How old should the bird be?
The ideal are to bring home baby would be a week or two after weaning. Most green cheeks wean around 8-12 weeks. The bird should remain at the seller’s for at least a week after weaning to make sure he is fully capable of eating on his own. You should not buy an unweaned baby unless you are an experienced hand-feeder. There is no truth to the myth that a baby will bond to you better if you hand-feed it. A newly weaned baby will bond to you just as easily as an unweaned baby. And hand-feeding has it’s dangers – it is all to easy to injure or even kill a bird with a simple mistake. Some sellers encourage buyers to visit the baby as it’s growing up. This is a great solution – it allows you to handle and “bond” with the baby before weaning, without the dangers of taking on the hand-feeding process yourself! Don’t be afraid to buy an older baby or even an adult bird, either, so long as the bird is tame, friendly and gets along well with you!
