Cosmos_Friend

Thanks all for the feed back (Hello, Inara, good to hear from you too!). Cosmo is quite the chewer, it's just that his beak is getting a bit sharp. I'll have to investigate with some different toys that he can chew on (different woods, stone, etc.) as suggested. Since my hiatus from Grey Forums; this past winter has been brutal... during the height of the "Polar Vortex", a water pipe burst above my kitchen ceiling, cascading water down the walls in my kitchen and living room. Water was pouring out of every light fixture as well as the electrical panel!!! In panic, I called the emergency maintenance phone number and they rushed over to turn the offending water pipe off. By then, since the water was so rapidly escaping from this pipe, the water damage was extensive. They had to remove the electrical panel, which meant I would have no electricity for a while... no electricity, no heat. Since the temperature outside was about 15 degrees and would drop to 10 degrees below, actual temperature, I had no choice but to find some place to board Cosmo for a few days. I've had Cosmo (as some of you know) since he was 13 weeks old and he's now over six years old and we've never been apart. i called the ASPCA and they directed me to call "Bird Jungle" a well known parrot pet shop. I've shopped there before for supplies, but not often because it's a bit out of the way from where I live. Luckily, I had purchased a few years ago, a travel cage. With water still pouring from the ceiling, Cosmo got right on my hand and I got him in the travel cage with no fuss because he knew this was an emergency and he's learned to trust me to no end. A neighbor was kind enough to drive Cosmo and I to Bird Jungle. Cosmo was such a trooper, he didn't make a sound nor a flutter the whole ride there. He did look scared when the guy at the pet shop took him in his cage, to the back room where they have their boarding cages. Of course I followed closely, saying "Cosmo, it's O.K." I watched as he was removed from his travel cage and placed into the boarding cage. He didn't give any trouble to the employee as Cosmo got on his hand and went right into what was to be his temporary home for 4 days. As I stood at the entrance to the boarding room (there was a sign that read "Employees Only"), Cosmo called out "Riiick, are you OK?" (he pick that up as I would say "are you OK" whenever Cosmo would fall from some acrobatic thing he was doing when he was in his younger, clumsy years). I almost started to cry. Maintenance eventually replaced my electrical panel to were as I had heat now, and was able to get my Cosmo back home again, he was gone for was four long days. He's fine, didn't get sick (thank God) which can happen when you board a parrot. He did pluck some of his flight feathers, which have since grown back. He showed no signs of serious stress, as a matter of fact as soon as I got him home and in his cage, he wanted nothing but "birdy head-lovins'" (what I say to him when I scratch the back of his head). What an ordeal, huh? ~Rick

Hi, Long time, no post. I have a question pertaining to beak trimming for a Congo Grey, is it occasionally necessary to trim their beak? Are there other preferred options that will keep their beak conditioned? I have a lava stone in Cosmo's cage, however he doesn't seem to use it very often. Is their a beak conditioning stone (if necessary) that you have had success with? Thanks in advance for your input. ~Rick

Awww, that's sweet, revel in the fact! ~Rick

A Baby snake!!?? I never had that experience, I would catch it and get rid of It! ~Rick

Wean your Grey off hand food slowly, on to pellet food or a seed mix if you can, this should have been done from the breeder. Ask the person of who you've got your Grey if there've been weaned from their mother in due time. ~Rick

Yeah, Keri, I'm the only one who can handle him. He's also very affectionate towards my cat, Sylvester! I adopted the cat about 3 1/2 years ago from the SPCA. He was 9 1/2 years old at the time and was slated to be put to sleep because it's hard to find someone who'll adopt such an old cat. Often, Sylvester will lie down next to Cosmo, roll on his back and Cosmo will stroke his whiskers with his beak! (The cat was declawed by a previous owner) Of course, I'm there at the ready in case their "instincts" take over. To be fair, I live by myself with Cosmo and Sylvester and show equal love between them. Here's one thing you can try, show your Grey that you are a part of the flock too by periodically putting your arms around each others shoulders in front of her (Do this while she's in her cage). Although I'm the only one who can handle Cosmo, he's taken to a good friend of mine after one day, he put his arm around my shoulder in front of Cosmo saying, "See Cosmo, it's OK". I'll be dammed, it worked! Whenever this friend of mine comes over, Cosmo recognizes him by name "Hey Eric" and then they'll play catch on the floor with Cosmo's little ball. Yes Ray, they are masters of manipulation! ~Rick

Don't feel bad Keri. My Congo Grey seems to want to mate with me. :confused: Every time I handle him, he walks up and down my arm in what seems to be some kind of dance (turning around and around), his wings way down low totally exposing his back while regurgitating and all this as he whimpers like a new born puppy. It's weird! I'll tell him, "Cosmo, I'm not your type!". He used to do this only on occasion and it was suggested to me that I do not touch his back or his wings as this might sexually frustrate him. (I've shared about this before, for those who remember) He does this all the time now, often refusing to go take a perch in his cage when out-of-the-cage-time is over. He'll incessantly hang on to my hand to whereas I have to gently work him off. This all may sound cute, however all I want is to have playtime with Cosmo and all he wants to do is "strut his stuff". :eek: ~Rick

I found that adding some perches that are abrasive for nail conditioning also helped Cosmo with the beak "layered effect". He will often rub the sides of his beak on them, keeping it clean. ~Rick

Thanks for sharing! ~Rick

Here, Here! ~Rick

By all means, go get your Grey! I took Cosmo, (my CAG) home at 13 weeks, he's 6 years old now and a captivating sweetheart. It does take time and a lot of patience for you and your Grey to gain each others trust so when you do get a Grey, take things slow. We'd love to see pictures of your TAG when he/she settles in. You've made the right move in joining us at grey forums. Some of the things I've read about how to handle and care for a Grey were bogus. ~Rick

Yes, Cosmo does the same thing with some of his food. It seems he only drops the larger sized food to the floor of his cage. A lot of times, that's the first thing he does when he starts to eat his fresh supply in the morning. My guess is that he satisfies his foraging instinct by dropping some of the larger food to the bottom of the cage because he'll climb to the cage floor and "forage" for what he dropped earlier. ~Rick

I had two friendship requests that I've accepted and were added to my friends lists. Do these members automatically receive a confirmation that I accepted? I couldn't seem to find any info. on how the friends list works. ~Rick

Out of all the expensive toys that I've bought over the years for Cosmo, his favorites are bells and frayed ropes. He loves ringing bells, especially the big cow bell that's at the end of his "Oingo-Boingo" (A long, spiraling rope that hangs from the top of his cage). With the frayed ropes, he'll hold the rope in his claw, brush the frayed end on his face and scream at it. ~Rick Cosmo's Cage

Out of the beaks of Greys! ~Rick