Posted by Mitz on May 16, 19100 at 13:35:14:
In Reply to: He eats just great .... posted by Maryjane on May 16, 19100 at 10:08:34:
: I'm quite dismayed, to be honest. I'm not sure what to do at this point. I'm wondering about his pet quality, although everyone says SI males are perfect. *Sigh*......
I really don't know a thing about parrots, as I'm just getting my first one at the end of June, but I really do have two observations.
1. If your bird is weaned, it had to have been weaned too soon. My bird now is 11 weeks old and just this morning my breeder wrote me to tell me how he's really enjoying trying new foods but that he could never make it at this point but for the hand feedings. She will NOT sell a baby until it is weaned, and she will not wean the baby, it weans itself when it's darn good and ready. It appears your baby was forced to be weaned or was a naturally early weaner, but that was only a very short time ago.
2. He had to fly across country at such a tender age! How traumatic that must have been for him. And not only does he go through that trauma, when he gets to his destination, it's with a novice, not the mom he knew. Can you imagine he's insecure and he's being handled by someone whose insecurity at their ability to handle this bird comes through loud and clear, leading to only more insecurity on the part of the bird?
Imagine a small child, not yet able to verbalize, being in the same situation. It occurs to me that he's probably terrified and confused to the max. Poor thing.
With any child, consistency is needed. My advice is to try to be consistent with him, develop a routine, a pattern that he will learn to depend on and feel comfortable with. Always the same time up, always the same time feeding, always to bed at the same time. That will start to give him security in his surroundings and to know what to expect. At least that makes sense to me.
I feel so badly that this has turned bad for the two of you, but I'd feel even worse if I didn't think you genuinely wanted to make this work. I believe you can make it work, but expecting fast results is only going to frustrate you and the baby and cause further setbacks, it seems to me. I am truly empathetic to your plight, but I think the rewards of not giving up have got to be there. Can you imagine this poor baby being sent again to another place? What trauma on top of trauma that may end up being for him. Maybe even unrecoverable trauma, I don't know.
I just feel sad for both of you and hope you'll keep trying. And I'll certainly say a prayer that you find success, and that you will give it a reasonable period of time, not the 10 days since you got him that today is. Set a date on a calendar two months from now and vow to follow a pattern of behavior during that time that offers security to this bird, and I bet when that day comes you'll say that ever bite, every heartache, every problem was worth it because now you have an entirely different bird, one that loves you, one that you love dearly.
I wish you the best of luck.
And I realize I'm giving advice about something which I know nothing about, truly. Please know that it is, however, heartfelt and offered with only good intentions.
Mitz, who is anxiously awaiting her new baby at the end of June.