Before purchasing your baby grey.

[casper]

Firstly, the decision is yours wether you choose to purchase from a breeder or a pet store.Whichever you choose, be sure to ask lots of questions before you buy your baby grey.

I never had the opportunity to purchase from a breeder but many of the members here have done and paid regular visits to their new baby! A good Breeder will allow and encourage this. Mine were purchased from the same store who used the same breeder, I was made to feel very welcome to visit and ask questions about the grey's. The staff were excellent and treated each baby as an individual.

These are some questions you will need to ask the Breeder/Store.

* The hatchdate of the baby.
* Have the babies been fully weaned? If not what method of feeding do they use and what food do they feed their babies? If weaned, what kind of diet does the bird eat? Pellets, seed? What fruits and veggies pulses etc does the bird enjoy? Ask if the grey tends to have a favourite, this will be useful to know to settle the bird into his new home.
* Is the baby fully flighted? Has he had the opportunity to briefly learn to fly before clipping?
*How socialized is the baby?

Ask to handle the bird outside of the cage if possible.Will he climb on to your hand?

When handling/observing the baby, look for any signs of ill health.

* Does the baby look underweight?
* Look sleepy or fluffed up?
* Any discharge from ears or nostrils?
* Have a messy vent area?
* Does he seem alert/active?
* Any breathing problems or wheezing?
* Feet look healthy?

How does he react with you?

If choosing from a few birds, let the baby choose you!
Many of our members have let their grey's choose them to be their parronts!

These are just basic questions/guidelines. No matter how healthy your new baby appears to be, always have a full health check done with an Avian vet!

Enjoy looking for that special baby

Caroline.

[Tammy]

You are Very HelpFull. I went to go see the Breeder Last weekend and was there for about 1 hr talking. She let me take a look at the Babies while still in Nesting box with Parents. And she just e-mail me saying that she Pulled the babies This Morning and I am Welcome to come see them today or Tomorrow. So, I am going tomorrow to visit my Baby CAG. I cant wait. She told me I am Welcome any time or Day to visit the Bird and stay as long as I want. She said it is good to Bond with the Baby CAG when Young like that! So, I am going to visit as much as I can. She only lives about 25 minutes away from me.

[judygram]

And it is good that you can visit with the babies and are welcome to come at any time since we had another grey member who lost her grey because of the living conditions they were in, her baby had been exposed to toxic metals before she even brought it home and it eventually died.

Go visit that baby as much as you can and get some pictures too if you can, we would love to see them, they are so ugly at this age they are adorable.:whistle:

[Carolyn]

Great information Caroline.

Could I just add, before the date of the new arrival please consider how you are going to transport your new baby home. Do you have a carrier? If you are picking up the baby from breeders will your breeder allow you to leave the carrier there a few days before the journey home so the baby can get used to it, you may be able to place him/her in it a few times before the big day arrives.

Carolyn & Mika

[jamalbirdbiz]

What is the going rate for a quality grey (chick) on the eastern seabored? Just looking for a range...

[tthopp05]

When I was looking,the price range was between 950-1300.That was about a month ago.

[Spinner]

All good recommendations. As a breeder, I encourage my new owners to visit as often as possible. It is invaluable to the baby to build the trust as early as possible. You can see the value of this in the "Baby Photos" thread here in the nursery forum.

As to the transport, I provide a travel crate to take them home in and train the babies to go into the cage well before going home. If the breeder doesn't supply one (ask), then take yours when you visit to get the baby used to it.

Also, ask your breeder for what I call "go home" info. It list much of what Caroline mentions. I have mine online for easy access.

Finally, find a good vet before purchasing your grey and talk to them about area breeders. They see the babies from breeders come into their facility and know the quality of each. And while you're there, ask them what you should have for an emergency kit, such as styptic powder, vet wrap, etc.

Thanks, Caroline - good info!

[eubankclare]

Fantastic thread - just what i needed to know as im looking into getting a baby african gray.

[aeriga]

Very helpful thread!
here in Canada they cost about $2000 or so.. we got a good deal because there was a baby boom so we got ours for about $1100.
we can visit any time we want and the staff is very helpful and friendly. It is about 5 minutes from our house so we are there everyday, even if it's just for a few minutes. He likes to interact with people, but since he's a baby all he wants is food anyways lol. The store has a nursery in a closed room (there is another baby grey in there now too and 2 senegals) with windows so we've opted for our bird to stay in there until we take him home. I have the idea in my head that if he goes on the floor with people poking at him he will end up aggressive.