Baby Princess Parrot

[joshua88]

Hi there, 

I have just bought a 10 week old hand reed Princess Parrot. Im having some trouble getting him to eat. He seems to be eating seed in his cage but I cant get him (im assuming its a boy, hehe) I have left fruit for him and tried to give it to him and also we tried feeding him some hand reering feed with a spoon but he wont even consider it. 

I think he is quite stressed and as he has only been with us for 2 days. He is reluctant to be handled but once you have him and he is comfortable he will sit with you. Once he jumps off you he will put himself in the corner or try and hide. He seems more relaxed in his new cage. 

I havnt had hand raised birds before and there isnt much info online as to what to do with them when they leave the other birds and how to settle them in so any general info would be great. 

I think generally he is healthy and whilst not hungry I would like him to get used to me giving him food by hand rather than plonking it in his cage. 

Thanks,

Joshua 

[avinet]

Oct 23, 2013 12:28:25 GMT 10 joshua88 said:

Hi there, 

I have just bought a 10 week old hand reed Princess Parrot. Im having some trouble getting him to eat. He seems to be eating seed in his cage but I cant get him (im assuming its a boy, hehe) I have left fruit for him and tried to give it to him and also we tried feeding him some hand reering feed with a spoon but he wont even consider it. 

Hi Joshua and welcome to the Forum.

At 10 weeks your young Princess will be weaned and so won't be interested in hand rearing food so don't bother trying to feed him that.

You have only had him 2 days so he is still settling into the new home - it can be quite stressful to be removed form the only environment they have known and go into a strange new home.  Princesse sare pretty resilent birds though and he will soon settle in - just don't push things for a few days - for the first week I always recommend leaving the baby in it's cage a lot of the time, but to spend time talking to it, and gaining it's confidence.  Some handling and cuddles is fine but 10 or 15 minutes at a time for the first few days is sufficient.  Try having it on a shoulder without handling as well.  I have had my pair for 16 years now and they have never been cuddly birds, in fact never liked to be held at all.  They will happily sit on my shoulder, get on my head and play in my hair, or on my hand and play with my fingers - but never allowed themselves to be cuddles or scratched.  They are just not a touchy species.

I find mine are not big fruit eaters as well - they prefer leafy greens such as kale, celery leaves and chichory, and enjoy corn, grated carrot, occasional red capsicum and chilli, and zuchini - all chopped up to bite sized pieces.  They als enjoy treats such as plain biscuits (Nice are their favourite) a bit of toast, a bit of multigrain bread  and love some pancake! 

I feed mine a mix of seed (mostly budgie mix with about 5 sunflower each a day) and pellets - Roudybush crumbles being their favourite in pellets.  They have around 50/50 seed and pellets, and fresh vegies each day.  Presumably you found out what the breeder was feeding him before you got him so initially always continue with that until he is settled in and than you can adapt the diet to what you prefer to give him.

Have a look at my article at scas.org.au/html/pet_parrot_care.html for some further advice on keeping a pet bird.

Prncesses are great birds, and even after 16 years we still get a lot of enjoyment out of our pair.  Noisy at times, but playful and fun loving birds.  Some male Princesses can be great talkers as well, so it is worth spending some time teaching him to talk when he is settled.  But don't expect much in the way of results until around 6 months old, and if he turns out to be a she then I have rarely heard a good talking girl.

Finally I will finish with a photo of my pair, taken around 10 years ago but they look just the same today

cheers,

Mike