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Hello all, My name is Dave and I've just joined this forum today. I have a CAG named Pumkin and he is 11 years old, Had him since he was 6 weeks old, weaned him myself. Hates me but loves my wife. When he was very young He did love me and I was able to handle him, but then one day he switched and now he only likes women.

Seeing as it's that time of year- I figured I'd ask how you're all planning to spend Christmas this year. I'm doing my usual - Christmas Eve is spent with my housemate. Christmas day I'm visiting my sister and nephew in the morning and then going back to my parents house for the rest of the day. I'm staying there overnight and spending the day with them on boxing day. I think some of my dad's family is visiting on boxing day too. Then a couple of days later my mum's side of the family is visiting. I typically help my mum in the kitchen over the few days that I spend with them. If Alfie wants to come with me then he will do. Last year he opted to stay at home. I tried my best to coerce him into his travel cage but he wasn't having any of it and took himself back to his cage. He can't come with me to my sisters house because their dog would probably try and eat him, so I'll come back home to pick him up and then go to my parents. I love Christmas. For me it's all about spending time with family. We exchange gifts as well but my favourite part is just spending time with them all.

It will be different Christmas for us this year celebrating Christmas Eve this time due to sharing our grown daughter with the fiances family. One of our sons will be visiting in laws out of state with his wife. Our youngest son has to work Christmas Day. I will be volunteering at the sanctuary Christmas eve morning until noon thirty or so therefore it will not be a big home cooked meal either. Cold front will have arrived so chilly weather will seem a bit Christmassy. Family time,sharing memories and gift exchange along with a more simple meal. The birds should get fresh birdy bread if I get that done in time, bought treats for the dogs and cats. Wishing you all a safe warm and Merry Christmas, hope your Hanukka was lovely. Haapy Winter Holiday to the rest.

Hi, My baby is 13 wks old. I was wondering about training. I'm looking for feedback of what age to start and what to start with. Please give me some ideas. Thank you

Thank you Acappella. Greywings, no, opening it at the warehouse wouldn't have been a perfect solution. My understanding is that the carpet all rolled up retains a lot of the gasses. Then opening it up, even with other rugs near it, would allow the rug to 'breathe'. May I ask what is a 'production' company? Who would I call? I would have no problem getting a slightly used rug. The problem would be getting it installed. I imagine I could find someone to do it, right? Can you tell I am not very good at handling this type of thing? LOL Thanks for all the answers - they really have helped me.

Welcome to the Grey Family. We are looking forward to learning more about you and Pumpkin.

Hello and welcome to you and Pumkin!

I would say now, and start with handling as much as you have time, need to start the bonding process. Good Luck Dave

James, you have not updated us on what you may have found out about Larry, what are his test results? The red factor feathers are nothing to be concerned about, my cag has a couple on her neck, she never had any before and most likely will molt out.

My 2 kids with their spouses and the 3 grandkids will celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. I will fix a grand dinner for us all then we gather round the tree and exchange gifts, afterwards we eat cookies, eggnog and fruit salad while we sit around watching a Christmas movie. Its a tradition we started long before the kids grew up, its family time together and then they have their own Christmas at their houses the next morning. My hubby and I will go to their house to see what the grandchildren received from Santa.

You cannot punish a grey to get good behavior, it just doesn't work that way. You need to gain their trust to be able to handle them and yes sometimes they will bite, especially the young ones as they are exploring their environment. The more you work with your bird and learn the body language you will find out what they like and dislike and that will serve you well in avoiding getting bitten.

Woohoo I can see thread titles! Thank you so much for your perseverance!

I know how sensitive I am to off gassing. I once went into a new Best Buy and had to turn around and leave because the fumes were so bad, so I totally believe that they could kill one of our birds. I hope the wait till spring isn't too long, but it does sound like your best option.

Birds are not dogs. They are not domesticated animals like dogs and cats. They will behave and respond differently to domesticated animals. I personally do not advocate hurting a bird to 'teach it a lesson' when it bites. Some biting is caused by a fear response- if the bird does not see a way out of a situation they will sometimes resort to biting to try and make the perceived threat go away. Barbara Heidenreich is an animal trainer who has a lot of resources on parrot behaviour and training. It may be worth looking up some of her articles and books. She sometimes hosts webinars that you can pay to participate (or pay a smaller fee to watch back a previously recorded webinar). I'd strongly recommend doing some research on positive reinforcement and parrot behaviour before trying anything or letting others try anything. Invoking a fear response by hurting a bird or trying to dominate a bird by trying to be the 'top dog' isn't going to get you very far and you'll probably end up being bitten more often as a result. On the days where your bird is trying to be independent and do his own thing then your best bet is to sit back a little bit and let him explore at his own pace. Don't attempt to force him to do things he clearly doesn't want to do. If I try and scratch Alfie's head and he's not interested then I know I am asking to be bitten if I keep trying to scratch his head. Body language is key with African Greys- you have to watch carefully at the subtle messages they are trying to convey. The bite is often the last resort... basically a "I've been trying to tell you to back off... now BACK OFF" response.

Dogs don't even react well to punishment. Dogs training works a lot better with rewards and most importantly praise. That's what dogs are all about.

Not a good idea you will loose trust and that is important, birds do not react well to punishment they are not dogs. Physical punishment like that may not only damage your relationship with your bird but can cause a start to feather plucking please do not allow that to continue. Your bird is still a baby trying to learn about his environment his beak is like your hand in may ways it is a sensitive tactile organ to feel surfaces, discriminate items and share touch. His behavior is a normal part of his development, just tell him no if he is too rough when beaking people and put him down or back into his cage. You can also try giving him a toy to play with rather than a correction move, perhaps something soft like aq sock to play tug of war with. maybe something he can manipulate like foot toys or a paper roll. Like a toddler keep that bird and that beak busy to avoid the problem behavior rather than a correction. Hope that helps I know we have some further helpful suggestions to come.

well carpet shopping didn't go as well as I had hoped. Actually, in some ways just as I expected. Rite Rug would have been my choice. They had the most co-operative people. They would have laid the carpet out in their warehouse for a week before coming to install it. They had the best looking carpet too! Problem - they cost more than twice as much. The next place had green plus carpets, though not as nice a selection. They will NOT lay out the carpet. They will NOT install it after we laid it out somewhere. So, the best solution we have come up with. Wait until Spring. Move Peanut out of the house for at least a week. Install the carpet, have the carpet cleaned (just steam), open the windows and put a few fans on it. Not perfect, but the best we can do. O, the floors were twice as much as carpet. I am not paying for this, so can not go there.

^ That's cute!!!