Questions to Ask the Breeder And/Or
Pet Shop Before You Buy A 'Bappy'

by Sally Blanchard

This article is a shortened version of "The Intelligent Parrot Purchase" from PBR issue #24.  This article is copyrighted and may not be reprinted without the written permission of Sally Blanchard or the PBIC, Inc. Contact us for permission.




The Importance of Psychological Health

While physical health is more evident, it is often difficult to judge the behavioral health and pet value of domestically raised bappies.

Behavioral dysfunction is not usually evident until the parrot is fledged, weaned, and has reached its independent stage. Too many parrots are "production-raised" with little concern for socialization.

Parrots are intelligent animals who naturally depend on learning to develop their social and survival skills. Domestically raised parrot chicks depend on their human caretakers to teach them to adapt to life as our companions. It is the breeders and/or handfeeders responsibility to give them as good a start as possible.

The emphasis on physical growth must be balanced with concern about psychological development. The quality of socialization has a great deal to do with the quality of a parrot’s pet potential.

The following are questions to ask breeders/shops before you buy their birds:

How much attention do you give your babies?

The answer should be "lots" but it should be qualified with explanations of how the breeder encourages exploration and teaches their babies to accept change. Babies should be taught to perch with the "UP" command. Stay away from breeders who say " I don’t pay any attention to my babies when I feed them because I don’t want them to bond to me and/or spoil them." These breeders are ignorant about socialization and a chick’s psychological development. Without an extremely knowledgeable owner, poorly socialized chicks often develop serious behavioral problems as they mature.

At what age do you wean your babies?

The answer should be, "It depends on the individual bird." Parrots weaned to a rigid timetable with no regard to their individual needs can experience serious traumas which may cause insecurities and behavioral problems. Deprivation instinctively means starvation. Weaning is a gradual process where handfeedings are gradually replaced by the young parrot eating on his own. Parrots should not be forced to eat on their own. In fact, parrots who are fed abundantly, wean sooner and certainly more securely.

Do you sell unweaned babies?

The answer should be "no". If you have little or no experience handfeeding baby parrots, you have no business buying an unweaned baby. The myth that a parrot won't bond to you if you don't hand feed it is nonsense. Parrots bond and rebond throughout their lives and a parrot will usually form a strong bond with anyone who handles him in a nurturing competent manner. Inexperienced handfeeders may starve or malnourish babies since they may not become aware of the behavior of food-deprived chicks until the babies' development and health have been seriously compromised. Handfeeding mistakes cause infections, aspiration of food into the lungs, crop burn and emotional insecurity. Trying to save money by buying unweaned can result in far more expensive veterinarian costs when a problem occurs. Novices can (and too often do) make fatal mistakes.

Do you routinely gavage (tube) feed your babies?

The answer should be "no." This involves inserting a tube into and pumping the formula directly into the crop. Usually this means that the breeder raises more chicks than they can socialize properly. Gavage feeding for expediency is non-nurturing and does not teach a bappy anything about eating and the manipulation of foods. Many gavage-fed parrots experience weaning traumas which can result in serious behavioral insecurities as they mature. Syringe-feeding, spoon-feeding, and feeding developing babies soft globs of warm food with fingers are far more acceptable methods. Please read the Phoebe Linden’s Abundance Weaning™ article for more information.

What foods do you wean your babies to?

The answer should be "a variety of foods including pellets, vegetables, fruits, soft mixtures or mashes, a small amount of seed." A seed only diet is a death diet because seed lacks many of the nutrients essential to parrot health. Do not believe the pet industry propaganda that any seed mix (even if it is vitaminized) is a nutritious, balanced, or complete diet. Parrots learn about their lifelong foods when they learn to eat. It is generally difficult to get a parrot weaned to a narrow diet (seed or pellet only) to eat other foods as he or she matures.

If this article helped you and you appreciated the information, The Companion Parrot Quarterly continues to have in-depth, practical articles such as this one. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE

Top of Page