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Weaned or Unweaned Babies

A Controversial Subject

The almighty "Dollar" dictates by greed of the breeder/brokers selling these birds, which baby bird lives or dies. Its a shame these birds have no choice as to what brood they are born into  - their lives are determined by the breeder/brokers' money appetite at that time. Any person buying unweaned baby birds from these breeder/brokers will suffer the trauma, along with the baby bird, when problems arise because their skill / knowledge level causes mistakes in feeding, handling, housing and well being.

We at Pretty Birds, constantly hear stories, receive calls and sometimes participate in the saving of a unweaned baby birds life that was purchased by well meaning, untrained consumers.

• Consumers claim it was a "cheaply" priced bird, bought it and never knew what they were getting into.
• Breeder/Brokers selling baby birds directly from the nest thru the local newspaper.
• Baby bird is forced weaned before its time, to get the "Bucks".  (Still needs hand feeding ).
• Baby birds smuggled in from other countries.

A wave of concern is attempting to sweep across the market place from reputable breeders that consumers should buy only fully weaned baby birds . Their claim is this will save baby bird's from the horror that await their unweaned counterparts.

Two views on this subject:

These are two horror stories of breeder/brokers or pet stores selling unweaned baby birds to consumers that didn't have the proper training to feed or knowledge to care for these beautiful birds.

  Stacey, The Blue & Gold Macaw

Stacey, B&G Macaw Bought Unweaned from a breeder at 3 mo's of age. The baby was gavage fed, on the first day and very first feeding by the new owner Stacey was Severely Crop burned. Everything was totally burned away from her throat to her gizzard. The "Hole" was where her crop once was. The Stitches ran from the hole to her shoulder, all the way up to under her chin and around her neck. The Tiny Feed Tube was threaded down her neck going directly to her gizzard. She had to be fed water thin formula every hour around the clock. She could not drink or take food by mouth, there was NO place for it to go.




Taylor, The African Grey

Taylor was a 14 week old Grey sold by a pet store to a man who had never handfed a baby bird. At 15 weeks, he had a burn hole in his crop and chest. At 18 weeks he was dead. He died in the arms of the man who bought him, snuggled under his chin and finally free of pain.

• Whose baby bird was this?
• Who took this precious Grey, fat and fuzzy, from the nest and sold him into death?
• Did the breeder give a thought to the future of this baby when he handed him over to a broker or to the customer?
• Did he care?

How many babies were in the shipping crate? Where are they? Are they alive?.......or dead like this little one sold into the hands of a buyer who had never handfed a baby bird? Taylor will have lots of company from other baby birds sold into death. 

All of these sellers of unweaned babies transfer the risks - the health problems and the deaths - to the customer.

The only way this can be stopped is for the buying public to refuse to buy an unweaned baby bird and to refuse to patronize breeders who sell them.

Selling Unweaned Babies by Howard Voren from Breeder Q & A, Bird Breeder Magazine, ©January 1996

We have been involved in breeding parrots for the pet trade for many years. We have always sold our babies to those who are skilled in handfeeding, and this has never caused the babies any suffering. We have heard that you do the same. Over the last few years, there seems to have been a major increase in those who say that the sale of unweaned babies is an unacceptable practice. What are your thoughts on this?



I have always been concerned about any potential blanket "policies" that could result in a negative influence on aviculture. One that needs to be addressed at this time is the desire of a well meaning influential few to ban the sale of unweaned birds. In a very short time, this movement has gained alarming momentum. This is very understandable because it plays on the emotions of many bird lovers. The sight of only one baby that is starving to death due to crop stasis because it was put into the wrong hands can cause any bird lover to think, "There should be a law against this." Fortunately, horrible situations like this represent a very small minority of bird sales nationwide.



It is my experience that most top professional breeders in the United States sell the vast majority of their production unweaned. They sell to pet shops that are extremely skilled in handrearing techniques. Those professional breeders who do sell unweaned babies to the public require that the buyer prove their handfeeding skills before the baby is released to them. Reputable pet shops that sell unweaned birds to the public do so only after the buyer has been given extensive instructions and hands on training in handfeeding. These babies stay in the shop until the buyers have demonstrated their proficiency. These shops also require that the buyers return on a weekly basis to have their birds weighed and examined.



Professional breeders and those who conduct themselves in a professional manner are not the ones who cause these problems. Yet, it would be the professional breeders, as well as all of the best bird shops in the U.S., that would suffer the most if such a blanket policy, regulation or legislation were ever adopted.



There is also the problem of those people who are misinformed about the best time to transfer a baby from the farm to the pet shop. The majority of full-time professionals, whether they are bird shop owners or breeders, have learned that parrots ship better, adjust to change better and become better socialized when transferred to a pet shop situation before they are weaned. They are at an age where they would normally be sitting in a dark tree hollow with several clutch mates. Being confined to a semi-dark shipping crate with a few "buddies" is a circumstance that seems completely natural to them. They are also at a stage of psychological development where their main overriding desire is to be fed on a regular basis. Within a few hours of being uncrated, they are usually thinking about being fed. With the very reliable, higher priced, counter-to-counter airline service, the babies usually never miss a feeding.



On the other hand, birds that are recently weaned or close to weaning react in an extremely negative way when transferred to such dramatically different surroundings. Many of them will "back flip" and go into screaming fits when approached. If they are not transferred to a pet shop situation during the dependent handfeeding stage of development, they have a difficult time making the psychological transition. Transferring birds to pet shops at the "just weaned" stage can cause many to become biters and pluckers. Some "revert" and refuse to eat or be handfed. At that point, they must be restrained and force fed with a feeding tube. This is an extremely negative experience for both shop owner and bird.



If they are not transferred until they are well past the "just weaned" stage, most will not allow strangers to handle them. The more dependent a baby is on being handfed, the more likely it is to be friendly with any set of hands. Because of this, some of the most successful bird shops in the county believe that if they can't get the babies young enough, they would rather not have them. (This is true of most of the pet species, the one major exception being cockatoos.) They have made these judgments after many years of seeing firsthand, which babies end up being well adjusted companions and which do not. They also realize that to a potential customer, a fully weaned bird looks no different than an older bird. Seeing the babies being handfed in the pet shops is the only way many customers are assured that they are really buying babies. Even if they wait for them to be weaned in the shops, they can begin to bond and play with them while they are in their most impressionable stage. If pet shops were permitted to purchase only weaned birds, it would all but put them out of the bird business. Only budgies, cockatiels and lovebirds would remain in inventory.



I believe that those who are responsible for the majority of suffering due to the sale of unweaned birds are breeders who sell their "out of the nest" or "still handfeeding" babies to anyone who shows up with the money and claims that they know how to handfeed. Most of the remaining abuses come from pet shops that do not usually handle "large" birds but special order them on request for customers. I would guess that these shops, as well, are assured by their customers that they know how to handfeed. When I was just starting out, I used to sell an occasional bird to a private party. Of course, whenever I asked the question, "Have you ever handfed?" the answer was always the same: "Of course!" All too often, further interrogation revealed that they had owned a bird at one time and used to feed it peanuts "by hand" through the bars of the cage.



The sale of unweaned birds to those who are skilled in the handfeeding process is an acceptable and proper practice. The seller, however, should be responsible for establishing that the customer has the skills that are necessary. Therefore, I believe there are many valid commercial and professional reasons not to discourage the sale of unweaned birds to skilled individuals.



Howard Voren is the founder and director of the Voren Research Institute for Psittacultural Science. Voren is also the owner and operator of Voren's Aviaries Inc. in Florida, and has been a full-time professional aviculturist for more than 20 years.


Any client of Pretty Birds that wishes to purchase an unweaned baby bird will have to spend many hours of training, practice and extensive education before they ever get custody of their new feathered family member. We at Pretty Birds believe, simply because we care, if the time and energy is spent to teach the client everything they need to know to properly care and raise our unweaned birds, then our birds will live long healthy lives. This practice works for us since our inception in 1992.

Email from a fellow Bird Owner

Here's the story:

I ordered this cage from American Sun Tat Co., Ltd. 1500 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth, VA 23704, from eBay. A WHITE cage - same model #802.  Anyway since there was a chip of paint missing, I made phone calls to Avian Stores find out what a safe cage paint would be.  They suggested that I get the cage tested for lead and zinc when they heard I bought a Chinese cage.  They said that they know of some birds who are very sick with metal toxicity which often results in sever feather plucking problems and even death.  Well, I sent a small piece of the cage to the lab that does all the blood-lead testing for PA and here are the results:  Lead = 10.5 parts per million (apparently not too serious) and zinc = 35,610 parts per million (VERY SERIOUS).  In addition, the chemist told me that it tested high in Barium as well (who knows what that does??).  I understand from some folks on my eclectus mail list that safe levels for zinc are only about 150-200 parts per million (and even that is risky).  California cages only contain 10 parts per million of zinc.  So, that's the story.  I contacted the company, and they said that they were taking the white cage off the market until they could investigate further and they refunded all my money - including all shipping charges.

Please be careful of Cheap Chinese Cages. You don't know what type of metal or paint used in their production.

"Look, a baby bird, now what?"

Tips on what to do when you find a bird in the wild.

Baby Bird Care - Information from PROJECT WILDLIFE.

1. If the bird is uninjured and has some feathers, put it in the nearest tree. The parents have no sense of smell and will not know it's been touched. If it can't perch and has fallen out of the nest, put it up in the tree in a berry basket or a woven basket so water will drain out. Parents WILL feed it after people leave.

2. If the bird runs around, is chick-like (covered with short, fuzzy down), it may be a baby quail or killdeer. These birds nest on the ground, and the parents' fly off when people come near. Leave the immediate area and watch to see if a parent will come back (you may have to wait up to an hour).

3. The bird needs help and should be picked up if: the parents are dead; the bird is newly hatched and the nest and nest mates are out of reach; the bird fell from a palm tree; it has an injury; a cat or a child has brought it in from places unknown.

4. If the bird is injured, or has no feathers, it is most important to get it warm. Use a heating pad on low or a light source (low wattage). Fractures need to be set within 48 hours or they heal incorrectly and get infected.

5. Raising an orphaned songbird takes from four to eight weeks and a lot of daytime commitment. They need feeding about every 45 minutes from 6AM to 8PM for four to six weeks. No trips to the beach while you're a bird mother! When they become self-feeding (which may not be until six weeks old), they need to be exposed to their natural foods (grains, etc. for seed eaters, mealworms, fruit and berries for the insect and fruit eaters). After being completely self-feeding for one week, they need two weeks in an outdoor aviary to fly and compete with others.

6. Hummingbirds, pigeons, doves, hawks, owls, killdeer and quail need special formulas or feeding techniques. Note: Hummingbird babies fed sugar water or "hummingbird nectar and hawks/owls fed hamburger, etc. for more than 24 hours may develop crippling deformities.

TEMPORARY (24-48 HOURS) DIETS FOR BABY SONGBIRDS:

What to feed: Soaked dry cat food (Science Diet, Iams) or soaked dry dog food or hard-boiled egg mashed with water.

To prepare: Add two parts boiling water to one part dry food and soak for one hour. Drain excess water. Mash well with a fork, ricer or blender. Use canned foods as is, or add water if necessary. Consistency should be like thick applesauce.

How to feed: Use a coffee stirrer, straw or paintbrush to put a mouthful of moist food into the back of the bird's throat. Feed until the bird stops gaping (opening it's mouth).

If the bird won't gape (open the mouth wide): Tap the side of the beak, shake the "nest" gently.

Additional Tips for Wild Birds:

• Warm the bird in your hands.
• Get some MEALWORMS and cut them into small pieces and place them down its throat.
• Normally sold at convenience stores, hardware and sporting good stores that sell fishing supplies.
• You can also use MOIST CAT FOOD as a substitute.
• Keep bird warm (85 degrees unfeathered) or (75 degrees feathered).
• Depending upon the age - 4 to 5 feedings a day.
• Use fish tank or plastic Tupperware container, put towel inside and place bird on towel.
• Cover container with screen or cover container ¾ to keep heat inside with another towel.
• Place heating pad under container for warmth.

DO: Keep the bird CLEAN (no food on face or feathers), QUIET (no children or pets in sight of bird), CONTAINED (a box with screen or cover on top).

DON'T: NEVER GIVE LIQUID OF ANY KIND including milk (causes diarrhea) or any liquid (the entrance to the lungs is on the tongue and the bird may drown).

Good Luck!

For immediate release -- Wednesday, March 12, 2003.

Contact Bob Brammer - 515-281-6699.

Court Prohibits Sales by "Pet Medicine Chest" -- and Imposes $1.2 Million Penalty

Judge cites "direct and intentional disregard" of earlier injunction.

Attorney General's suit alleged that the western Iowa business makes false claims and uses unapproved ingredients in Internet sale of pet medicines and supplements.

Harrison County District Court Judge G.C. Abel has issued a permanent injunction barring any further activity in promoting or selling pet medicines or pet food supplements by a Western Iowa business called "Pet Medicine Chest" based in rural Logan, Iowa.

The Judge also assessed a $1.2 million civil penalty for violations of the Consumer Fraud Act -- noting that a preliminary injunction was issued last year but the defendants "have continued their operations as though no injunction was in place." The business sells pet products via the Internet.

Attorney General Tom Miller said the permanent injunction order results from a lawsuit filed in May 2002 by the Farm Division of his office alleging that the "Pet Medicine Chest" business uses false and misleading claims about the health benefits of their pet medicines and food supplements sold over the 'Net, and uses unapproved ingredients in their products. In June the Court found that the company had made numerous health claims for its products that were untrue, and issued a preliminary injunction. A hearing on a permanent injunction was held Feb. 13.

Citing "direct and intentional disregard" of the earlier injunction, Judge Abel assessed a civil penalty of $1,240,000 against Pet Medicine Chest and Rose Grady, founder and owner of the business. Abel's order said the penalty represented the maximum penalty of $40,000 per violation multiplied by 31 marketing e-mails sent since last June by the defendants to the Attorney General's Farm Division, which had registered at the Pet Medicine Chest website last summer.

Grady represented herself at the Feb. 13 hearing. "The court concludes that Defendant Rose Grady was consistently evasive and disingenuous in her testimony," Abel's order said.

The Attorney General's Office said it will consider contempt-of-court proceedings if the defendants defy Judge Abel's order.

Abel's order was filed March 6 in Harrison County and received yesterday by the Attorney General's Office.

Background:

In its preliminary injunction order issued last June, the Court found that Pet Medicine Chest had made numerous claims and assertions that were not true, including that the company's product "Arthritiseze" will rebuild good fiber in dog ligaments and joints; that commercial dog food is not wholesome good nutritional food; that veterinary drugs mask pet health problems and do not cure pet health problems; and that Pet Medicine Chest's product "Hemotox" will remove toxins from a dog's body.

"Pet Medicine Chest" operated with related entities including Canine Medicine Chest, Feline Medicine Chest, and Avian Medicine Chest. Customers could be from anywhere in the country.

The State's May 2002 lawsuit alleged that the defendants made numerous false and misleading assertions and claims, and that the defendants failed to inform purchasers that none of their products are approved by the FDA or the Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship.

At its home page, Pet Medicine Chest had said, "Welcome to the first company in America to offer herbal remedies for birds, cats, dogs and rabbits." The defendants' materials sometimes disparaged conventional treatments, such as indicating that veterinary drugs are toxic to animals.

The web site included sections on helping dogs suffering from arthritis, stress, and tumors, for example. Products recommended for arthritic conditions in dogs included Arthritiseze ($25 for 20 oz., or $55 for 80 oz.), Hemotox ($18 for 1 oz., $52 for 4 oz.), Metaltox (same price), Systemajuv ($18 for 1 oz., $62 for 4 oz.), ProBac Adult ($20 for 2.5 oz., $40 for 20 oz.), and Concentrated Trace Minerals ($22 for 1 oz., $52 for 4 oz.)

Many of the same products were recommended for other conditions and maladies, and for other species such as cats and birds and rabbits. Most of the products would be added to the animals' food or administered in drops.

The lawsuit said Iowa Dept. of Agriculture inspectors submitted samples of Pet Medicine Chest products for analysis by the State laboratory. The analyses revealed inconsistencies between labeling information and the actual quantities of ingredients, and revealed unapproved feed ingredients both on the labels and in the samples. The Ag Dept. advised the defendants about the problems and ordered them to cease any further product sales, but sales continued, the suit alleged.