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Hello all - I’ve recently adopted a female CAG who is aproximatly 18-20 years old. Her name is Maxi and she lived cage bound in the same home since she was a baby. We’ve had her about two months or so at this point and she is very sweet however does not tolerate touching and does not step or nor know how to step up from what I can tell. Anyways, I’m going to start a thread under the general section that will have a few questions in it. Any feedback or information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone!

Hello all - just posted a little introduction thread in the new members section and wanted to hop over here to give the full details on what Maxi has been through in the 18/20 years she’s been around. I am not new to parrots and have worked with them over the years, however I’m very new to AG’s, especially having one in my home so any feedback, tips, etc. would be greatly appreciated. So from what I’ve been told by the woman who owned Maxi, she started out as a hand fed chick purchased from Petco back in the day. She was playful for about a year or so until she started testing her limits. This led to the owner being bitten and created a fear of the bird beak. She has been in the same cage ever since literally only being let out twice in that 17 time frame, one of those times being an accident and led to Maxi living under a couch for several days. As soon as she came here, her cage door was open and only being closed when we left the house. She slowly started coming out and climbing on the door, this further led to her exploring the unused play stand on top of the cage, however she had no clue how to get back in the cage once up there and was stuck for two days on top because she does not allow handleing and is terrified of towels. She had her food and water up there with her, but she eventually figured out how to menuver on the outside of her cage. She now spends a considerable time on top of her cage and in her cage, it’s her choice. Her diet has been completely hanged from a seed/nut diet to veggies, fruits, nuts, pellets, and other random foods she may get from us. She seems very happy now and making progress. However, the only time she will tolerate touch is when she starts doing her little mating dance and begins panting and squeezing, if she is doing this she will let you scratch the back of her neck for what seems like forever but His doesn’t feel right because the more you scratch her neck the more worked up she gets and it doesn’t feel fair for her to get all worked up, but it’s the only way she allows you to touch her, she will even hold your finger and at one point stepped onto my hand but moved as soon as I moved my hand. So that’s where we are right now, any tips or other information you guys might seem useful?

Hello everyone I'm new to this site, I re homed my 17 year old CAG in August 2017 and I'm enjoying every moment of caring for her. She seemed very ill last night and I was very concerned. She was on the bottom of her cage and would not get up. She seemed to be straining and making croaky squawking noises. All of a sudden an egg appeared much to my relief and surprise! She seems to have bonded with my father and displays mating behavior when interacting with him - which I've tried to discourage but he is a 'bird man' and so 'he knows best'. I wonder if this is why she has went into laying mode? I'm in touch with the previous owner still and she has never done this before. Any advice would be gratefully received! Thank you Leanne

FEED ME!!!

i re-homed a 20-year old Lilac-Headed Amazon a couple of years ago that laid an egg. I was told by a reliable breeder to leave the egg along until the zon no longer cared about it; which I did. Then I removed it and my zon has not laid an egg since then. (thank you Dave007, I still miss you).

Parrots cannot digest lactose which includes milk, cheese, ice cream, etc. Cottage cheese and yogurt do not contain lactose so they can be tolerated. Remember my subject on moderation and accumulation? The way lactose affects our parrots is that the bird's gastrointestinal tract sets off basically an allergic reaction to lactose. In moderation, it can lead to mild inflammation with no signs. A steadier diet can can result in diarrhea and in diets with large amounts of lactose, total blockage/enterotoxemia can be the result. Often, symptoms are excused as just being normal for our Fid or misdiagnosed altogether. As lactose accumulates, the inflammation in the bird's gastrointestinal tract can lead to secondary bacterial/fungal infections, decreased gastrointestinal motility or complete functional/foreign body obstruction, toxemia and death. In this case, it is best not to give dairy or lactose products. Think of your Fid as being lactose-intolerant... Remember your two best friends....Moderation and Accumulation

How I love these birds!

So do I! kittykittykitty

Sometimes I wonder about these lists, especially when they say milk is bad. When we got Huey, his former Daddy told us to mix his medicine (some anti-anxiety med that stops him from butchering his feet) in a tablespoon of milk. I said 'Milk'? I told him that we are always told milk is bad. He told me that his avian vet told him to use milk and he's been using it FOR TEN YEARS. Huey doesn't show any signs of damage to me. However, I have switched to using almond milk as I still can't seem to bring myself to keep feeding him milk.

With Cricket when it came to peanut butter, no spoon needed

BAAAAD for the bird...https://the-oasis.org/bad-things-for-birds-commonly-found-in-your-home/

Thank you Karen...I just realized I am having a birthday on the 28th and realized I am OLD....LOL....Thank you for the kind thoughts and prayers.

We appreciate the updates, of matter what they are. Prayers for you both. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Hang in there Jayd, you are large part of Greyforums. Oodles of good thoughts to you are yours.

Oh Maggie, my heart goes out to both of you. As I've learned myself, getting older takes guts, prayer, and perseverance. Prayers for you both.

Thank you sweetheart, Old friend...Jayd and Maggie

Now I do need to confess something, about 2014-ish I adopted a cockatiel. He's been alternately a joy and a pain (depending on his mood) and is very adept at human-training. Anyhow, my Lord and Commander, has recently started learning that the food humans eat can be pretty yummy. He is always more interested in the food I am physically eating instead of his own personal portion on his cage top. Of course I shamelessly exploit this by making meals that are both human and parrot friendly and have been having some unprecedented successes. Matters came to a head one morning when I came out to eat my dinner and found him perched on the edge of my bowl, beak deep in my soup. But that's another story. So....whilst combing through Pintrest I came upon a new recipe that sounded interesting and yummy: Congee (or jook) which is a Chinese rice porridge. Basically it is a cup of rice cooked in 10 cups of water and with some sort of meaty bone, garlic and a piece of ginger over a long period (90 minutes on stove top but I cooked mine 8 hours on low heat in the slow cooker). I'm in love with this dish! So easy, cheap, delicious and endlessly customize-able. It has become my go-to after third shift dinner (aka daywalker's breakfast). Where has this been all my life! My Lord was initially skeptical about my meal but did try it. He LOVED it and I again ended up fending off a beak on a mission. Now, I wasn't able to find any definitive information regarding the suitability of the dish (in its most basic form, the rice, water, and a bone-in chicken breast...no garlic or ginger) for parrots. What is the opinion on continuing to provide this with other parrot healthy vegetable and grain and seed additions for my benevolent tyrant?

My 12 year old Cag has never laid an egg but my sun conure has and I left it and she added another then sit on them for several weeks then took 1 away, couple of days later I took another. I was advised by Dave to leave them for if you took them away they will continue to lay to replace it. Be sure to provide some calcium in her diet as laying eggs can deplete their stores.

Poor Maxi has been cage bound for a long time and it will take lots of time and much patience on your part. I'm glad to hear you have changed her diet to a more healthy one but pay attention to what she really likes and use that as treats to get her to do what you want her to do. She has to learn to trust you and that trust must be earned and it may not come easily but give her time and space to go at her pace, greys are notorious for being slow to change but if you are willing to wait the rewards can be great. The mating dance with panting and drooping wings needs to be ignored, you are right to not encourage this as it will only frustrate her more and may lead to bites when she can't get any satisfaction so direct her attention elsewhere to get her mind off that train of thought. Please keep in mind that many greys do not like to be touched very much and if they do its only on their terms, respect her wishes and try again later but more likely she will let you know when she is ready. Move slowly when you are around her as they do not like sudden movements and talk softly to her from time to time, tell her what you are doing and such. Greys are lovely creatures but they are still wild animals, not domesticated like our cats and dogs so they are always in predator mode and on guard. Watch her intently and observe her actions because learning her body language will serve you well in the future. We have a thread on reading body language that will help you be able to tell when to go ahead or stay back so please read thru the many threads here for lots of useful advice.

My good friend Jay.. My heart is yours for the taking for you and Maggie.

Fingers!!!!! I do have manners! After all, I wasn't raised in a chicken coop! No savage here, I eat with a spoon (sometimes 2) HEY MAGGIE! Can you wipe my beaker? Thanks, Maggie

awww... love baby pics!

Thank you, Maggie, for the update. I have waiting to hear. Love ans prayers, Howardine

To eat or not to eat....What to feed our fids... Our personal feelings are to feed a basic diet and then supplement that with other bird-safe foods...By feeding a basic diet, you make it easier for you and your FID...it cuts down on the worry of spoilage, it guarantees a basic foundation of nutritious diet, and you supplement this with other safe foods. The order of feeding: Base Diet: Safflower seed based mix or pellets (Volkman's Safflower Cockatiel Blend, Harrison's Pellets) Lots of green leafy vegetables Carrots (parboiled to bring out nutrients) Nuts daily- (a couple of almonds, walnuts, pistachios) Note: Only feed human-grade unsalted roasted peanuts (no raw) Beans and legumes Sweet potatoes/yams Food items two-three times a week: Hard-boiled egg with shells White potatoes (no eyes) Chicken breast and leg/wing bones, albacore no-salt tuna/salmon/cod, Lightly on garbanzo/chickpeas Organic salt-free peanut butter White Rice (white rice is processed, removing some of the arsenic) Raw or cooked pastas Fruits: A parrot, especially a Cockatiel, needs very little fruit. A couple pieces a day no bigger than their head is good for any parrot. Pomegranates, grapes with seeds, papaya/mango, etc. Fruit is 99% sugar with very little nutrients and goes right through them. These are just examples... Here is a reason why you shouldn't feed too much rice... '...when it comes to arsenic the less nutritional white rice is better than brown. The carcinogen is most prevalent in the outer layers of the grain and white rice is polished removing some of those layers. Consumer Reports suggests rice eaters limit themselves to one serving a day, especially for babies. Rinsing and then boiling rice in a 6 to 1 water ratio removes about 30 percent of its arsenic. They also caution that children under the age of 5 should not be given rice drinks as part of their daily diet.' http://abcnews.go.com/Health/arsenic-rice-report-finds-worrisome-levels/story?id=17267872 Example: Don't feed sunflower seeds to a cockatiel. I have proven it to myself and have researched it on the net, that sunflower seeds make cockatiels ornery (Hyper). By all means, share and feed from the table...give them that occasional no-no...and stay away from known bad foods. If you suspect something, err on the side of caution and don't feed it. Major piece of advice...The bird's droppings are a major way to see how well they're eating and doing....study Poopology 101... Will add to this when brain is less fuzzy...

Harry my Umbie Too who now lives elsewhere enjoyed a spoon as well. After eating it could be used on the cage bars to make "music".

Neoow, that is exactly what Timber would do, throw it so I could "fetch." That's one of his favorite games

Yes, she has done it for years and often prefers it to a plate! Thank you Talon for the wonderful picture. Try it with your Zons...When I give her a plastic spoon, she recycles it by chewing it up after she is done...hahahahaa....

Oh wow, that's amazing. I think Alfie would probably just throw the spoon at my head. Or maybe throw it across the room and expect me to fetch it for him so he can do it again.

Nilah like to use a spoon.

Neat pic! Seriously though, is this a common occurrence or did you just get a good picture? Timber would be throwing the spoon at me...

Her wings are clipped. Her current owner says it's been about 6 months since she has had it done. I don't plan on clipping her wings in the future either. Here are a couple pictures of Bella. We have another visit with her on Friday, can't wait!