky that exercise can be, lol.

Wessel Gordon

adrian, 1. It is an IRN or an Alexandrine (an Alexandrine is a bit bigger and the camera angle makes it difficult to judge the size) 2. It is a mature male since he already have a well-developed male i.e. he's at least 2 years old 3. If it's possible do not smoke in the same room as he might develop...

Wessel Gordon

Spirosdst, She looks fine to me. The difference in her beak can be down to the mutation she is. She is still a fairly young bird so maybe her beak color will change gradually to those you have seen. I can't really see anything wrong with her eyes and if she seems to be able to see well I wouldn't wo...

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