Acappella

Don't make a big fuss or have a big reaction about the feather. They love any kind of attention and you may accidently reinforce feather plucking, if that's what she's doing. You said the tail was kind of ragged so this could just be the result of her trying to get herself cleaned up and all her feathers in place now that she has room to preen and a home much less frantic than I'm sure the pet store was. Just keep interacting calmly with her, let her settle in.

From suggestions on this forum I mist Dorian with 100% aloe juice about 3x's a week. Start with a spray bottle with just water at first. Many birds here, including mine, seem to prefer the water cold. Spray from above so that mist falls down on Sammy. You'll know pretty fast how she/he feels about getting wet. Finish off doing the same with the aloe juice. It's good for their skin and feathers. I always give a favourite treat after a bath, hoping to shorten the sulking! Good luck.

As long as Bobby gets to stay with you, I thing he'll tolerate a vet visit. So glad he's home with his flock to get stronger every day.

Enjoy your new family member! Sounds like Sammy's a very confident bird, already leaving the cage to see where moms' gone. Many people here have birds that follow them around, especially people that have flighted birds. If you're going to be out of the room for awhile you might get a small play stand or T stand and place Sammy on it in the room with you. If you want her to stay put on her cage just keep picking her up and putting her back. A toy, a treat, leaving the tv or radio on, might occupy her and make her more content to stay. Grey's need 10 - 12 hours of sleep and they usually want to get up in the morning when they hear others in the house stirring. Figure out what time the person who wakes up the bird gets up and then count back to get Sammy's bedtime. The stretching is normal. They stretch their legs and wings through the day. Talk to Sammy through the day. The guy at the store told you Sammy hasn't talked "much", so it sounds like she has talked. Generally once a Grey has talked there's no shutting that floodgate! Just talk to her through the day to encourage her. I know you said you'd been reasearching greys for awhile. Just in case you hadn't read this, you can't use non-stick cookware around them. It gives off fumes at high temps that can kill a bird quickly. There's lots more info on the forum once you get the hand of it here. This site is very well set up. In closing I have two words for you that you might want to research. Morning Poop:laugh:

Glad you found a way to make her more comfortable. Hopefully she will be able to get some true sleep and regain some energy. Fingers and toes are crossed here that she responds to the medication well and you and your family get some more time with her. We're thinking about you.

I sit here listening to Dorian and I can't imagine having multiples, all talking. Do they take turns or do they all talk at the same time?:huh:

Lovelylew, go to page 3 of Tobie falling update thread. They saw avian vet today.

Sorry, second half of that post was supposed to ask what are you hearing over and over again right now. Except for goldn1. I know at her house it's "oink, oink, oink, quack"

Dave, I say this several times a day to Dorian, and it applies to you as well. "you're a goofball!":P

When my friend bought the pet store she got two pairs of breeding budgies. She's been reading and researching everything she can about them and she came across an article about tv. It said that tv shouldn't be left on for budgies (actually, not sure whether it said birds or budgies specifically) It equated birds vision with tv cameras, saying the bird's eyes pick up the flutter in a tv screen the same way a camera does and that it can aggitate the bird. I know that Dorian completely stops talking whenever the tv in his room is on. Now, with my capacity to worry about everything:( I'm afraid it's because it bothers him. Has anyone else ever heard this?

Around here today it's a 2 for 1 special. An "oops" followed by "be right back" Guess I've been up and down the stairs alot, dropping things as I go!

He might have been a little peeved at being left inside. Just don't give him a big reaction to the pulled feather. It may have just been irritating him some way. Hello to Cosmo from Dorian!

I sympathize. Dorian's my only bird, but he came from a pet store so it often sounds like I also have budgies and canaries, really, really loud ones!:ohmy:

Pat, with all the running around the vets have been forcing you to do I'm a bit mixed up. Is the vet who gave you this diagnoses your regular vet, the avian specialist? Just wondering because the comments about age and heart issues also sound odd to me. Did the vet say anything about her not eating, or offer any ideas or treatment options to at least keep her hydrated? I'm hoping for better news for you and Tobie and I'll keep you in my thoughts.

I'm so happy for your family, feathered and non-feathered. This thread has been the first thing I've checked every time I log on and I was so hoping your update this morning would report good news. You're a very strong and loving person to be going through all this and keeping us here all updated. I'll keep you in my thoughts. Tell Bobby, (and your vet) that Dorian and I think they're brilliant!

Pat, just a thought about the cage bottom. What if you put Tobie in the smaller cage, then put towels on the bottom and cover that with the corn she's used to seeing on the bottom. That way it would look familiar, but it would be padded in case she did fall. Also, she might be trying to get high because she's already feeling vulnerable being sick. What if you just put her cage on something higher. Maybe she'd be more content on a lower perch inside the cage. Don't know if that will help. Just thinking aloud. I hope she's feeling better and the vet's office is more responsive to you.

Did you use any adhesive to join the parts together and if you did, what kind? I wouldn't want to use one that isn't bird-friendly.

When Dorian hears no, I'm sure he translates it to 'don't get caught!'

I am so envious of your adventure outside. Having an older re-homed bird I have to pretty much figure it will take 10x's longer to get him used to anything new. I guess my harness goal will be for next summer:unsure:

Home Depot, here I come!

Our Dorian's do seem to have some similar issues, don't they? My guy has been here more than 1/2 a year and sometimes it feels like progress is sooo slow. He will let me pet/scratch him anywhere (when he's in the mood of course) but that took a very long time. I was visiting him consistently in the pet store for over a year before I brought him home. They take a long time to trust. How much of your grey's history do you know? It helps me to know how to approach Dorian because I know what's frightened him in the past. We had a game that we still play that seems to snap him out of a cranky mood and that got him more used to being touched by me. In a happy, excited voice, I tell him "I'm going to touch your beak, I'm gonna do it, I'm going to touch your beak, then I put a finger through the bars and lightly touch it. Then I say "I did it, I touched your beak!" At the start the touch happened so fast he didn't have a chance to amputate my finger! As he started to like this game then I would start with the beak, then say "I'm going to touch your tail etc. . ." because it's a body part you can touch quickly that's furthest away from the beak of pain! It took a long time, but now he lets me touch him all over, head, wings, legs, belly ... We've even moved on to kisses on the beak, wings and tail! When he's grumpy and I have to put an apendage into his territory, we go right back to the beginning with the beak game. After a few touches he often forgets that he was mad! I also think it helps that I tell him what I'm going to do before I do it. If I'm coming into the room carrying something big that might scare him, like a basket full of laundry, I tell him before I enter the room that he's safe and nothing's going to hurt him. I learned this lesson when I was carrying my computer tower into the office and the big black box scared the dickens out of him and he startled off his perch, which scared both of us! Same thing with sticks. Before I get the vacuum wand or the broom out to clean up around his cage, I just tell him 'here comes the broom, it won't hurt you'. All this might sound daft, but he's gotten soooo much better. Right now I'm trying to get him used to a new perch I want to put in his cage, so it's on the floor and I move it closer to the cage every day. That's worked for a short manzanita perch and a big concrete perch that he was convinced at first was a bird-killing device. As I type, he's perched on it talking his head off. I'm also moving his smaller cage, the one I want to take him outside in, closer all the time. I plan to get it close enough that I can link it by a perch to his big cage, then just let him come over and inspect it on his own time. Hopefully we'll be having trips outside in it by the end of the month! We still have a long way to go, but plenty of time to get there. Have fun with your girl. Maybe we can form a Dorian support group! p.s I wimped out on the vet visit and payed for one to make a house call because his beak really needed attention and I was no where near able to get him out of his cage and to the vet without major trauma to us both!

Was Dusty a bat in a past life? So cute!

I was also wondering if he gets time outside his cage? If he's been cage-bound for awhile, just leaving the door open and letting him come out on his own terms and take a 'walk' around the outside is good. Mounting a couple of perches, toys outside would be good to. Does he have things he can shred, a favourite bird activity. Means some paper pick-up for you, but keeps him engaged and looking to you less for his entertainment! Do you ever leave a radio or tv on when he's alone? Many birds like that. It's all about teaching him to entertain himself a bit. I also noticed that you keep his cage cover piled on top of the cage. This will limit his view and his light. Make the area around his cage more interesting visually. Maybe pull the cage out of the alcove he's in during the day (easier if his cage is on wheels, I couldn't tell) Don't do all this at once because too many changes at once will make him feel very unsure and unsafe unless he's an unusually resilent soul. You're not going to be able to stop him from calling out to you. He's a flock animal and you're his flock. He wants you with him and to know where you are all the time. I do agree that you're re-inforcing his behaviour by responding, even if it is with a 'no'. He's getting what he wants, a call back and even better sometimes a scratch or a peanut. You're just being a good dad and trying to teach him that he's ok and that you're there. If the particular sound that he's chosen for his call is like nails on a chalkboard for you there are some things you can do, but it takes time and consistency. (I know this from experience. Dorian's favourite contact call used to be an ear-drum peircing version of a budgie. ouch!) In the video I heard Monty say a few words and make some sounds other than the 'squeal' Respond to those other sounds with praise and excitment and - here's the hard part - do not respond to the sound you're trying to extinguish. No response at all. Even a "don't do that" is a result for him. This goes for everyone in the household. It will be hard because I'll bet you'll find Monty has you trained pretty well so that responding is almost a reflex. If you respond after he's done it ten times, increasing the volume every time, then you've just taught him he has to do it ten times really loud to get what he wants! Grey's love praise so he'll figure out that one sound gets no reponse and others get answers, praise and treats. This takes patience but it's worth it. Dorian has hardly done his budgie impression for the last couple of months.

Now you'll probably have to read all about the challenges of getting a grey to try a new food, unless Jessie is the exception to the rule. Lots of info here

Poor thing. Hopefully Liath's new vocals make him smile a bit.